Former umpire Eric Gregg’s death Monday was sad for a number of reasons.
Normally, if you know an umpire’s name, it’s for bad reasons. Maybe they missed an important call, as Don Denkinger did in 1985. Maybe they take forever to signal a strike, as Joe Brinkman used to do.
And certainly the obituaries for Gregg, who died at 55 from a stroke, noted his large strike zone in the 1997 National League Championship Series. But Gregg’s career should not be defined by one game. Lord knows we have all had strange days in our profession, days when we were not at our best.
Besides, Gregg was an umpire in four NLCS’s, and one World Series - not to mention to get to the show at all, you have to be one of the best. Gregg was also only the third African-American to umpire at the top level. But Gregg is also remembered for how he tried to fight his weight problem.
When his friend, fellow umpire John McSherry, died before an opening day in Cincinnati, Gregg took time off to join a weight-loss program at Duke University. He returned to the game, but lost his job in 1999 after a failed strategy by the umpires’ union.
Twenty-two umpires resigned, but instead of panicking, MLB showed (for once) it could get tough. It accepted the resignations, and though many umpires were re-hired, Gregg was not one of them.
Reading the remarks of those who knew him, it seems Gregg was what he appeared to be: a good man who loved the game. In that regard, the fact he lost his job because of some odd labor strategy is sad.
Still, people like Gregg are in a thankless profession. There were probably 99 games out of 100 where Gregg was terrific, and no one noticed. But a strange game, and there’s the first line of your obituary.
It’s the same for a number of people: Charles Rocket was remembered as the guy who swore on Saturday Night Live. Donnie Moore was remembered as the guy who served up a homer to Dave Henderson. But everyone knows there is more to these men than that.
As a baseball fan, it’s important to remember how important Gregg and others like him are to the game. In an era of selfish athletes, steroids and God knows what else, we can be sure there are some in the game who are in it for the love of it. Gregg’s kind will be missed.
Article comments
1 - Howard Altman
Eric was a great guy. And full of life. Check out an article I wrote about him for the Philadelphia City Paper before he lost his job. at my blog
2 - sal m
gregg was a fun umpire to watch and seemed to be a great and fun guy, but the truth is that he was a terrible umpire who had an inconsistent strike zone and he let showmanship get in the way of his performance.
in some way he was the victim of the poorly conceived and even more poorly executed labor strategy that richie phillips lead the umpires through. however, by signing that ill-fated letter of resignation he allowed the league to get rid of him.