Friday, November 8, 2013

2013 Honorable Umpires: Wally Bell & Ted Barrett

2013 UEFL Awards: Honorable Umpires of Year: Wally Bell & Ted Barrett (35, 65)
Voting Results (min. 10%): Bell 35%, Barrett 12%, Jim Joyce 10%.

Wally Bell and Ted Barrett are the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League's 2013 honorable umpires of the year.

In his 21st MLB season, Bell concluded 2013 with two ejections. In 2012, Bell had two ejections. Bell worked the final round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, 2013 All-Star Game and the NLDS. Just days after completing his NLDS assignment and after attending the Austintown Fitch Hall of Fame Dinner, Bell suffered a heart attack and passed away at the age of 48. To honor Bell's memory, Championship Series and World Series umpires wore a "WB" patch atop their sleeve numbers while moments of silence were held in both Los Angeles and Detroit; Detroit's crew lined up in a "missing man" formation during the moment of silence while in Los Angeles, a "WB" sign hung in an office window facing the playing field while another "WB" sign was placed outside the umpires' room with NLCS crew chief Gerry Davis' quote, "A true umpire's umpire." After undergoing open heart surgery in 1999, Bell began volunteering for the American Heart Association; he was also a high school basketball referee during the offseason. The UEFL Appeals Board voted unanimously to give Bell an honorary 2013 World Series assignment.

In his 17th MLB season, Barrett concluded 2013 with two ejections after a zero ejection season in 2012. Barrett worked the final round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, 2013 American League Wild Card Game and the NLCS. Prior to the season, Barrett & Mexico native Alfonso Marquez travelled to Mexico, as they do every year prior to spring training, to develop Mexican League umpires and for children who are lacking clothing and other necessities ("Fonzie's Kids"). Marquez was the UEFL's Honorable Umpire of the Year in 2011. A founder of the baseball-themed ministry Calling for Christ, a ministry for professional baseball umpires, Associate Pastor Barrett earned his Pastoral Ministry PhD in theology from Trinity Theological Seminary this year. Barrett was promoted to the position of crew chief prior to the 2013 season.

Wally Bell now has 8 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (6 Previous + 2 Award = 8).
Ted Barrett now has 9 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (7 Previous + 2 Award = 9).

The next postseason award, Noteworthy Umpires of the Year, will be released later today.

0 comments :

Post a Comment