Friday, March 8, 2013

UEFL Profile of MLB Umpire Wally Bell

Umpire Wally Bell
Presenting the UEFL Profile of MLB Umpire Wally Bell.
Name: Wallace Robert "Wally" Bell
Pronunciation Guide: WALL-ee BELL
Date of Birth: January 10, 1965
Place of Birth: Ravenna, Ohio
Date of Death: October 14, 2013 (age 48)

MiLB Leagues Worked: New York-Penn, South Atlantic, Carolina, Southern, Dominican Republic, Triple-A Alliance, International.
MLB Debut: 1992 (NL)
MLB Finale: 2013 (MLB) [21 years of service]
Level: MLB
Umpire Uniform Number: 35
Crew Chief: No

2013 Ejections: 2.
Ejections 068, 069 (SF P Kontos, M Bochy; QOC = U).

2012 Ejections: 2.
Ejection 137 (MIN M Ron Gardenhire; QOC = U).
Ejection 136 (MIN P Scott Diamond; QOC = U).

Ejections, Career: 44
First Ejection: 5/11/1994 (Fernando Vina)
Final Ejection: 6/11/2013 (Bruce Bochy, George Kontos)
Ejection History: 5 (1994), 1 (1995), 3 (1996), 4 (1997), 4 (1998), 2 (1999), 2 (2000), 2 (2001), 5 (2002), 1 (2003), 2 (2004), 0 (2005), 2 (2006), 1 (2007), 4 (2008), 1 (2009), 0 (2010), 1 (2011), 2 (2012), 2 (2013).

UEFL History: Wally Bell

Postseason and Special Events History
World Baseball Classic: 2013
All-Star Game: 1997, 2000, 2013
Wild Card Game: -
Division Series: 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013
Championship Series: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2010
World Series: 2006, (2013UEFL Honorary Assignment)

UEFL Honorable Umpire of the Year: 2013

Notes: Involved with charity work for the American Heart Association after open heart surgery in 1999.
» Hobbies included golf and fishing. Survived by teenaged son Jason Patrick, daughter Lindsey Jane.

12 comments :

Lindsay said...

Why is Hirschbeck CC when he had that assignment in 2010, instead of DeMuth, who has never been WS CC? Is it purely based on seniority? Accuracy? Just wondering.

Lindsay said...

These are all upper tier umps, but it really would be interesting to get some visibility into the selection process. My limited exposure to each of the umps, i.e., when they have my local team's games and I get a chance to watch or attend, would not suggest to me that John Hirschbeck, for example, was the best at his craft this year (let alone so good that he merited being the CC of the ASG and the WS). I know a lot of commenters on this site think Hirschbeck is retiring. Would they really dole out assignments like this as a parting gift? I know these guys have a union that's in on all this, but it seems unfair to me. My more or less uninformed two cents . . . .

Lindsay said...

Wow, 3 of my guesses were right, although not in the correct game 1 alignment: Hirschbeck, DeMuth, and Miller. I think DeMuth should have been named crew chief though. Congrats to Emmel and Wegner on their first world series. And I'm so glad Jim Joyce made it! He is my favorite umpire and hasn't made a fall classic in 12 years!!

Lindsay said...

In the end, all that matters is that the umpiring is consistent across the board. With the 6 guys assigned, I think we're going to see some really good umpiring (though I would've made DeMuth CC: He has equal seniority with Hirschbeck, he's been a regular season CC longer than Hirschbeck, and he's worked more playoff games than Hirschbeck). .

Lindsay said...

Maybe he has given notice of retirement and they want to reward him with this before he retires?

Lindsay said...

Remember that being the Crew Chief of the World Series crew merely means being one of the 3 best out of 14 eligible Crew Chiefs (Davis, West, Culbreth, & Gorman were ineligible by virtue of working the series last year), not the best overall umpire. Also, Hirschbeck may rate higher than DeMuth on attributes in terms of being in charge of a crew (i.e. putting out an argument diplomatically, handling replays, etc)— as opposed to being the better overall umpire.

Lindsay said...

Well that wasn't a great start for the umpires....

Lindsay said...

That's what happens when you look at the bag and not the glove.. on that play which is wide open you have a near disaster.

Lindsay said...

That was an ugly call in the first inning of the first game. Bad start for the umpires, but at least it was fixed.

Lindsay said...

Maybe Demuth is lucky to have the series.... See wide open play at 2nd as an example!

Lindsay said...

You know as well as I that was the 1 in the hundred time Demuth would have missed such a call.

Lindsay said...

If he misses that call 1% of the time, then it's time for retirement.

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