Latest defector is an umpire

Latest defector is an umpire
November, 30, 2009
By Rob Neyer

I've heard of players defecting from Cuba. Lots of players. But umpires,
too?

* El Nuevo Herald is reporting that Nelson Diaz, an umpire for 26 years
in Cuba, has defected to the U.S. and arrived in Miami on Sunday.

* Diaz was behind the plate when Cuba sent a team to Baltimore for an
exhibition against the Orioles in 1999. He also worked in the 2006 World
Baseball Classic and the 2008 Olympics, but Cuba didn't pick him for the
2009 WBC because of fears he would defect.

*Based on his experience, Diaz is obviously qualified to join MLB's
umpiring roster, though it's unclear if any spots are opening up over
the winter. MLB has incredibly little turnover when it comes to umpires.

The problem isn't that MLB has incredibly little turnover (which is
true). The problem is that even if a space were open on the major league
staff, Diaz almost certainly wouldn't be allowed to fill it. Like anyone
else, he would almost certainly be required to start in one of organized
baseball's lowest leagues and work his way up. Theoretically, he could
reach the majors in two or three years, and I suspect that's what he's
got in mind.

There was a time, when the American and National League presidents
(remember them?) administered the umpires and could essentially do
whatever they wanted. In the 1920s and '30s, an ex-player would
occasionally join one of the major league staffs after having served
little or no apprenticeship in the minors.

Generally speaking, today's system makes sense. Because aspiring
professional umpires haven't worked above high-school or perhaps the
college level, they're not accustomed to the speed and the skills of the
pro game. Working their way up the ladder, they (ideally) do become
acclimate to the highest levels of the sport.

But Diaz is already most of the way there.

We know there are umpires in the majors who shouldn't be. We may
reasonably surmise there are umpires not in the majors who should be.
After this October's collective failure of umpiring, MLB signaled a
willingness to at least consider steps to improve things. A great first
step would be to fast-track Diaz to the Triple-A level, where whoever's
in charge can get a good read on his skills. If only he were a bit younger.

Latest defector is an umpire - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN (30 November 2009)
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/1543/latest-defector-an-umpire