Jen Pawol is First Woman to Umpire MLB Regular Season Game

Jen Pawol will be the first woman to umpire MLB regular season baseball during the Marlins-Braves game in Atlanta this weekend, a move generations in the making. Here's a brief history of why it took so long and why women and minorities—including Angel Hernandez—had to keep suing professional baseball for a chance to take the field.

Bernice Gera, who in 1972 was the first woman to officiate a minor league game had to file litigation against professional baseball in order to compel the powers that be to allow her onto the field.

At the time, Hall of Fame Umpire Al Barlick allegedly said Gera "belongs in the kitchen — where all women belong, or most of them." Years later, Barlick allegedly told then-minor leaguer Al Clark, "I’ll tell you one thing. As long as I’m alive, there will never be another f*n’ Jew umpire in my league."

Barlick served as a National League supervisor after retirement from umpiring on the field and was partially responsible for hiring decisions. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, despite his history of purportedly sexist and racist statements.

And THAT level of systemic discrimination has been baseball's rot-from-within for years and decades.

Since then, several women, including Pam Postema who made it all the way to Triple-A in the late 1980s, have been stopped short of the major leagues, though multiple sex discrimination lawsuits filed by Postema and others have resulted in settlements along the way.

When Angel Hernandez sued baseball alleging racially-motivated discrimination in 2017, it served as a turning point in how the league treats marginalized groups working their way through the umpiring ranks. In addition to promotions of minority crew chiefs Alfonso Márquez, Laz Diaz, and Kerwin Danley in the years that followed (after a decades-long gap without a non-white chief), professional baseball changed its hiring outlook, both at the MLB level and the MiLB level, with more diverse classes each year.

If you haven't yet read our analysis of Angel Hernandez's lawsuit against MLB alleging racial discrimination, and discussing baseball's historical trend toward a nearly-universal umpiring underrepresentation of protected classes, you might want to consult the following links:
Related Post: Angel Hernandez, MLB, and Discrimination (Part 1) (7/12/17).
Related Post: Angel Hernandez, MLB, and Discrimination (Part 2) (7/13/17).

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Robo Ump (ABS Challenge System) Debuts at MLB Spring

Baseball's electronic 'robo ump' Automated Ball/Strike System (ABS) debuted in MLB Spring Training and it took only a half inning before Chicago challenged HP Umpire Tony Randazzo's ball call, with ABS overturning it to a strike. Here's how ABS will work during its MLB Spring Training experiment and what that could mean for the future of TV's on-screen strike zone box graphic.

MLB brings the formerly Triple-A ABS challenge system to select Spring Training games in 2025, reducing team challenges to two per club (down from three in Triple-A). As is the case in Triple-A, only a batter, catcher, or pitcher may challenge a ball or strike call and the challenge request (indicated by tapping one's head) must be made immediately after the call in question. Teams lose their challenges with an unsuccessful challenge while they retain their challenges if the review results in an overturned call.

Taking a 17-inch wide home plate, ABS calculates every batter's strike zone the same way: the bottom of the zone stands at 27% of a batter's height, while the top is 53.5% of their height, regardless of where their actual hollows-beneath-the-knee and midpoint-between-belt-and-shoulders actually line up.

ABS also calculates the depth of home plate a little differently than TV. Whereas TV broadcasts display the ball's projected location at the front edge of home plate, ABS uses the middle of the plate's depth (the back edge of the plate's rectangle portion / base of triangle vs. TV's front edge).

In other words, ABS does not address the 2D vs 3D strike zone problem nor does it address the issue of fluctuating zone height in real-time, but it appears to serve more as a game management tool than one of absolute accuracy: the hope is that teams will buy in to ABS and if it's successful in that regard, it won't matter if ABS is actually accurate because the players and managers will accept it on its face alone.

MLB has indicated it may no longer be a fan of television's graphical strike zone, since TV's methodology conflicts with ABS: the league is concerned discrepancies between TV and ABS might make it harder to sell fans and teams alike on the challenge system. Will ABS spell the end of K-Zone on TV? Will it matter that ABS makes incorrect calls sometimes? Stay tuned...

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Clemons, Jiménez, MacKay, Merzel, Tomlinson Hired; Emmel, Layne, Vanover Retired

Major League Baseball hired umpires Paul Clemons, Emil Jiménez, Alex MacKay, Dan Merzel, and Nate Tomlinson to its full-time staff after Paul Emmel, Jerry Layne, and Larry Vanover joined Angel Hernandez in retirement following the 2024 MLB season. Vic Carapazza, Doug Eddings, and Andy Fletcher were promoted to Crew Chiefs to replace the three retiring chiefs.

New Hires

Paul Clemons joins MLBU at the age of 34 after 14 years in Minor League Baseball, joining MiLB in 2011, and working 249 major league games on his way to joining the full-time staff.

Emil Jiménez earns a full-time slot after 10 years of minor league ball, joining the Gulf Coast League as a rookie in 2015. He brings 246 games of MLB experience with him to the permanent roster.

Alex MacKay first joined the minor leagues in 2012 and joins MLB 13 years and 262 major league games as a call-up later.

Dan Merzel is the most experienced of the new-hire class, having worked 452 major league games prior to his hiring. He first worked a minor league game in 2011.

Nate Tomlinson rounds out the list of hires, with 303 games of major league experience and has been in professional baseball's minor leagues since 2011.

Retirements

Paul Emmel retires from MLB after 25 years of service time, having been a crew chief since 2017. Emmel did not work in 2024 due to medical leave.

Jerry Layne's 36 years of service time (since 1989) placed him as the senior-most member of the MLB staff over the past few seasons, ever since Joe West retired in 2022. Layne also did not work on the field in 2024, but did work periodically in the replay room last season. He retires as a crew chief.

Larry Vanover retires after 32 years of MLB experience, but unlike Emmel and Layne did work on the field in 2024. Vanover's retirement as a crew chief means three chief spots need to be filled, meaning that...

Promotions to Crew Chief

Vic Carapazza has been promoted to crew chief after 14 years on the full-time MLB staff,

Doug Eddings is a new crew chief after 26 years on staff, and

Andy Fletcher is a new crew chief after 25.5 years on the MLB staff.

MLB Fires Umpire Pat Hoberg for Gambling Rule Violation

Major League Baseball fired umpire Pat Hoberg for violating the league's gambling rules. Perhaps most famous for calling a perfect game with 100% ball/strike accuracy during the 2022 World Series, Hoberg did not work any MLB games during the 2024 season while under investigation by the commissioner's office for alleged gambling violations. Hoberg's on-field MLB career thus spanned a decade (2014-23), with Hoberg getting the call to the full-time staff in 2017. He will be eligible to apply for reinstatement no earlier than 2026.

The Major League Baseball Umpires Association (MLBUA) filed an appeal on Hoberg's behalf following the 2024 suspension, but MLB's conclusion that Hoberg violated the sport's gambling rules was upheld after review. Although MLB's investigation revealed no evidence that Hoberg actually bet on baseball or manipulated games, the league nonetheless banned Hoberg for violation of MLB Rule 21 because an account Hoberg held jointly with a friend did place bets on baseball, including several games Hoberg officiated.

Hoberg himself reportedly bet on football, basketball, hockey, and golf, and Hoberg has consistently denied ever betting on baseball. MLB umpires are allowed to bet on sports other than baseball.

According to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, "Hoberg's extremely poor judgment in sharing betting accounts with a professional poker player he had reason to believe bet on baseball and who did, in fact, bet on baseball from the shared accounts, combined with his deletion of messages creates at minimum the appearance of impropriety that warrants imposing the most severe discipline. Therefore, there is just cause to uphold Mr. Hoberg’s termination for failing to conform to high standards of personal conduct and to maintain the integrity of the game of baseball."

MLB Rule 21(d) restricts gambling on baseball: betting on any baseball game the bettor is not involved in nets a one-year suspension while betting on any game in which the bettor participates or has a duty to perform results in a permanent ban from the sport.

Specifically, "Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one year" (21(d)(1)), and "Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform, shall be declared permanently ineligible" (21(d)(2)).

Additionally, placing bet with an illegal book maker or agents thereof are subject to a ban at the discretion of the commissioner. Although Hoberg was not found to have bet illegally in this way (MLB's findings make specific reference to legal betting), he nonetheless received severe discipline for betting in an account that was also associated with betting on baseball and for deleting messages/his Telegram account during the investigative process.

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MLB Debut of Umpire James Jean

Umpire James Jean made his MLB debut during Friday's Astros-Mets game in New York alongside Crew Chief Alan Porter, HP Umpire Jim Wolf, and 1B Umpire Ryan Blakney. Jean's first regular season game behind home plate will be Sunday, June 30.

Jean first officiated in the 2016 Gulf Coast Rookie League and Florida Instructional League, with stops at New York-Penn, South Atlantic, Florida State, "High-A East", Southern, and International Leagues.

He called the 2022 MiLB XM All-Star Futures game as the home plate umpire.

Jean wears sleeve number 61 (formerly worn by Bob Davidson) and is the first umpire to make his MLB debut in 2024. Other umpires on the 2024 Minor League Call-Up list having yet to debut in the major leagues are Austin Jones #77 and Jen Pawol #95.

MLB Umpire Pat Hoberg Under Investigation for Gambling

MLB reportedly disciplined umpire Pat Hoberg for violating baseball's gambling policies, also known as Rule 21. Hoberg, with the support of the umpires' union is appealing. Both MLBUA and Hoberg did not comment on the allegations other to acknowledge their, and the appeal's, existence.

Hoberg, who has officiated as part of the major league staff since 2017, said in a statement, "I am appealing Major League Baseball’s determination that I should be disciplined for violating the sports betting policies. While that appeal is pending, it would not be appropriate to discuss the case. That said, I have devoted my adult life to the profession of umpiring, and the integrity of baseball is of the utmost importance to me. I look forward to the appeal process, and I am grateful that the Major League Baseball Umpires Association is supporting me in the appeal."

The Major League Baseball Umpires Association wrote: "The Major League Baseball Umpires Association was made aware in Spring Training that Umpire Pat Hoberg was being investigated for potential violation of Major League Baseball’s sports betting policies. We have been working with Pat since then. We are now appealing the discipline issued by Major League Baseball. Because the appeal process is ongoing, the Union cannot discuss the matter. We will have no further comment until the appeal process is complete."

MLB stated that the investigation "did not find any evidence that games worked by Mr. Hoberg were compromised or manipulated in any way, MLB determined that discipline was warranted."

Rule 21 states that a person who bets on games in which they have a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible while a person who bets on games in which they do not have a duty to perform shall be declared ineligible for one year. There also exists the possibility that Hoberg's appeal will be successful and no further penalty will result.

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Umpire Angel Hernandez Retires After 33 Years of MLB

Longtime MLB umpire Angel Hernandez confirmed he is retiring, telling USA Today he wants to spend more time with his family. The 62-year-old umpire who began his big league career in the National League 33 years ago, in May 1991, winds down his eventful major league on-field experience with over 3,800 regular season games worked, 12 Division Series, eight League Championship Series, and two World Series.

Hernandez drew national ire in 2013 when, as acting crew chief, his crew reviewed and ultimately upheld an Oakland Athletics double off the high left field wall in Cleveland. Although replays indicate the batted ball hit a railing beyond the wall and caromed back into the field—MLB stated it should have been a home run—and A's manager Bob Melvin was ejected arguing that point, we would come to find out that the replay angles the crew had access to on the circa-2013 in-stadium "limited replay" monitor, which was a small screen by today's standards were inconclusive, according to MLB's Terence Moore, who wrote, "I agree with the umpires."

Nonetheless, the national spectacle that followed resulted in the modern Replay Operations Center headquarters in New York we see today, a $30 million project that doesn't include the annual $2+ million salaries of the two additional umpire crews that staff it, added to the then-68 full-time MLB umpires for a modern-day roster of 76 (not including the costs of non-umpire Replay HQ staff).

Hernandez changed baseball in a different way in 2017, filing a lawsuit against the league in which he alleged racially-motivated and national origin-motivated discrimination.

Although this opened Hernandez up to further ridicule—such a reporters facetiously adding accents to the letters "á" in his name despite its spelling never containing accents before, a practice that continues to this day (seriously, look at the MLB Umpire Media Guide where umpires who want accents in their names [such as Alfonso Márquez] have them there, Hernandez is unaccented in all legal proceedings, etc.)—his lawsuit opened the door for other umpires who may have avoided baseball due to an undoubtedly discriminatory past. 

And although Hernandez lost his suit and appeal, uncovering potential problems in baseball spurred the sport to change how it conducts business to include more umpires in its community, as well as perhaps inspired other umpires to speak out against discriminatory practices (note: we have yet to discuss a 2024 discrimination suit recently filed by an umpire who worked in the minor leagues).

After an eventful career, Hernandez walks away from baseball having fundamentally made his mark.

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2024 MLB Umpire Crew List & Roster

MLB quietly posted its 2024 umpire crew list on its website, albeit marked "CONFIDENTIAL"... though the crews are posted publicly via Official Information => Umpires = > Crews. In any case, crew chief Jerry Layne returns as baseball's most experienced umpire in the major leagues, with a new crew for recently-promoted chief Chris Guccione and new-hires Clint Vondrak and Ryan Wills slotted into the mix. Here are the 2024 crews:

2024 MLB Umpire Crews

#	Crew Chief	Umpire 2	Umpire 3	Umpire 4
A	50 Emmel, Paul	49 Fletcher, Andy	76 Muchlinski, Mike	52 Visconti, Jansen
B	2 Bellino, Dan	10 Cuzzi, Phil	11 Randazzo, Tony	66 Tosi, Alex
C	26 Miller, Bill	88 Eddings, Doug	62 Whitson, Chad	44 Moore, Malachi
D	64 Porter, Alan	28 Wolf, Jim	36 Blakney, Ryan	29 Barber, Sean
E	13 Tichenor, Todd	89 Blaser, Cory	79 Gonzalez, Manny	33 Ceja, Nestor
F	80 Johnson, Adrian	81 Wolcott, Quinn	18 De Jesus, Ramon	25 Valentine, Junior
G	72 Marquez, Alfonso	16 Barrett, Lance	90 Ripperger, Mark	40 Ortiz, Roberto
H	63 Diaz, Laz	73 Gibson, Tripp	83 Estabrook, Mike	12 Bacchus, Erich
I	51 Hudson, Marvin	21 Wendelstedt, Hunter	74 Tumpane, John	48 Mahrley, Nick
J	14 Wegner, Mark	1 Dreckman, Bruce	35 Rehak, Jeremie	15 Vondrak, Clint
K	46 Kulpa, Ron	4 Fairchild, Chad	37 Torres, Carlos	20 Wills, Ryan
L	24 Layne, Jerry	19 Carapazza, Vic	78 Hamari, Adam	32 Moscoso, Edwin
M	27 Vanover, Larry	86 Rackley, David	96 Segal, Chris	TBD*
N	98 Conroy, Chris	7 O'Nora, Brian	31 Hoberg, Pat	55 Miller, Brennan
O	58 Iassogna, Dan	54 Bucknor, CB	97 May, Ben	38 Beck, Adam
P	6 Carlson, Mark	71 Baker, Jordan	85 Scheurwater, Stu	TBD*
Q	23 Barksdale, Lance	5 Hernandez, Angel	93 Little, Will	59 Lentz, Nic
R	92 Hoye, James	8 Drake, Rob	17 Reyburn, DJ	84 Libka, John
S	68 Guccione, Chris	91 Knight, Brian	47 Morales, Gabe	67 Additon, Ryan
U	Unassigned:	87 Barry, Scott	43 Livensparger, Shane	CloseCallSports.com

Transactions:

Crew A (Emmel) added Fletcher for Fairchild, Muchlinski for Lentz, and Visconti for Rehak.

Crew B (Bellino) added Randazzo for Ripperger and Tosi for Livensparger (unassigned).

Crew C (Miller) added Eddings for Drake and Moore for Ortiz.

Crew D (Porter) added Blakney for Muchlinski. Blakney is now a #3.

Crew E (Tichenor) added Blaser for Knight, Gonzalez for Randazzo, and Ceja for Tosi.

Crew F (Johnson) added De Jesus for Gonzalez. Wolcott is now a #2. De Jesus is now a #3.

Crew G (Marquez) added Barrett for Eddings. Barrett is now a #2.

Crew H (Diaz) added Gibson for Fletcher. Gibson is now a #2.

Crew I (Hudson) added Mahrley for Blakney.

Crew J (Wegner) added Vondrak (new-hire) for Scheurwater. Rehak is now a #3.

Crew K (Kulpa) added Fairchild and Wills (new-hire) for Blaser and Visconti.

Crew L (Layne) added Moscoso for Mahrley.

Crew M (Vanover) added Segal (from Nelson) for Guccione (new crew chief). Rackley is now a #2.

Crew N Conroy added Miller, Br for Ceja.

Crew O (Iassogna) added Bucknor and May (from Nelson), for Barry (unassigned) and Morales. 

Crew P (Carlson) added Scheurwater for Gibson and TBD for Br Miller.

Crew Q (Barksdale) added Hernandez for Hickox (retired) and Lentz for Additon.

Crew R (Hoye) added Drake for Hernandez.

Crew S (Guccione) replaced 2023 Crew B (Nelson; retired) and has four different umpires.

Unassigned umpires are Barry and Livensparger. Crews M & P have TBD slots.

Supervisor Jim Reynolds oversees Crews A (Emmel), F (Johnson), N (Conroy), and P (Carlson).

Supervisor Larry Young oversees Crews B (Bellino), D (Porter), and J (Wegner).

Supervisor Mike Everitt oversees Crews C (Miller), G (Marquez), H (Diaz), and Q (Barksdale).

Supervisor Charlie Reliford oversees Crews E (Tichenor), L (Layne), and S (Guccione).

Supervisor Jeff Kellogg oversees Crews I (Hudson), O (Iassogna), and R (Hoye).

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Obstruction Calls Are 2024's Point of Emphasis

Obstruction calls are set to increase in 2024 thanks to a new MLB point of emphasis of Official Baseball Rule 6.01(h), according to an ESPN source. Succinctly, the league office will instruct umpires to rule a runner safe in the event a fielder blocks a runner's path to the base while preparing to receive a throw.

This point of emphasis brings OBR 6.01(h) into greater alignment with 6.01(i)(2), the Collisions at Home Plate rule for fielders that functionally employs a similar penalty to the existing obstruction rule, but only applies at home plate and is also much more strict in its standard for violation.

Home plate collision rule OBR 6.01(i)(2) states, in part, "Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as they are attempting to score...it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 6.01(i)(2) if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in a legitimate attempt to field the throw."

Meanwhile, the existing definition for Obstruction (at any base), as found in the rulebook's Definition of Terms, states: "Obstruction is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner."

The definition of obstruction predates the home plate collision rule by a number of decades and is plainly not as detailed. Although OBR and the MLB Umpire Manual both make reference to "the act of fielding" relative to obstruction, the phrase "legitimate attempt" is nowhere to be seen in this particular rule relative to a fielder preparing to receive a throw who might use their leg to block a runner's base path.

Over the past few years, runner's lane interference—a rule since changed prior to the 2024 season by expanding the width of the runner's lane—has received emphasis, which in turn resulted in a handful of additional arguments and ejections.

Will obstruction suffer this same fate? | Video as follows:

Clint Vondrak and Ryan Wills Hired to Umpire Staff, Guccione Promoted to Crew Chief; Pawol on List of 24 Spring Invitees

Now-former Triple-A umpires Clint Vondrak and Ryan Wills are MLB's two newest full-timers MLB also promoted Chris Guccione to full-time Crew Chief and invited Jen Pawol to Spring Training, the first woman set to umpire a major league exhibition game since Ria Cortesio in 2007, following Pam Postema in the 1980s.

Clinton "Clint" Vondrak joins MLBU at the age of 34 after 12 years in Minor League Baseball, joining MiLB in 2012 and officiating the Pioneer, Midwest, California, Southern, and Pacific Coast Leagues on his way to the majors. Vondrak officiated the 2016 Southern League All-Star Game and has had his MLB debut during during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, on August 10, 2020. He has 286 games of MLB experience.

Ryan Wills is 36 years old to begin the 2024 season and has been hired after 13 years in MiLB. Since starting his minor league career in 2011, Wills has officiated in the Gulf Coast, Appalachian, South Atlantic, California, Carolina, Texas, Eastern, Florida Instructional, and International Leagues prior to his August 22, 2020 debut. Wills might be one of the last MLB new-hires to have graduated from the Jim Evans Academy for Professional Umpiring, which closed in 2012. Wills has worked 402 MLB games.

Chris Guccione has been promoted to Crew Chief after 17 years of major league service (over the course of 24 seasons starting in 2000). He has 3,021 major league games of experience during the regular season, in addition to 9 Wild Card Rounds, 7 Division Series, 5 League Championship Series, and 2 World Series. Similar to Dan Bellino last offseason, Guccione did not work the 2023 postseason prior to his 2024 promotion.

2024 Spring Training Invitee Umpires: Returning sleeve-numbered umpires for Spring Training in 2024 are David Arrieta (100), John Bacon (70), Brock Ballou (119), Paul Clemons (104), Tom Hanahan (69), Edwin Jimenez (75), Emil Jimenez (82), Alex MacKay (105), Dan Merzel (107), Jacob Metz (94), Charlie Ramos (111), Jeremy Riggs (112), Derek Thomas (106), Nate Tomlinson (114), and Brian Walsh (120).

Rounding out the list of 24 Spring invitees are Matt Brown, Steven Jaschinski, James Jean, Austin Jones, Tyler Jones, Dexter Kelley, Chris Marco, Johnathan Parra, and Jen Pawol.

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MLB Umpire Ed Hickox Retires From 28-Year Career

28-year MLB umpire Ed Hickox has retired from on-field officiating after 28 years of baseball in the American and unified major leagues, capping a career interrupted by a 5 years away from the game due to labor dispute and litigation related to injuries sustained on the field.

Hickox's big league career began with a 1990 AL debut and he was one of the 22 AL and NL umpires whose resignations were accepted during an ill-fated bargaining strategy when MLB sought to consolidate umpiring staffs. Hickox returned to the minor leagues as a brand-new Wendelstedt Umpire School recruit in 2002, working his way up the chain until reaching the now-unified MLB staff in 2005.

Litigation of a different variety struck Hickox after returning to the big league staff when he suffered concussion and ear injuries in 2005 and again in 2009, filing a lawsuit again Wilson Sporting Goods, whom Hickox alleged had given him a defective helmet he wore when he suffered the injuries.

A District of Columbia Superior Court jury ordered Wilson pay Hickox $775,000 for damages (this award was ultimately appealed and affirmed).

In addition to full-time major league umpiring, Hickox worked part-time as a Daytona Beach Shores detective.

Hickox retires after 28 years and 2,707 major league games, alongside 5 Division Series and 36 ejections.

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2024 Major MLB Rules Changes - A CCS Review

Major League Baseball announced several rules changes approved by MLB's Competition Committee for the 2024 season, including reductions in the pitch clock timer and mound visit limit, new pitcher minimums, and an expansion of the runner's lane to a wider space.

Pitch Clock

Although the 15-second bases-empty pitch clock and 30-second between-batters pitch clock will remain the same in 2024, MLB will reduce the runners-on-base limit by two seconds, from 2023's mark of 20-seconds to 18 seconds in 2024. Furthermore, the pitch timer following foul balls or other dead ball situations will now begin upon the pitcher receiving the new baseball as opposed to 2023's start of the pitcher entering the dirt circle or mound area.

Mound Visit Limit

In 2023, teams were permitted five mound visits per game before being compelled to remove a pitcher for any subsequent visit exceeding this allotment. Umpires had discretion late in games to allow a mound visit without requiring the pitcher's removal. In 2024, teams will be allowed four mound visits until the 9th inning, when umpires may afford teams an additional visit without the must-remove-pitcher penalty.

Pitcher Minimum

In addition to the existing three-batter minimum rule for pitchers, 2024 will now require any pitcher who warms up on the field prior to an inning to face at least one batter (three for any pitcher newly into the game). This will prevent managers from executing pitching changes after warmups but before the first batter of the new inning.

Runner's Lane

Due to a flurry of runner's interference incidents, MLB will expand the runner's lane in 2024 to include the entirety of the dirt path between home plate and first base in fair territory, in addition to the existing three-foot wide lane in foul territory during the latter half of the distance to first base. This expansion effectively means runners may run to first base without penalty in fair territory, provided that both feet remain on or touching the dirt. A runner will be deemed legal if half of their foot is on the dirt and half on the infield grass in fair territory.

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MLB Umpire Jeff Nelson Retires After 27 Year Career

Veteran MLB umpire and crew chief Jeff Nelson has retired after 27 years of major league service, according to Nelson's hometown StarTribune.

Nelson leaves the highest level of baseball having officiated over 3,100 big league games, beginning with a National League stint in 1997. Nelson officiated six Wild Card Series, eight Division Series, nine League Championship Series, and four World Series during his major league career.

Nelson racked up 75 total MLB ejections during his career, the first of Alex Arias, Barry Bonds, and Ricky Bottalico during an intentional HBP and bench-clearing brawl situation in 1998, and concluding with Brian Sweeney on September 8, 2023.

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2023 MLB World Series Umpire Roster

Major League Baseball assigned seven umpires to the 2023 MLB World Series featuring the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. Bill Miller will serve as crew chief while Alfonso Marquez will be backup chief. Five of the seven-person crew are officiating their first career World Series.

Crew Chiefs are indicated in bold text and by the -cc suffix with regular season crew chiefs denoted by an asterisk (*). Those working their first World Series are marked with ^1st WS^. The following listings feature Game 1 configurations such that the plate umpire from Game 1 will work right field in Game 2, and all other umpires will move clockwise (e.g., 3B becomes 2B). Games 4 and 5 plates are if necessary. All World Series umpires are taken from a pool of umps who officiated the 2023 AL and NL Division Series.

MLB World Series (Arizona Diamondbacks vs Texas Rangers) Umpires:

HP: DJ Reyburn ^1st WS^ [Game 1 Plate]      [2 WC, 4 DS, 1 LCS, 1st World Series]

1B: Alfonso Márquez* [Game 3 Plate]            [3 WC, 12 DS, 6 LCS, 5th World Series]

2B: David Rackley ^1st WS^ [Game 4 Plate]  [4 WC, 3 DS, 1 LCS, 1st World Series]

3B: Brian Knight ^1st WS^ [Game 5 Plate]     [3 WC, 5 DS, 1 LCS, 1st World Series]

LF: Vic Carapazza ^1st WS^ [Game 6 Plate]   [2 WC, 6 DS, 2 LCS, 1st World Series]

RF: Bill Miller* -cc [Game 7 Plate]                 [6 WC, 11 DS, 8 LCS, 5th World Series]
Reserve: Quinn Wolcott [Game 2 Plate]           [3 WC, 4 DS, 1 LCS, 1st World Series]

World Series Replay Review: Lance Barrett, Todd Tichenor.

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2023 AL and NL League Championship Series Umpire Roster

Major League Baseball assigned 14 umpires to the 2023 American and National League Championship Series round of the MLB postseason featuring Astros-Rangers (ALCS) and Phillies-Diamondbacks (NLCS). Crew Chiefs are Dan Iassogna and James Hoye.

Crew Chiefs are indicated in bold text and by the -cc suffix with regular season crew chiefs denoted by an asterisk (*). Those working their first League Championship Series are marked with ^1st CS^. The following listings feature Game 1 configurations such that the plate umpire from Game 1 will work right field in Game 2, the Reserve umpire falls in rotation between 1B and HP (e.g., 1B->Reserve->HP->RF) and all other umpires will move clockwise (e.g., 3B becomes 2B). Games 5, 6, and 7 plates are if necessary.

AL League Championship Series (Houston Astros vs Texas Rangers) Umpires:

HP: Stu Scheurwater ^1st LCS^ [Game 1 Plate]        [2 WC, 2 DS, 1st Lg Champ Series]

1B: James Hoye* -cc [Game 3 Plate]                        [5 WC, 4 DS, 4th LCS, 2 WS]

2B: Doug Eddings [Game 4 Plate]                             [4 WC, 6 DS, 3rd LCS, 1 WS]

3B: Marvin Hudson* [Game 5 Plate]                         [2 WC, 8 DS, 3rd LCS, 2 WS]

LF: Jordan Baker [Game 6 Plate]                               [4 WC, 2 DS, 2nd LCS, 1 WS]

RF: Dan Bellino* [Game 7 Plate]                                 [2 WC, 7 DS, 2nd LCS, 1 WS]

Reserve: Mark Ripperger ^1st LCS^ [Game 2 Plate] [2 WC, 1 DS, 1st Lg Champ Series]

NL League Championship Series (Philadelphia Phillies vs Arizona Diamondbacks) Umpires:

HP: Andy Fletcher ^1st LCS^ [Game 1 Plate]        [4 WC, 2 DS, 1st Lg Champ Series]

1B: Dan Iassogna* -cc [Game 3 Plate]                  [4 WC, 7 DS, 7th LCS, 3 WS]

2B: Mike Muchlinski [Game 4 Plate]                     [3 WC, 3 DS, 3rd LCS, 1 WS]

3B: Lance Barksdale* [Game 5 Plate]                    [4 WC, 6 DS, 4th LCS, 2 WS]

LF: Tripp Gibson [Game 6 Plate]                            [4 WC, 3 DS, 2nd LCS, 1 WS]

RF: Adam Hamari [Game 7 Plate]                          [4 WC, 1 DS, 2nd LCS]

Reserve: Carlos Torres ^1st LCS^ [Game 2 Plate] [3 WC, 2 DS, 1st Lg Champ Series]

League Championship Series Replay Review: Mike Estabrook, Jeremie Rehak, Chris Segal.

Video as follows:

2023 AL and NL Division Series Umpire Roster

Major League Baseball assigned 24 umpires to the 2023 American and National League Division Series round of the MLB postseason featuring Orioles-Rangers, Astros-Twins (ALDS), Braves-Phillies, and Dodgers-Diamondbacks (NLDS). Crew Chiefs are Alfonso Márquez, Bill Miller, Mark Carlson, and Todd Tichenor.

Crew Chiefs are indicated in bold text and by the -cc suffix with regular season crew chiefs denoted by an asterisk (*). Those working their first Division Series are marked with ^1st DS^ postseason will be noted with a ^1st Postseason^ mark. The following listings feature Game 1 configurations such that the plate umpire from Game 1 will work right field in Game 2, and all other umpires will move clockwise (e.g., 3B becomes 2B). Games 4 and 5 plates are if necessary.

AL Division Series (Baltimore Orioles vs Texas Rangers) Umpires:

HP: Lance Barrett [Game 1 Plate]                    [3 WC, 3rd Division Series, 1 LCS]

1B: John Libka ^1st DS^ [Game 2 Plate]         [1 WC, 1st Division Series]

2B: Alfonso Márquez* -cc [Game 3 Plate]     [3 WC, 12th Division Series, 6 LCS, 4 WS]

3B: Cory Blaser [Game 4 Plate]                       [3 WC, 5th Division Series, 2 LCS]

LF: Quinn Wolcott [Game 5 Plate]                   [3 WC, 4th Division Series, 1 LCS]

RF: Nic Lentz                                                    [2nd Division Series]

AL Division Series (Houston Astros vs Minnesota Twins) Umpires:

HP: Brian Knight [Game 1 Plate]                 [3 WC, 5th Division Series, 1 LCS]

1B: DJ Reyburn [Game 2 Plate]                   [2 WC, 4th Division Series, 1 LCS]

2B: Bill Miller* -cc [Game 3 Plate]             [6 WC, 11th Division Series, 8 LCS, 4 WS]

3B: Jansen Visconti [Game 4 Plate]              [1 WC, 2nd Division Series]

LF: John Tumpane [Game 5 Plate]               [2 WC, 4th Division Series, 1 LCS]

RF: Roberto Ortiz ^1st DS^                          [1 WC, 1st Division Series]

NL Division Series (Atlanta Braves vs Philadelphia Phillies) Umpires:

HP: Brian O'Nora [Game 1 Plate]               [7th Division Series, 1 LCS, 1 WS]

1B: Ben May ^1st DS^ [Game 2 Plate]       [1 WC, 1st Division Series]

2B: Mark Carlson* -cc [Game 3 Plate]     [2 WC, 7th Division Series, 6 LCS, 2 WS]

3B: David Rackley [Game 4 Plate]             [4 WC, 3rd Division Series, 1 LCS]

LF: Chris Guccione [Game 5 Plate]            [6 WC, 8th Division Series, 5 LCS, 2 WS]

RF: Ramon De Jesus ^1st DS^                    [1 WC, 1st Division Series]

NL Division Series (LA Dodgers vs Arizona Diamondbacks) Umpires:

HP: Vic Carapazza [Game 1 Plate]             [2 WC, 6th Division Series, 2 LCS]

1B: Gabe Morales [Game 2 Plate]              [2 WC, 2nd Division Series]

2B: Todd Tichenor* -cc [Game 3 Plate]    [3 WC, 6th Division Series, 3 LCS, 1 WS]

3B: Will Little                                              [3 WC, 5th Division Series, 1 LCS]

LF: Jim Wolf                                                [3 WC, 6th Division Series, 5 LCS, 2 WS]

RF: Ryan Additon ^1st Postseason^            [1st Division Series]

Division Series Replay Review: Nestor Ceja, Bruce Dreckman, Junior Valentine, Chad Whitson.

Video as follows:

2023 AL and NL Wild Card Series Umpire Roster

Major League Baseball assigned 24 umpires to the 2023 American and National League Wild Card Series round of the MLB postseason featuring Blue Jays-Twins & Rangers-Rays (AL), and Diamondbacks-Brewers & Marlins-Phillies (NL). Crew Chiefs include Dan Iassogna, Lance Barksdale, Alan Porter, and James Hoye.

Crew Chiefs are indicated in bold text and by the -cc suffix with regular season crew chiefs denoted by an asterisk (*) while those working their first postseason will be noted with a ^1st^ mark. The following listings feature Game 1 configurations such that the plate umpire from Game 1 will work right field in Game 2, and all other umpires will move clockwise (e.g., 3B becomes 2B). Game 3 plates are if necessary.

AL Wild Card (Toronto Blue Jays @ Minnesota Twins) Umpires:

HP: Andy Fletcher [Game 1 Plate]                [4th Wild Card, 2 DS]

1B: Adam Hamari [Game 2 Plate]                 [4th Wild Card, 1 DS, 1 LCS]

2B: Mike Muchlinski [Game 3 Plate]            [3rd Wild Card, 3 DS, 2 LCS, 1 WS]

3B: Dan Iassogna* -cc                                  [4th Wild Card, 7 DS, 6 LCS, 3 WS]

LF: Mark Wegner*                                        [4th Wild Card, 10 DS, 5 LCS, 2 WS]

RF: Jeremie Rehak                                       [1st Wild Card, 1 DS]

AL Wild Card (Texas Rangers @ Tampa Bay Rays) Umpires:

HP: Carlos Torres [Game 1 Plate]                [3rd Wild Card, 2 DS]

1B: Tripp Gibson [Game 2 Plate]                 [4th Wild Card, 3 DS, 1 LCS, 1 WS]

2B: Lance Barksdale* -cc [Game 3 Plate] [4rd Wild Card, 6 DS, 3 LCS, 2 WS]

3B: Adrian Johnson*                                    [3rd Wild Card, 4 DS, 1 LCS]

LF: Adam Beck ^1st^                                   [1st Wild Card]

RF: Alex Tosi ^1st^                                      [1st Wild Card]

NL Wild Card (Arizona Diamondbacks @ Milwaukee Brewers) Umpires:

HP: Mark Ripperger [Game 1 Plate]           [2nd Wild Card, 1 DS]

1B: Dan Bellino* [Game 2 Plate]                [2nd Wild Card, 7 DS, 1 LCS, 1 WS]

2B: Alan Porter* -cc [Game 3 Plate]         [4th Wild Card, 6 DS, 3 LCS, 2 WS]

3B: Mike Estabrook                                     [2nd WC, 2 DS]

LF: Chris Segal                                            [2nd Wild Card, 1 DS]

RF: Sean Barber ^1st^                                 [1st Wild Card]

NL Wild Card (Miami Marlins @ Philadelphia Phillies) Umpires:

HP: Stu Scheurwater [Game 1 Plate]         [2nd Wild Card, 2 DS]

1B: Doug Eddings [Game 2 Plate]             [4th Wild Card, 6 DS, 2 LCS, 1 WS]

2B: James Hoye* -cc [Game 3 Plate]       [5th Wild Card, 4 DS, 3 LCS, 2 WS]

3B: Marvin Hudson*                                  [2nd Wild Card, 8 DS, 2 LCS, 2 WS]

LF: Jordan Baker                                        [4th Wild Card, 2 DS, 1 LCS, 1 WS]

RF: Edwin Moscoso ^1st^                          [1st Wild Card]

Wild Card Series Replay Review: Ryan Blakney, Rob Drake, Nick Mahrley, Brennan Miller.

Video as follows:

The Great 2023 Ejection Drought - Why The Sudden Stop?

Baseball's pace of ejections, a record high for the majority of MLB's 2023 season, has suddenly fallen off a cliff with only one ejection over the past week and a half.

What happened? Have players, coaches and managers across the league simultaneously found peace and tranquility? Have umpires stopped making close calls entirely? Or has there been some sort of league intervention?

2023's ejections count of 217 through the end of August predicted a historic season for heave-ho's in the unified MLB era. A pace set to approach 250 ejections would have placed the 2023 regular season in second place since the AL and NL merger at the turn of the 21st century.

Only 2003 would have had more ejections, with 289 dismissals (next is 2001's count of 243).

Yet at the end of August, ejections stopped, nearly entirely. This harkens back to memories of the 2016 season, which saw a similar ejections decrease over that season's second half after Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo reportedly confronted umpire Jim Joyce after a July 7, 2016 game against New York.

Related Post: Report - Nats GM Rizzo Confronts Jim Joyce After Game (7/8/16).

Rizzo was the same Washington GM removed by Joe West in 2020 during a game for misconduct in Atlanta.

Related Post: Non-Ejection - Joe West Removes WAS GM Mike Rizzo (9/6/20).

MLB's on-field disciplinarian Joe Torre issued a memo to teams after the Rizzo-Joyce incident, warning personnel to stop harassing the umpires. It worked, spurring an average decrease of 50% since the memo's distribution.

Related Post: Ejection Drought - Expulsions Drop After Torre Memo (7/30/16).

We may, or may not, be looking at another sportsmanship-related memorandum in 2023, but if the league did indeed send one out, early returns are proving it very successful.

Video as follows:

Angel Hernandez's Unlawful Discrimination Appeal Dismissed

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed plaintiff Angel Hernandez's discrimination lawsuit appeal against Major League Baseball, ruling in a summary order that despite a factual imbalance between white and minority crew chiefs, Hernandez's team failed to prove a statistically significant disparity in promotion rates, not to mention the case for discrimination or disparate treatment.

In 2021, a New York Southern District Court judge dismissed Hernandez's original discrimination case against MLB, opening up the door to appeal, when the court ruled that "the fact that no or very few minorities were promoted [is] 'statistically meaningless.'"

Related Post: Judge Dismisses Angel Hernandez's Discrimination Case (3/31/21).

That ruling itself followed MLB's allegation that there is "no evidence" of a diversity problem in baseball.

Related Post: MLB Argues No Evidence of Diversity Problem in Suit (6/8/20).

Regardless of where one stands on the diversity problem issue, the question is not whether such a problem exists, but whether unlawful discrimination or disparate treatment occurred in relation to the treatment of Mr. Hernandez, either by named decision-maker, then-Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre, Peter Woodfork, or others in the Commissioner's Office.

And in sum, the court found that Hernandez failed to prove that element of the prima facie case, leading to the District Court's summary dismissal and, now, the Appeals Court's summary order of dismissal.

Video as follows:

Angel Hernandez Rehab Tour Begins in Charlotte

Injured Major League umpire Angel Hernandez worked his first rehab assignment in Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, calling the Redbirds-Knights minor league game at third base as he works his way back to MLB.

Hernandez joined Anthony Perez, Reed Basner, and James Jean for a crew of four. This is standard procedure for a medium-to-long term umpire injury, to test out how the umpire feels physically and get things back to speed. If all the checkboxes pass muster, just a few rehab games are needed before the umpire will return to the major leagues.

Also rehabbing in Charlotte was White Sox injured list third baseman Yoán Moncada as both baseball personnel work on returning to their respective MLB roles.

Video as follows: