MLB umpires ratify 5-year contract

[February 04, 2010]  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- The major league umpires union have overwhelmingly ratified a new five-year contract that included increased flexibility on postseason assignments.

The contract, which runs through 2014, does away with the prohibition against umpires working the World Series in consecutive seasons, a provision the some in the union originally found difficult to digest.

Management had sought to add that language after a series of missed calls in the 2009 playoffs.

Joe West, the president of the World Umpires Association, says "It was a good day for the union and a good day for baseball.

Baseball owners unanimously ratified the new agreement Thursday at their meetings in Arizona.

[Associated Press]

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