I found the article on former major-league umpire Tom Hallion (Tribune, May 20) to be written with a ridiculous slant. I guess we’re all supposed to feel sorry for and send donations to someone who voluntarily resigned from a well-paying, six- to eight-months-a-year job. The comments from Hallion and family that “the rug was ripped out from under him” and baseball “has destroyed our lives” are ludicrous.
While I don’t understand the decision to let some umps back and not others, any damage done was self-inflicted.
The mass-resignation ploy epitomized the arrogance of the old umpires union headed by the pompous Richie Phillips. Evidently, Phillips and a sizable number of his former minions thought they were the show. Hopefully, Hallion and others learned a valuable lesson in negotiating leverage, or lack thereof.
