MLB (Major League Basketball) has fired three of seven veteran umpire supervisors for bad calls!
According to the details, MLB fired three of its seven veteran umpires for angry calls during the 2009 post-season. The three umpires who have been fired from MLB include Marty Springstead, Jim McKean, and Rich Garcia. Each of these veteran umpires had been umpiring for MLB for over 40 years. The three veteran umpires were fired on January 12. They received the news from MLB via phone.
The veteran umpires tell that the news was extremely shocking for them. One of these veteran umpires, Marty Springstead, exclaimed that he has served MLB for 50 years as an umpire and in return he received a forty-minute telephone call to tell him that he was fired from the league. Springstead says that MLB has not given them enough reasons for firing them. Another veteran umpire, Rich Garcia, who was also fired along with Springstead, says that he would miss MLB. Garcia has served MLB as an umpire for 12 postseasons and says that it was not what he wanted to happen.
MLB has not cited any specific reason for firing these three veteran umpires. The executive vice president of MLB, Rob Manfred, said that this is a part of the league’s ongoing process of making the organization strong.
MLB has hired two retired umpires to replace the fired umpires. Another umpire ED Montague, who retired after 34 years of service to MLB, has been contacted. Reportedly, MLB is negotiating with him to fill in the vacant post.