Last weekend the Finnish Baseball championship ended in not so pretty fashion, as the final series between the Espoo Expos and the Helsinki Icebreakers was decided due to forfeits, as the Icebreakers weren’t able to field a team for games three and four after player ejections and suspensions from game two plus personal reasons due to the rescheduling of the date for the finals. The change was caused due to bad weather a week earlier. Following the outcome of the Finnish championship series, Tony Jones and four others stepped down as Umpires. Mister-Baseball talked about the situation with Jones, who serves as the Umpire in Chief and the Secretary General of the Finnish Baseball and Softball Federation.
Mister-Baseball: Following the end of the championship in Finland, you and your fellow umpires Mika Sarjanen, Mauri Hautaniemi, Juhani Kortelainen and Tapio Liukolampi resigned from their positions. Can you explain to the rest of European Baseball what caused these actions?
Tony Jones: There has arisen a poor atmosphere. Player behavior and etiquette, and teams’ control of their players have been lacking recently. Our top umpires do not play and have trained hard in recent years to get where they are, but the players have not aspired to a better level, they simply accept the status quo and think things will get better on their own.
We lost 5 player/umpires at the beginning of the season and our top guys were asked to take on more games. Reactions to questionable calls have been exaggerated and comments have even been made in social media questioning our integrity. Ejections for conduct on the field and a suspension for a verbal threat made to an umpire after a game during the SM-Finals were the last straw for us. Let me be clear, we are taking about a few “bad apples” but when their teammates and managers do nothing to stop poor behavior, it becomes the umpire’s problem. We think this can be handled if people step up and take charge.
MRBB: Did you already receive any reactions from the Finnish Baseball and Softball Federation or from Finnish clubs?
TJ: Many players have said that they understand our decision and some have even asked what needs to be done to get us back. I look forward to the upcoming SM-sarja coaches’ meeting on Oct. 7th to hear our members’ opinions on what has gone on recently and is if there will be any steps taken to avoid this kind of situation again in the future.
MRBB: Would you and your colleagues consider returning to your posts as umpire, if there would be changes?
TJ: Yes, if real, positive action were to happen, we have all agreed we would discuss returning to umpire next season in Finland. All we are asking for is that baseball be played in a friendly, competitive environment and that players and teams be held more accountable for their actions and reactions to the various situations that arise in a baseball game.
MRBB: You’re also umpiring in Sweden. Will you continue to do so?
TJ: Yes, I will continue to do so, as will Mika Sarjanen. I am scheduled to work this weekend at the Swedish Elite Series Semi-Finals. We have already spoken to Sweden about getting Mauri Hautaniemi games in Sweden also.
