Judge orders owners to rehire nine umps

PHILADELPHIA -- A federal judge ordered major league baseball to rehire nine of the 22 umpires who lost their jobs following a failed mass resignation two years ago.

U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III, in an opinion released Thursday, upheld most of the decision made by an arbitrator in May and also left open the possibility that three other umpires could get their jobs back, ordering that their cases be reheard by a different arbitrator.

"Baseball is being held accountable, just like they've been held accountable in every other court they've been to these days," Pat Campbell, a lawyer for the umpires said, referring to a Minnesota injunction that has prevented baseball from eliminating the Twins.

"Baseball is not beyond the reach of contracts or the labor laws," Campbell said. "Everything is slowly and ploddingly heading in our direction."

Rob Manfred, baseball's chief labor lawyer, did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

Bartle agreed with nearly all of a May 11 decision by arbitrator Alan Symonette and ordered baseball to rehire Drew Coble, Gary Darling, Bill Hohn, Greg Kosc, Larry Poncino, Larry Vanover and Joe West. Bartle also upheld Symonette's decision that baseball must take back two umpires who intended to retire: Frank Pulli and Terry Tata.

Unless reversed by a higher court, which is unlikely, all will get back pay of up to about $400,000 annually plus benefits. The decision is likely to cost baseball at least $5 million.

In a pun-filled opinion, Bartle ordered new arbitration hearings for Paul Nauert, Bruce Dreckman and Sam Holbrook.

Bartle upheld the termination of 10 umpires -- Bob Davidson, Tom Hallion, Jim Evans, Dale Ford, Richie Garcia, Eric Gregg, Ed Hickox, Mark Johnson, Ken Kaiser and Larry McCoy.

Campbell said umpires may ask the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review that part of Bartle's decision. Each side has 30 days to file an appeal. There was no immediate response from major league baseball.

In a 24-page opinion, the Bartle wrote it was his job to determine whether Symonette's decision "missed the ball."

"Each party to these two lawsuits makes a pitch that all or part of the arbitrator's ruling should be scored as an error and set aside," the judge added.

Bartle agreed with Symonette that there was no written evidence that Coble had ever resigned. He also decided Kosc withdrew his resignation before he was replaced.

The judge declined to reinstate the other seven AL umpires because "by the time they had rescinded their resignations on July 27, the American League had already filled its staff complement on 22 umpires. No vacancies then existed."

Bartle upheld the Symonette's decision not to reinstate Davidson, Gregg and Hallion "because they did not satisfy the merit and skill standard."

The judge ordered a new hearing before a different arbitrator for Nauert, Dreckman and Holbrook.