A Bad Strike Call

This week the Bill Bradley Collective present another installment of our Dollop-style bonus episodes. Join us as Ed documents the rise and fall of late MLUA (Major League Umpires Association) executive director Richie Phillips. Phillips’ ascent in the world of sports labor begins with working on behalf of NBA officials, before taking the reins of the MLUA in 1978. Ed details the circumstances behind the successful umpires strike of 1979 and the and what Phillips was able to achieve for his union members. Phillips’ run comes to an abrupt end in 1999, after calling for his umpires to resign en masse in an attempt to press MLB for a new labor agreement. The strategy backfires when the league instead accepts a number of the resignations, hires new umpires and ultimately leads to the decertification of the MLUA. Phillips’ arc and career in baseball is a fascinating one, but Ed’s narrative also presents a timeline of sorts for umpires in the last half century, their position in the game, and some of the controversies that have enveloped baseball officiating across this chronology. Come for a thoughtful portrait of an influential labor leader and his membership, stay for the detailed recounting of Zak’s brief but volatile pitching career.