This was to be the year that St. Louisan Gerry Davis would reach the 5,000 mark for games worked by a major league umpire. Davis, 67, would be one of only four to attain that figure and he already holds the No. 1 berth for postseason games at 151.
The key number here, though, is 67. And the ex-Roosevelt High product and former bartender at Thurmer’s has joined nine other umpires, including seven other crew chiefs, in opting out of working the 2020 season because of health and safety issues related to the ever-looming presence of the coronavirus.
Having joined Tom Hallion, Mike Winters, Fieldin Culbreth, Phil Cuzzi, Brian Gorman, Jerry Layne, Scott Barry, Kerwin Danley and Sam Holbrook, Davis, the oldest of that group, told the Post-Dispatch, “I am in the increased risk category. It was explained to me by Major League Baseball’s medical department that I don’t have necessarily an increased chance of catching it but I have an increased chance of the implications being more severe. I have three young grandchildren and it just seems like the thing to do.”
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“I’m going to err on the side of safety,” said Davis.
Had he reached 43 games, Davis would have had 5,000 and he had planned to retire on the spot. Now, his plan is work again next year — if it is safe to do so.
“Obviously, I’m going to miss the day-to-day camaraderie with my crew,” said Davis, who has been in the majors since 1982. “There’s no question about that. I would prefer to be working but the situation dictates that I not.”
“The 5,000 is a nice, round number but I’m not sure it means anything to people other than myself.”
Like the players, umpires are being paid on a pro-rated basis of days worked versus the number they would have worked in a 162-game season. With 60 games being played in 66 days, Davis will make about $160,000 of what would have been a $432,600 salary.
The difference in the pay for the umpires who work is that they will receive a still to be determined “hazard pay” for each game worked. But those details, as well as putting together crews and assignments still haven’t been worked out, with less than a week to go before the season starts, according to a source close to the situation.
But, with eight crew chiefs gone, Davis said, “There’s potential for a lot of impact. Not only are you promoting eight new crew chiefs ... but we’re going to have some three-man crews when they report to the stadium and if one, heaven forbid, two of them aren’t allowed to work. “And this is without anyone getting hurt. In the last several years, we’ve been deep in Triple-A umpires already. There could be a lot of young people working this year, for sure.”
And one older one. Joe West, already past 5,000 games and also 67, famously said last week, “If this game hasn’t gotten me by now, no virus is going to get me.”
But Davis, who lives in Huntington Beach, Calif., took a different route, saying, “I don’t have any reservations about it. I’m very comfortable with it.”