Mike Winters

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Michael John Winters (born November 19, 1958 in Oceanside, California) is an umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the National League from 1988 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2000. He umpired in the minor leagues from 1982 to 1989 before joining the NL's regular staff in 1990. He has officiated in the 1995 All-Star Game, six Division Series (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006), the 1997 and 2004 National League Championship Series and the 2002 and 2006 World Series. He was crew chief for the Division Series in 1998 and 1999. He also worked the game to determine the NL's wild card team in 1998. He currently lives in Carlsbad, California.

Winters' 2008 crew consists of Randy Marsh, Hunter Wendelstedt, and Marvin Hudson.

[edit] Controversies

On September 23, 2007, Winters was accused of "baiting" San Diego Padres outfielder Milton Bradley in a game against the Colorado Rockies. When Bradley came to the plate in the eighth inning, plate umpire Brian Runge told him that other umpires had stated Bradley had thrown his bat toward Runge following a strikeout in the fifth inning, which Bradley denied. After reaching first base, Bradley asked Winters if he had been one of the umpires, and Winters told him that he had indeed thrown his bat. Bradley – who had a history of emotional outbursts – began arguing about the allegation, and Winters reportedly replied that he should "shut the (expletive) up and play the game," whereupon Bradley continued to argue and complained that Winters was "treating him like a piece of (expletive)."^[1] Winters reportedly replied that Bradley was an "(expletive) piece of (expletive)," after which Bradley lunged at Winters and tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee while being restrained by manager Bud Black. Bradley later called Winters' reaction "the most unprofessional and most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. It's terrible. And now, because of him, my knee's hurt." Three days later, Major League Baseball suspended Winters for the remainder of the 2007 season (five games) due to his aiming a profanity at Bradley; penalties against Bradley are also possible.^[2] Although Winters did not comment publicly, crew chief Bruce Froemming stated of Bradley that "Winters told him to knock it off and he continued it. There is no covering up what he did. He had to be physically restrained."^[3] While commentators criticized Winters' language as unacceptable due to players being not allowed to characterize umpires with profanities, they also laid much of the blame on Bradley for the latest in a series of incidents in which he behaved petulantly and was unable to control his emotions.^[1]^[4]

Former Giants player Charlie Hayes also accused Winters of telling him to go (expletive) himself after Hayes was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in a June 1998 game, after which Hayes had to be restrained by then manager Dusty Baker; when told of the accusation, Winters stated, "I don't think I said that."^[5]