Top 10 MLB Hothead Players by Ejection Frequency

On the occasion of Bryce Harper's Phillies contract, we revisit the subject of baseball's biggest hothead player, as measured by the umpire ejection sabermetric value, Games Per Ejection (GPE). Using our historic benchmark of David Ortiz's 175 GPE (aka "the Papi line"), we crown MLB's leading active hothead position player.

History: We first tracked hothead statistics in 2015, finding that dugout phone-smashing David Ortiz held the league lead amongst active players for ejection frequency.

At the time of our June 2015 study, Big Papi's one ejection per 197 games played led all players with at least 2,000 games played, a number of minimum games that limited our study's scope to veteran ballplayers.
Related Post: Determining The League's Biggest Hothead (It's Big Papi) (6/11/15).

In 2016, we repeated the study on the occasion of Ortiz's impending retirement from the game, but dropped our minimum games played barrier from 2,000 to just 500. Accordingly, we found that youngster Bryce Harper had taken over the top spot, by a significant margin, followed by Matt Kemp, Yunel Escobar, BJ / Melvin / Back to BJ Upton, Manny Machado, and Joey Votto had all eclipsed the Ortiz benchmark, which had increased in frequency to 175 GPE, thanks to additional ejection activity after the 2015 study (also see the related post for a note as to why we don't include pitchers).
Related Post: Passing the Torch - Papi Out, Harper In as Biggest Hothead (5/13/16).

Harper keeps his crown as MLB's #1 Hothead.

After taking the past few seasons off, we revisit the hothead discussion for active position players. Here are the results (minimum 500 games played). You can also click each player's name that appears in the accompanying table for their UEFL ejection report history.

Legend and Definitions
Ejection Rate: Measured in Games-Per-Ejection (GPE).
GPE: Games played divided by their ejections.
EPS: Ejections per Season, based on 162 GP.

Active MLB Position Players with Highest Ejection Frequency

#	Player Name	Games Per Ejection (GPE [GP/EJ])	Ejections Per Season (EPS [E/GP*162])
1	Bryce Harper	84	1.92
2	Matt Kemp	99	1.63
3	Yunel Escobar	110	1.47
4	Marwin Gonzalez	133	1.22
5	BJ / Melvin Upton	147	1.10
6	Ian Kinsler	164	0.99
7	Josh Donaldson	177	0.92
8	Yasiel Puig	178	0.91
9	Joey Votto	197	0.82
10	Russell Martin	201	0.80

To summarize:
> Bryce Harper remains the league's biggest hothead player, from 77 GPE in 2016 to 84 GPE in 2018. This is significant, because Gary Sheffield now reclaims the #2 all-time hothead mark, minimum 500 games played, with 78 GPE. For those wondering, #1 belongs to Milton Bradley (55 GPE).
> Matt Kemp and Yunel Escobar have increased their ejection frequency (EPS) since 2016.
> Marwin Gonzalez, Josh Donaldson, and Yasiel Puig had too few games played to be included on the 2016 hothead list. Because these three players kept their ejection frequency up, they are featured in the 2019 list's Top 10 MLB Hothead Players.
> Slots #6 Kinsler and above have been ejected more frequently than David Ortiz. #7 Donaldson and below fall on the less-frequent side of the Papi Line of 175 GPE.
> Here are the 2019 rankings for others who appeared on the 2016 list, but have since fallen out of the Top 10: 5 Manny Machado: #14 (232 GPE), 7 Troy Tulowitzky: #11 (214 GPE), 8 AJ Pierzynski: Retired (187 GPE), 9 Justin Upton: #19 (243 GPE), 10 Carlos Gomez: #17 (238 GPE).
> Mike Trout retains his crown as Cool & Collected. Trout and many other MLB'ers have never been ejected in their playing careers.

MLB Taps Atlantic League for Reported Robot Ump Test

MLB is reportedly one step closer to robot umpires, signing an agreement with the independent Atlantic League to test rule changes, including robo-umps to call balls and strikes. Trackman radar devices will be installed at all eight stadiums of the independent Atlantic League in anticipation of the techno-umpire experiment, which is just one expected element of the Trackman incorporation.

Although Baseball America's report sounds quite progressive—as Atlantic League of Professional Baseball President Rick White said, "We kind of had this happy intersection of our intentions and [MLB's] initiatives where it is now formalized"—it's far from a finished product and does more for White's league than simply calling balls and strikes as the ALPB makes a deal with MLB it can hardly refuse.

Prepare for an increase in edge strike calls.

Trackman is the name of MLBAM Statcast's field-tracking component, of which PitchCast is the ball/strike module, and is the successor to SportVision's pitch f/x technology.

As such, Trackman itself helps White in his goal of getting his players seen by big league teams. Because Trackman keeps tabs on athletes, mainly in the pitching and hitting department, such as measuring spin rate or other pitch/hit metrics, it should give scouts a better chance at analyzing players as they already do with those in affiliated ball, who play at minor league stadiums with Trackman installed.

MLBAM is also set to take over the electronic scorekeeping function of the Atlantic League, meaning that all league stats will be transmitted to all 30 MLB teams, another boost for scouting athletes who play in the independent league. That alone should be good for business, another draw for athletes hoping to crack the MiLB barrier.

Most relevant, however, is the concept of impending MLB and MiLB expansion, which MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred discussed in 2016, before more recently revisiting the issue in 2018, anticipating an expansion and naming several potential cities, including Portland (Oregon), Las Vegas, Charlotte (North Carolina), Nashville, Montreal, Vancouver, and even the country of Mexico.

PCL's Aviators (formerly 51s) plays in Vegas.

If baseball expands from 30 to 32 teams, its minor league feeder system will grow as well, leading to a cascading expansion draft that will turn to the independent leagues, as expansion outpaces scholastic-based matriculation (by comparison, the NFL has 32 teams, NHL has 31 [will be 32 in 2021], NBA has 30, and MLS has 24).

Accordingly, this could be ALPB's chance to set itself apart from the independent American Association, CanAm, and Pecos Leagues by cozying up to affiliated ball, further drawing in expansion-minded scouts.

Link: Introduction to UEFL f/x.

But for every give, there's also a take, and for Rob Manfred's MLB, that take is rules experimentation, including the expected regular use of Trackman's PitchCast module to call balls and strikes during live gameplay for the first time in professional baseball history.

As we've mentioned several times, problems arise when raw data from PitchCast, or Pitch f/x before it, are taken at face value. Simply put, there are too many variables prone to error—px, pz, sz_bot, sz_top—to, at this time, render a consistently accurate output.

In 2018, we rolled out UEFL f/x to address the shortcomings of the PitchCast technology when it comes to evaluating whether an umpire has properly officiated a ball or strike call based on the premise that an umpire cannot be deemed to have missed a call that evidence cannot conclusively prove was incorrect.
Related Post: Ask UEFL - About Close Call Sports' Strike Zone QOC (8/1/18).

UEFL f/x incorporates our long-standing Kulpa and Miller Rules (UEFL Rule 6-2-b-1 and -2), which acknowledge the margin-of-error SportVision admitted was prevalent in its Pitch f/x product. MLBAM, on the other hand, has kept PitchCast's errors largely under wraps.
Related Post: UEFL f/x vs K-Zone and the Player-Umpire Disconnect (10/4/18).

SMT SportVision sued Major League Baseball Advanced Media in May 2018, claiming that MLBAM stole its proprietary and patented PFX technology and incorporated the infringing information into Trackman's PitchCast, which powers BAM's Gameday data. Accordingly, we would understand the motivation to play PitchCast's inner-workings rather close to the vest.
Related Post: Pitch f/x SMT Sportvision Sues MLBAM for StatCast 'Theft' (5/21/18).

An exaggerated illustration of sz_bot/top error.

We have also detailed—several times over—baseball's habitual problem when it comes to calculating a batter's vertical strike zone (the sz_bot and sz_top values). Despite Commissioner Manfred's May 2018 comments regarding robot umpires, and his claim that PitchCast's accuracy is "way up—way better than what it was a year ago," the fundamental problem remains: Manfred refers to a pitch calling accuracy that, by its very definition, assumes that sz_bot and sz_top are accurate to begin with (when they most assuredly are not).

In other words, Manfred, when talking about accuracy, is referring to PitchCast variables such as px (horizontal pitch location) and pz (vertical location), and not sz_bot/sz_top, which we know are problematic.
Related Post: Manfred Talks Robot Umps - Tech is "Way Up" (5/30/18).

The two leagues will now have to work out a complex set of procedures and parameters for implementing Trackman PitchCast into live gameplay. For instance, what happens when the computer misses a pitch in the first inning and is then rendered useless for the remainder of the game? When will an umpire be authorized to overrule the technology?

In 2016, for instance, Pitch f/x malfunctioned ahead of an ejection, and the mistake wasn't corrected until well after the game's conclusion. If PitchCast is to call balls and strikes in real-time, these sorts of mistakes would prove catastrophic, and worse, undetectably so, if the pitcher were repeatedly peppering the same part of the zone.
Related Post: Dude, What Happened Last Night? About Pitch f/x Error (8/30/16).

MLB's agreement with the Atlantic League does not specify a timeframe as to the incorporation of the expected Trackman experiment, although the ALPB will begin introducing some of these changes at MLB's direction ahead of the 2019 season. The MLB-ALPB joint press release referred to the Arizona Fall League as an example of the type of experimental rule implementation methodology MLB plans to institute.

2019 UEFL Draft Prospectus - Umpire Stats Recap

As the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League Draft kicks into gear, we present the annual UEFL Draft Prospectus, including statistics and sabermetrics for ejections and Replay Review outcomes for MLB and MiLB call-up umpires eligible for the 2019 season.

Remember, the final day to register for the 2019 UEFL season is March 27, 2019, though the final day to submit unrestricted umpire selections in all classifications (one Crew Chief, two Primary Umpires, and two Secondary Umpires) is March 19. For more information as to UEFL Draft procedures and to register your umpire crew, visit the accompanying link.
Related Post: 2019 UEFL Draft and Registration Now Open (2/20/19).

Additional related links include the 2019 MLB Umpire Crew List and the UEFL Umpire Roster & Profiles page, which also includes game assignment history for the MiLB call-up umpires.

Historical Information and Draft Prospectus - 2019 UEFL Season
The following section provides statistics regarding top points-getter umpires and other leaders during past UEFL seasons. This information may also be found via the UEFL Portal's Historical Data page, which has been updated through the 2018 season. Umpires with names in strikeout are retired or otherwise ineligible for selection in the UEFL Draft.

General Information
Most Ejections Since 2005: 74 (Joe West), 67 (Marty Foster), 60 (Sam Holbrook).
Most Ejections Since 2014: 26 (Will Little), 24 (West), 23 (Vic Carapazza), 19 (Foster, Holbrook, Bill Welke, John Tumpane), 18 (Dan Bellino, Greg Gibson, Mark Ripperger).

2018 Umpire Leaderboard
"Perfect Crew" (Most Points): -cc Welke (19 pts), P1/2 West (31 pts) & Brian Gorman (25 pts), S1/2 Tumpane (21 pts) & Ted Barrett (21 pts).
Ejections: Little (9); Fletcher, G Gibson, Gorman, Hamari, Wendelstedt (6); Cooper, West (5).
Replay Points: Fieldin Culbreth (9); Chad Fairchild, Gorman (8); Tumpane (7).
[Most Replays Experienced]: Gorman, Carapazza, Carlos Torres, Chris Guccione (24).
Review Accuracy-RAP: Fairchild (.722); Culbreth, Tim Timmons (.714); Tumpane (.684).
Total Points: West (31); Gorman, Tumpane (25), Tripp Gibson (23), T Barrett (21).
Crew Chief Points: Welke (19); Gorman (14); Jerry Meals (13).
UEFL Awards: Best-T Barrett, Promising-Hamari & Blaser, Honorable-T Barrett & Cuzzi.

2017 Umpire Leaderboard
"Perfect Crew" (Most Points): -cc West (23 pts), P1/2 Little (26 pts) & Carapazza (22 pts), S1/2 Mark Wegner (23 pts) & Fairchild (18 pts).
Ejections: 10 (Torres), 7 (Holbrook & Welke).
Replay Points: 9 (Fairchild, Wegner, West), 8 (Carapazza).
[Most replays Experienced]: 29 (G Gibson), 26 (Larry Vanover), 25 (Jim Reynolds).
Review Accuracy-RAP: 100.0% (Dale Scott), 87.5% (Pat Hoberg & Ryan Blakney), 81.8% (Fairchild).
Total Pts: 26 (Little), 24 (Wegner), 22 (Carapazza), 21 (Fairchild), 20 (Chris Segal).
Crew Chief Pts: 23 (West), 18 (T Barrett & Tom Hallion), 16 (Reynolds), 13 (Paul Emmel).
UEFL Awards: Best-Wegner, Promising-Blaser/Fairchild, Honorable-Tumpane.

2016 Umpire Leaderboard
"Perfect Crew": -cc Mike Everitt (15), P1/2 Hoberg (29) & Little (24), S 1/2 Alan Porter (19) & Holbrook (19).
Ejections: 8 (Scott & Todd Tichenor), 7 (Hoberg), 6 (Everitt & West).
Replay Points: 9 (T Barrett & Quinn Wolcott), 8 (Hallion & Porter), 7 (DJ Reyburn).
[Most Replays Experienced]: 31 (Dan Iassogna), 30 (Timmons), 27 (Mark Carlson).
Review Accuracy-RAP: .800 (Wolcott), .750 (David Rackley), .722 (Hallion), .714 (T Barrett).
Total Pts: 29 (Hoberg), 24 (Little), 23 (Porter & West), 21 (Holbrook & Hamari).
Crew Chief Pts: 15 (Everitt), 14 (Kellogg & Winters), 13 (Gorman, Vanover & West).
UEFL Awards: Best-Guccione, Promising-Holbrook/Porter, Honorable-Rob Drake/John Hirschbeck.

The prospectus continues after the page break for years 2010-2015.

NCAA New Rule - Batter K'd for Intent-to-Draw HBP

The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee adopted a new rule for 2019, opting to penalize a batter who leans in to try and draw a HBP by having the umpire call a strike. One week into the season and it just happened, with an ejection for arguing it to boot, issued mere seconds after the head coach strolled out to question the umpire's decision.

Umpire prepares to eject a K-arguing coach.

The Play: It all happened during Army's second game of the young college baseball season against LSU when West Point batter Drake Titus fell behind in the count to LSU pitcher Chase Costello in the top of the 7th inning with one out and two on (R1, R3). With a 2-2 count, Drake's body made contact with Costello's pitch, HP Umpire Eddie Newsom ruling Drake out for, essentially, leaning into the pitch to bail himself out of a two-strike count. Army Head Coach Jim Foster found himself ejected from the game for arguing Newsom's decision.

The Rule (NCAA): NCAA changed Rule 8.2.d.1 after the 2018 season to penalize the batter with a strike and not awarding first base if, in the judgment of the umpire, the batter makes an intentional movement to be hit by a pitch, regardless of where the pitch is located. The guideline goes on to say that if a batter freezes in the box and is hit by the pitch, he shall be awarded first base (prior to 2019, the penalty would simply be a dead ball):

A batter may not make a movement to intentionally get hit by the pitch, regardless of the location of the pitch. He must also avoid being hit whenever possible, unless the pitch is within the batter's box occupied by the batter. If the batter's action is deemed intentional, then:

a) If the ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, or if the batter moves to intentionally get hit or freezes to allow a pitch that is not within the batter's box to hit him, the ball is dead, it shall be called a strike and the batter is not awarded first base.

The Rule (OBR): It should be noted that professional baseball (OBR) has no such rule concerning an automatic intentional HBP strike, but does require a batter to make an "attempt to avoid being touched by the ball." If an OBR batter fails to avoid being touched, the penalty is simply a dead ball and the pitch is called a ball or strike depending on pitch location (Rule 5.05(b)(2)).

The Rule (NFHS): High school is similar to pro in that "if [the batter] permits the pitched ball to touch him...the hitting of the batter is disregarded except that the ball is dead. It is a strike or ball depending on location of the pitch." One related baseball rules difference with NFHS is that if a pitched ball touches a batter's loose garment "not worn properly," the batter is not entitled to first base (whereas, for instance, under OBR, it would be a base award).

Umpire-in-Chief rules a HBP strike.

Analysis: There's really not much to analyze from the accompanying in regard to the umpire's judgment—if he deems the batter moved intentionally into the pitch, then the proper call is a strike (strike three in this case). Though the play was reviewed, this is still a judgment call and as a matter of principle, we don't pick apart judgment. Perhaps we might say this is a more likely occurrence with a two-strike count than with a batter-ahead count, but that's neither here nor there. The only analysis here is rather mechanical.

First, our umpire properly rules the play dead by announcing "Time"—the pitched ball has contacted the batter and the ball is dead. Next, he points to the batter's infraction at home plate and indicates the penalty for the violation; in this case, strike three. Because the ball is dead on strike three, the batter is out and all runners hold their positions. The batter walks back to the dugout without argument while the head coach arrives at home plate.

Did the batter place his elbow into the ball?

We see our plate umpire display a "stop sign" mechanic—both because issues of balls/strikes cannot be argued by a coach who has exited the dugout and, likely, in response to something the coach has said. The coach in this case shall be permitted an explanation and clarification as to the new-for-2019 ruling and the rule itself, but shall be warned upon any attempt to argue the call.

Leaving one's position to argue balls and strikes—and the related calls of check swings, warnings, balks, and HBP-related decisions—violates one of baseball's Standards for Removal from the Game.
Related Post: Ejections - What and Wherefore? Standards for Removal (3/29/17).

Video as follows:

All in the Family - Ted & Andrew Barrett Call Cubs Game

Father Ted and son Andrew Barrett (actually, it's "Reverend Doctor Ted") officiated together for the first time at the professional level during Saturday's Brewers-Cubs MLB Spring Training game in the Arizona Cactus League as umpire slots for both HP & 2B ended in "Barrett."

Andrew drew the plate assignment while Ted served as crew chief from the field, starting at second base (in Spring Training, the field umpires rotate every few innings between the three bases). The Barrett family was joined by Tony Randazzo and Pat Hoberg.

Ted and Andrew Barrett hope to join six other father-son umpires in MLB history (five full-time MLBU). They are (dates include time as MiLB fill-in umpires):
> Shag "Henry" & Jerry Crawford (1956-75 and 1976-2010);
> Lou & Mike DiMuro (1963-82 and 1997-present);
> Lou & Ray DiMuro (1963-82 and 1996-98);
> Tom & Brian Gorman (1951-77 and 1991-present);
> Ed, Paul & Brian Runge (1954-70, 1973-97, and 1999-2012);
> Harry & Hunter Wendelstedt (1966-1998 and 1998-present).

Harry and Hunter are the only father-son to have officiated a Major League contest together, which they did during Hunter's call-up season in 1998.

Taking it even a step further, Mike and Lou are the only father-son umpires to both have called an MLB no-hitter from behind the plate (Mike's was a perfect game). Ted Barrett has already called two perfect games from behind home plate.

For the Barretts, this isn't the first similar pro assignment, though it is the first time they've called the same game. Teddy served as home plate umpire and crew chief during the 2018 MLB All-Star Game in Washington, DC while Andrew had the plate for the 2018 California League (Class-A) All-Star Game in California.
Related Post: 2018 MLB All-Star Game Umpires (7/10/18).

Though Andrew is only in Double-A and thus did not receive a full-MLB Spring invitation, due to all the split squad, early schedule, and plethora of umpires all in the same city, he is one of a handful of young umpires to have the opportunity to call the one-off (or two, or three) MLB Spring Training game, some of which would otherwise have just two assigned umpires.

For instance, while Andrew called the Cubs game in Mesa, other non-invitee umpires who officiated MLB Spring Training games on Saturday included Derek Thomas (NYY-BOS), Sam Burch (STL-MIA), Adam Beck (ATL-NYM), Bryan Fields (CLE-CIN), Reid Gibbs (TEX-KC), Jason Starkovich (CHI-OAK), and Mark Stewart (HOU-WAS).
Wrap: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs (Spring Training), 2/23/19

Plate Meeting Podcast - Call for ?s - Jim Joyce

As Spring Training gets underway, we're pleased to announce our next guest for The Plate Meeting, a LF Umpire Podcast from CloseCallSports.com. A five-time UEFL Award winner, 30-year AL & MLB veteran Jim Joyce officiated three World Series to go alongside four League Championship and 10 Division Series appearances, in addition to 3,268 regular season games, 73 ejections, and countless signature strike calls, topping several player polls for "best umpire" along the way (and what's this about a Time Magazine Person of the Year nod in 2010?). Submit your questions for Jim here at CCS.

Joyce began his professional baseball career in the 1978 Midwest League, traveling through the Texas and Pacific Coast Leagues before his 1987 American League debut in Oakland. He also saw the Athletics in his final big league game on October 2, 2016.

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The Plate Meeting, a Left Field Umpire Podcast is Close Call Sports & Umpire Ejection Fantasy League's official audio forum for umpiring-related issues, including analysis or other conversation pertaining to plays, ejections, rules, and more.

To subscribe to The Plate Meeting, visit our Anchor.fm page, or search for us on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify, Radio Public, and Google Podcasts.

Follow us on Twitter 🐦 (@UmpireEjections) and like us on Facebook 👍 (/UmpireEjections).

2019 MLB Spring Training Umpire Roster

The 2019 Spring Training Umpire roster is comprised of 97 umpires, including 76 full-time MLB + 21 minor league call-ups and invitees spread across Arizona's Cactus and Florida's Grapefruit Leagues. This preseason's list features six more umpires than the 2018 Spring Training roster (91 umpires) and five less than the 2017 Spring Training list (102 umpires).

The following roster includes sleeve numbers for all applicable umpires; Minor League Baseball umpires with numbers are deemed Call-Ups and may fill in during the regular season at the Major League level, while MiLB umpires without numbers are the Spring Training invitees and are not yet on MLB's fill-in list.

MLB Spring Training Umpires' Roster - 2019 Pre-Season

MLB Staff	MLB Staff	MiLB Invitees & Call-Ups
Baker, Jordan 71 Barksdale, Lance 23 Barrett, Lance 94 Barrett, Ted 65 Barry, Scott 87 Bellino, Dan 2 Blaser, Cory 89 Bucknor, CB 54 Carapazza, Vic 19 Carlson, Mark 6 Cederstrom, Gary 38 Conroy, Chris 98 Cooper, Eric 56 Culbreth, Fieldin 25 Cuzzi, Phil 10 Danley, Kerwin 44 Davis, Gerry 12 DeMuth, Dana 32 Diaz, Laz 63 DiMuro, Mike 16 Drake, Rob 30 Dreckman, Bruce 1 Eddings, Doug 88 Emmel, Paul 50 Estabrook, Mike 83 Everitt, Mike 57 Fairchild, Chad 4 Fletcher, Andy 49 Foster, Marty 60 Gibson, Greg 53 Gibson, Tripp 73 Gonzalez, Manny 79 Gorman, Brian 9 Guccione, Chris 68 Hallion, Tom 20 Hamari, Adam 78 Hernandez, Angel 5 Hickox, Ed 15	Hoberg, Pat 31 Holbrook, Sam 34 Hoye, James 92 Hudson, Marvin 51 Iassogna, Dan 58 Johnson, Adrian 80 Kellogg, Jeff 8 Knight, Brian 91 Kulpa, Ron 46 Layne, Jerry 24 Little, Will 93 Marquez, Alfonso 72 Meals, Jerry 41 Miller, Bill 26 Morales, Gabe 47 Muchlinski, Mike 76 Nauert, Paul 39 Nelson, Jeff 45 O'Nora, Brian 7 Porter, Alan 64 Rackley, David 86 Randazzo, Tony 11 Reyburn, D.J. 17 Reynolds Jim 77 Ripperger, Mark 90 Scheurwater, Stu 85 Tichenor, Todd 13 Timmons, Tim 95 Torres, Carlos 37 Tumpane, John 74 Vanover, Larry 27 Wegner, Mark 14 Welke, Bill 3 Wendelstedt, Hunter 21 West, Joe 22 Winters, Mike 33 Wolcott, Quinn 81 Wolf, Jim 28	Additon, Ryan 67 Bacon, John - Barber, Sean 29 Blakney, Ryan 36 De Jesus, Ramon 18 January, Javerro "JJ" - Lentz, Nic 59 Libka, John 84 Livensparger, Shane 43 Mahrley, Nick 48 May, Ben 97 Merzel, Dan - Miller, Brennan - Ortiz, Roberto 40 Rehak, Jeremie 35 Riggs, Jeremy - Segal, Chris 96 Tosi, Alex - Visconti, Jansen 52 Whitson, Chad 62 Woodring, Tom 75 (21 MiLB Umpires) (76 MLB Umpires) (97 Total Umpires) Information obtained by UEFL on 2/21/2019. www.closecallsports.com

Some observations, year-over-year:

• > 2018's roster of 20 MiLBU is comprised of five invitees and 15 regular-season call-up umps.
• > Brennan Miller and Jeremy Riggs (in bold, above) are the only new invitees; JJ January was the only non-call-up to appear on the full-time 2017 Spring Training list.
• > Umpires who appeared on the 2017 Spring Training MiLB invitee list, were absent from the full-time 2018 list, and are back again in 2019 are: John Bacon, Dan Merzel, and Alex Tosi.
• > Many other MiLBU will have the opportunity to officiate a few MLB Spring games, but only those on this list are a part of the so-called full-time Spring staff.
• > All 15 MiLB call-ups from the 2018 season are back again in 2019. No staff changes.

2019 UEFL Draft and Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for the 2019 Umpire Ejection Fantasy League season. Draft your UEFL crew today!

MLB Spring Training marks the start of the 2019 Umpire Ejection Fantasy League preseason. This year's registration and draft form is officially open and will be due prior to Opening Day in March (see below for this year's deadlines).

Pursuant to UEFL Rule 1 (Selection of Umpires), you may draft umpires all at once or in phases. After Spring Training has begun, we will release the 2019 UEFL Draft Prospectus, which includes scouting information regarding umpires eligible for selection. The Prospectus will be released at least two weeks prior to the registration deadline.

Relevant Links for the 2019 UEFL Season
2019 UEFL Registration and Draft Form | Free UEFL Digest E-mail Subscription
UEFL Rules Book | 2019 MLB Umpire Crew List | Sortable Umpire Roster & Profiles
Twitter 🐦: @UmpireEjections | Facebook 👍: /UmpireEjections.

Registration and Draft Process
If this is your first time here, welcome! And welcome back to those of you returning. As always, UEFL is a free-to-play league that is open to any person that submits the registration and draft form.

Step 1) To begin, access the 2019 UEFL Registration and Draft Form. You will indicate your desired username and e-mail address (or other unique identifier). In the event that you opt to draft in phases, this unique combination of username and e-mail will serve as verification that you are the same person (e.g., prevents against imposters or draft errors in the event of identical user IDs).

Step 2) Draft 1 Crew Chief, 2 Primary Umpires, and 2 Secondary Umpires, either all at once or in phases up until the deadline. This five-umpire crew will earn the bulk of your points during the upcoming season, though there may be other opportunities to earn points throughout the year via Case Play questions.

Important Note: Crew Chiefs earn points based on the performance of their crew while Primary and Secondary Umpires earn points based on individual performance. In general, an umpire earns points for every confirmed/stands replay review outcome and for every ejection as the result of a correct or irrecusable call, but loses points for every incorrect replay review outcome and for every ejection as the result of an incorrect call. See the accompanying graphics and UEFL Rules 3 and 4 for specific points information.

Step 3) Register for the DISQUS system in order to comment on posts (scroll down to the comments section for the appropriate link to DISQUS). Although guest commenting is enabled, UEFL Rules 4-7 and 6-1 state that only DISQUS-registered users may challenge UEFL rulings. Your DISQUS name must match your UEFL username indicated during registration.

Registration, Draft, and Roster Deadlines:
Tuesday, March 19, 2019: Last day to submit unrestricted umpire selections (CC, PRM & SEC).*
Wednesday, March 27, 2019: Last day to register for the 2019 UEFL (registration closed).
Thursday, March 28, 2019: Traditional Opening Day.

*Because the season's opening series in Japan kicks off on March 20, some umpires may be restricted (e.g., cannot be drafted) after this date. For instance, if an umpire officiating the March 20 game earns points in the league, that umpire will not be eligible for draft. By rule, no umpire may be drafted if that umpire has more than zero points at the time of the draft. Similarly, no umpire may be replaced with any other umpire that has more points than the umpire-to-be-replaced.

Any user who has not selected umpires by Traditional Opening Day will be subject to random assignment (if you wish to take the Quick Pick option voluntarily, simply leave your draft selections blank).

UEFL Appeals Board - UEFL Rule 6-4-a:
This season, there are no vacancies on the UEFL Appeals Board. The 2019 Board is as follows:
Executive Board (x4): Gil (Chair), tmac (Vice Chair), Jeremy (Deputy), RichMSN (Charter).
At Large (x5): Arik G, cyclone14, MarkCanada, jvick2017, MLBUmpireObserver.

Reply here with questions. Submit draft picks and register via the accompanying form:

2019 Season MLB Umpire Crews

The 2019 MLB umpire crew list features 76 umpires in 19 crews. The following table is arranged by Chief seniority and may be found on the UEFL Umpire Roster, Profiles & Crews page, which features MiLB call-up information as well as the MLB staff list. UEFL Umpire Profiles are also available for full-time MLBU.

New for this year, we've included a pronunciation guide for all MLB staff and minor league fill-in umpires. Our video trailer for this new feature is available at the conclusion of this article. Information regarding UEFL registration and the 2019 UEFL draft will be available on Wednesday.

2019 MLB Umpire Crews (by Umpiring Crew Chief Seniority)

Crew #	Crew Chief	Umpire 2	Umpire 3	Umpire 4
Crew 1	12 Davis, Gerry	53 Gibson, Greg	91 Knight, Brian	31 Hoberg, Pat
Crew 2	32 DeMuth, Dana	5 Hernandez, Angel	15 Hickox, Ed	37 Torres, Carlos
Crew 3	22 West, Joe	56 Cooper, Eric	49 Fletcher, Andy	93 Little, Will
Crew 4	38 Cederstrom, Gary	51 Hudson, Marvin	80 Johnson, Adrian	81 Wolcott, Quinn
Crew 5	24 Layne, Jerry	21 Wendelstedt, Hunter	19 Carapazza, Vic	71 Baker, Jordan
Crew 6	9 Gorman, Brian	6 Carlson, Mark	87 Barry, Scott	73 Gibson, Tripp
Crew 7	8 Kellogg, Jeff	7 O'Nora, Brian	92 Hoye, James	90 Ripperger, Mark
Crew 8	20 Hallion, Tom	10 Cuzzi, Phil	13 Tichenor, Todd	78 Hamari, Adam
Crew 9	33 Winters, Mike	95 Timmons, Tim	30 Drake, Rob	76 Muchlinski, Mike
Crew 10	25 Culbreth, Fieldin	39 Nauert, Paul	54 Bucknor, CB	17 Reyburn DJ
Crew 11	65 Barrett, Ted	44 Danley, Kerwin	23 Barksdale, Lance	74 Tumpane, John
Crew 12	45 Nelson, Jeff	63 Diaz, Laz	11 Randazzo, Tony	89 Blaser, Cory
Crew 13	26 Miller, Bill	88 Eddings, Doug	16 DiMuro, Mike	98 Conroy, Chris
Crew 14	27 Vanover, Larry	72 Marquez, Alfonso	2 Bellino, Dan	86 Rackley, David
Crew 15	41 Meals, Jerry	46 Kulpa, Ron	60 Foster, Marty	47 Morales, Gabe
Crew 16	57 Everitt, Mike	3 Welke, Bill	68 Guccione, Chris	94 Barrett, Lance
Crew 17	50 Emmel, Paul	1 Dreckman, Bruce	4 Fairchild, Chad	83 Estabrook, Mike
Crew 18	34 Holbrook, Sam	58 Iassogna, Dan	28 Wolf, Jim	79 Gonzalez, Manny
Crew 19	14 Wegner, Mark	77 Reynolds, Jim	64 Porter, Alan	85 Scheurwater, Stu
DL/IR	[None]

New MLB Umpires (New Hire MLBU) & Retirements: No staff changes.

Notes and Observations:

≫ Only two crews—#9 (Winters) and #17 (Emmel) are unchanged from 2018.

≫ As occurred in 2018, West swapped all three supporting umpires, reuniting with Fletcher ('17).

≫ Wendelstedt rejoins Layne after a two-year absence (last together: 2016, also: Hickox/DeMuth).

Statistical Promotions or Leftward Lateral Movement:

≫ From Umpire 4 to Umpire 3: Alan Porter (from Miller to Wegner [#4: Scheurwater]).

Statistical Rightward Lateral Movement:

≫ From Umpire 3 to Umpire 4: Cory Blaser (from Cederstrom to Nelson [#3: Randazzo]).

Video as follows:

Manfred: Pitch Clock WILL Debut at Spring Training

When Spring Training begins on February 21, 2019, it will feature a 20-second pitch clock, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters a week ahead of baseball's preseason.

Manfred responded to a pace-of-play query by saying, "I'm trying not to be that clear about the pitch clock...this is the point."

The Commissioner continued by explaining his plan for phasing in the use of a clock during live play, asking reporters to wait for an official press release from the league, though Manfred did state the pitch clock would be 20 seconds in duration.

Earlier this offseason, Manfred explained baseball's pace-of-play proposals and other potential rule changes. Those proposals went to the doorstep of Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark, who as recently as Monday afternoon decried Manfred's negotiations—related to payroll issues—as "unconstructive and misleading at best." Manfred had previously criticized the MLBPA's "negativity."
Related Post: 2019 Rule Change Proposals - Pitch Clock & NL DH? (2/6/19)

League reaction to the impending pitch clock is mixed. While some managers have compared it to the mound visit limit that MLB'ers quickly adapted to, others, such as Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw, dismissed the clock: "If I go over it then I go over. I'm not going to change anything I do. I'm not going to pay attention to it one bit, and if it becomes a problem I guess I'll have to deal with it then."

Kershaw then said something that just might make any umpire's skin crawl, regardless of one's stance on the clock: "I think there's ways to fake it...I'm sure there are ways around it."

Teammate Rich Hill was more blunt: "I don't really like it. It's ridiculous."

Video as follows: