Media Coverage
Shapiro Reluctant to Be Umps’ King, Dethrone Phillips
BY JAYSON STARK
The revolution is coming to Richie Philips’ palace.
Of course, there may not be much of a palace for those rebels to storm pretty soon. But the revolution is brewing anyway.
No one knows yet whether Phillips can survive as head of the suddenly crippled umpires' union. But we already know the identity of the man who has been openly recruited to replace him.
That man is Ron Shapiro, a respected players agent for 25 years — and a man whose negotiating style is about as similar to Phillips' as Vic Damone's repertoire is to the Barenaked Ladies'.
Shapiro has been approached by a sizable group of umpires, mostly from the American League, about taking Phillips' place. He steadily has resisted doing anything more than give advice.
But he keeps being contacted. His name keeps being mentioned. And Shapiro himself keeps trying to discourage that speculation as best he can.
"All I want to say is this," he said yesterday from his office in Baltimore. "I want to find ways to end conflict, and I will continue to work in an unofficial way to achieve that."
Shapiro is one of those rare agents who has managed to spend his entire career avoiding conflict. In this day and age — when even the most minor baseball disagreements seem to turn into Tyson-Holyfield — that is a feat that should earn him some kind of medal.
But Shapiro has made that style work, while negotiating big deals over the year for players such as Cal Ripken and Kirby Puckett. He was one of the major behind-the-scenes ambassadors for peace during the last strike. And now he has written a book about his negotiating philosophy.
The name of that book is The Power of Nice. So you know it wasn't co-authored by Phillips. In fact, stories have made the rounds about Phillips' trying to head off the pro-Shapiro movement in his union by handing out copies of the book and openly maligning its title.
But given Shapiro's role in the umpires' dispute, this book — and the philosophy detailed in it — makes it abundantly clear why he was sought out as an alternative to the confrontational Phillips.
Shapiro declined to talk about Phillips specifically yesterday. But as he talked about his negotiating style in general, you didn't need an interpreter to get a read on how differently he would run that umpires' union if he were in charge.
"I've learned that confrontational bargaining is the worst thing you can do," said Shapiro, who will make a Philadelphia appearance at 7 tonight at the Barnes and Noble store at 18th and Walnut Streets to promote his book. "My philosophy of negotiation is that to get what you want, you to strategize about how to help the other side get some of what they want."
Phillips, on the other hand, has never met a public bargaining opportunity he didn't like. And it has helped make him one of sports most recognizable negotiators. But in the end, it may also have brought about a cataclysmic end to the union he had built into the most powerful officials' union in sports history.
Nearly half of the 42 umpires who stuck with him over the last two weeks stand to lose their jobs, despite their last-ditch attempt to withdraw their resignations Tuesday. And it appears that Phillips' desire to force baseball's hand first — and negotiate later — may have wound up forcing his own clients to the unemployment line.
"Negotiation," Shapiro said, "is a process — not an event."
Again, that was a quote about negotiating in general and not the umpires' union in particular. But as a wise man once said, do the math.
Now the next big negotiating battle could revolve around the future of Phillips, who has run the umpires' union for 22 often-stormy years. He survived one challenge in February, when 14 American League umpires led an unsuccessful effort to replace him with Shapiro. But now his troops are splintered into so many different factions, his opponents are pushing for a change harder than ever.
"I believe in Richie Phillips," said one AL ump who abandoned Phillips' strategy and rescinded his resignation last week. "Richie Phillips has done great things for me and my family over the years. But the mood of a lot of the guys it that a change is needed, and that the way Richie negotiates is not the way to negotiate today."
But would Shapiro take the job if it were offered? People who know him say he has too many other responsibilities to assume a position like this full time. But he might be convinced by his umpire friends to lend a hand for the short haul. If not, though, they can always read his book.
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