Referee Attacked, Killed During Soccer Game in Kenya

Nary hours after a high school football player charged at a referee in Texas, an elderly referee has been killed during a soccer game in Kenya. Mwalimu John Chang'aa aka Okwoyo succumbed to injuries sustained when a group of players and fans attacked the officials at half time in Kisii County.

According to local reports, retired teacher John Okwoyo was officiating a contest at Gesabakwa Green Stadium between teams Apire and Ichuni Youth when the crew encountered a play during which the ball wound up in the back of one of the team's goals. However, the assistant referee had raised his flag into the air prior to the goal to signal an infraction, and the crew ultimately cancelled the score and awarded a penalty to the defending team.

The report states that at halftime shortly thereafter, the offending team surrounded the referee before fans rushed off the sidelines to join in and a group attack occurred, resulting in the referee's death as he sought medical attention.

It was unclear if a fan or a player murdered the referee, but reports indicate that one fan who kicked the elderly referee in his chest was identified and arrested by local police.

News of the referee's death comes one just over one day after Texas high school football player Emmanuel Duron attacked TASO referee Fred Garcia during a playoff game. Hours later, the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District announced it had decided to remove the team from the postseason and noted "appropriate disciplinary action" would follow an investigation into the incident, while the local police department arrested Duron, who now faces at least one criminal charge.

The District wrote, "We extend a sincere apology to the referee and his family" while the Texas Association of Sports Officials wrote, "Unfortunately, this type of blind-sided assault on an official while working on the field is not new to Texas football.

In 2008, Euless Trinity HS player Eric Fieilo tackled an official during a game, but evaded criminal charges. Fieilo later became a police officer at Euless PD.

Video as follows:

COVID Criminal? Texas Football Player Attacks Referee

Our series on abuse-of-officials continues in Texas, when Edinburg High School Football defensive end Emmanuel Duron became an alleged criminal after attacking a referee following his disqualification/ejection from Thursday's game, leading to police involvement.

After a late hit on the quarterback penalty and an additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Edinburg High School senior and DE Emmanuel Duron appeared to forcefully shove referee Fred Garcia during Edinburgh's Thursday's playoff play-in game against Pharr-San Juan-Alamo following the white hat's penalty announcement.

Note: The technical officiating jargon here is disqualification, but for all intents and purposes (e.g., when comparing the action to something seen in professional baseball), the decision to remove the offending player from the game is on par with an ejection.

Following the alleged criminal act, local reporter Andrew McCulloch reported that a card had been brought on the field to assist the victim. Several minutes later, the referee stood up and walked off the field under his own power.

Law enforcement identifies Duron.

Although local reports indicated that police officers escorted Duron from the field, he was not handcuffed, no arrest was reported, the officers who escorted Duron from the stadium stated "No comment, we're not at liberty to talk about that," and after a delay, the game continued with Edinburg ultimately winning the contest, 35-21.

According to the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO)'s 2020 Legislative Scorecard, Texas is one of 22 states that have passed officiating assault and/or harassment laws, though Texas' law is not exclusive to officials and rather pertains to any person who participates in a sporting event (such as players).

It states that such intentional physical contact against someone who is a sports participant shall constitute a Class B misdemeanor; however, if the victimized referee is an elderly individual, the classification would increase to Class A.

In 2008, Euless Trinity High School player Eric Fieilo attacked an official in a similar manner—blindside hit during a playoff game, his last of senior year—and, as a result, was sent to an alternative school and lost scholarship offers. Fieilo, however, was not charged with a crime.

Does crime pay? After graduating from Sam Houston State, which opted to give Fieilo a football scholarship after all, Fieilo—having not been charged for his high school alleged assault—joined the Euless Police Department, which apparently had no issue with Fieilo's purported violent battery on a fellow citizen.

13% of officials have been assaulted.

After the potential purported criminal became a police officer, Fieilo had two human interest stories written about him: one by Dallas Morning News reporter Naheed Rajwani and a second by Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bill Hanna. Both articles portrayed Fieilo's story as redemption, with Rajwani deeming him a "revered cop" who recovered from "his most embarrassing moment" and Hanna writing of Fieilo's "horrible decision."

Neither Rajwani nor Hanna mentioned Fieilo's victim and in lieu of apologizing to the man he admittedly attacked, Fieilo instead praised God for giving him a second chance and called the incident and its aftermath a "blessing."

Unfortunately, the official Fieilo hit wasn't asked to comment on how much of a "blessing" it was to have been the victim of a purportedly injurious violent crime.

Assaults on officials have resulted in several deaths over the years, including 2013's death of Utah soccer referee Ricardo Portillo at the hands of an unnamed player who he had issued a yellow card to moments earlier. In 2014, referee John Bieniewicz died after ejected player Baseel Abdul-Amir Saad allegedly punched him in the head.

So if you're ever debating about the importance of pressing charges when attacked, remember the name Elikena "Eric" Fieilo, the player who allegedly assaulted an official and instead of being charged with a crime, became a police officer in the very same town.

2020 UEFL Rules Summit Results

The 2020 Umpire Ejection Fantasy League Rules Summit is now complete with voting concluded in accordance with UEFL Rule 8-3. The 2020 Summit's results are listed below.

Visit the 2020 UEFL Rules Summit Discussion page to read detailed descriptions of the propositions listed herein.

Items agreed to and Appeals Board retentions are indicated in green highlight below and items that failed are listed in red highlighting. Proposals that gained a majority of votes, listed in green, will become rules for the 2020 Umpire Ejection Fantasy League season upon Commissioner approval. One vacancy exists on the UEFL Appeals Board, which will be filled during the pre-season registration process in 2021, whereupon nominations will be accepted and followed by a vote.

Rule 1 - Selection of Umpires

Prop 1-2: Two Crew Chiefs - 74.6% NO, 25.4% Yes.

> Would have added a second Crew Chief to each member's crew in Crew Division.

Prop 1-4: Secondary Call-Ups - 58.7% YES, 41.3% No.

> Removes roster prohibition to allow call-ups to be drafted as Secondary Umpires.

Rule 3 - Crew Division

Prop 3-3: Incorrect Ejection Scoring - 70.8% NO, 29.2% Yes.

> Would have incorporated a -2 score adjustment for incorrect crew ejections.

Rule 4 - League Scoring

Prop 4-2 B1: Confirmed/Stands/Overturned Ejection Points - 74.6% NO, 25.4% Yes.

> Would have assigned ejection points pursuant to Replay Review standards.

Prop 4-2 B4: Ejections for QOCN-Crewmate Calls - 60.9% NO, 20.3% Yes/-1, 18.8% Yes/+0.

> Would have changed points assigned for QOCN-Crewmate calls to -1 or +0 points.

Prop 4-3: Postseason Replay Review Points - 64.3% NO, 35.7% Yes.

> Would have changed Postseason Replay Review to a +2/-2 system.

Prop 4-4 C: Honorable Umpire of the Year - 66.0% YES, 34.0% No.

> Changes Award name to the Bernice Gera Honorable Umpire of the Year Award.

Prop 4-4 H: Disappointing Season - 52.1% NO, 38.0% Yes/On-Field, 9.9% Yes/Comeback.

> Would have either changed award to "on-field incidents" or replaced with Comeback Award.

Prop 4-6: Prop Predictions Removal - 57.4% NO, 42.6% Yes.

> Would have eliminated Rule 4-6 regarding Prop Predictions.

Prop 4-7: Confirmed/Stands/Overturned Replays - 61.4% NO, 38.6% Yes.

> Would have assigned Replay Points as +2 Confirmed, +1 Stands, -1 Overturned.

Rule 6 - Challenges and Appeals

Prop 6-2: Ejections of Bench Personnel as QOCY - 54.1% NO, 45.9% Yes.

> Would have assigned QOCY for bench personnel ejections.

Prop 6-4 A1: 9-Member Appeals Board - 51.8% YES, 48.2% No.

> Eliminates "five through seven" and replaces with language for a 9-person Board.

Prop 6-4 A2: Ranked Choice Voting - 68.9% NO, 31.1% Yes.

> Would have incorporated Ranked Choice voting for pre-season Appeals Board elections.

Prop 6-4 A4: Simple Majority for Appeals Board Re-Elections - 58.9% YES, 41.1% No.

> Changes Absolute to Simple Majority and addresses vacancies on Board.

Rule 9 - Unaddressed and Authorized Provisions

Prop 9-2: Overwhelming Clause - 52.3% YES, 47.7% No.

> Allows Appeals Board to initiate an overwhelming clause challenge/review.

UEFL Appeals Board Retentions/Re-Elections

Arik G: 84.8% YES, 15.2% No. (Retained)

cyclone14: 87.0% YES, 13.0% No. (Retained)

jvick2017: 78.7% YES, 21.3% No. (Retained)

MarkCanada: 87.5% YES, 12.5% No. (Retained)

2021 UEFL Rules Summit Ballot and Voting

The Umpire Ejection Fantasy League Rules Summit continues with our voting stage and the 2021 Rules Summit ballot. UEFL Rule 8-3 describes this process. Visit the 2021 UEFL Rules Summit Discussion page to read all of the propositions listed herein.

This year's voting will conclude on December 24, 2021 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

The 2021 Rules Summit includes seven rule proposals and four Appeals Board retentions. The ballot is available as follows:

2020 UEFL Rules Summit Discussion

The Umpire Ejection Fantasy League announces its 2020 UEFL Rules Summit, setting forth a framework for discussing issues and proposed amendments for the UEFL Rules Book ahead of baseball's 2021 season.

Over the next few days, this discussion thread will be a living document reflecting proposed changes to UEFL rules. Relevant dates as follows:

> Mon 11/16 thru Fri 11/20: Rules Summit discussion open.

> Sat 11/21: Rules Summit ballot prepared, voting begins.

You may propose a change to the UEFL rules by replying in a comment to this post and, accordingly, the document will be updated to reflect such proposals. Nonmaterial modifications and editorial changes will be underlined, deletions will feature strikethrough text, and material additions will be bold faced. Rationale for proposed changes and comments not part of the rule itself will be indicated in italics. See the UEFL Rules Book for reference.

Rule 1 (Selection of Umpires).

>> 1-2. Prior to the beginning of the year’s regular season, and during the spring training period of the pre-season, each member of the league shall select one two MLB crew chiefs to serve as UEFL crew chief.

Rationale: To have two umpires in every category (2 cc + 2 PRM + 2 SEC). Proposed by: wwjd2200.

>> 1-4-b. Umpires classified as AAA call-ups are not eligible for draft in the secondary round.

Rationale: If a call up umpire can be a primary draft pick they should be able to be a secondary draft pick. Proposed by: wwjd2200.

Rule 2 (The Season).

Rule 3 (Crew Division).

>> 3-3. Each non-incorrect ejection committed by a UEFL crew chief’s crew shall result in the addition of one (1) point toward a UEFL member’s overall score. Each incorrect ejection shall result in the subtraction of two points (-2) toward a UEFL member's overall score.

Rationale: To treat the cc the same as the ejecting umpire by assigning negative points. Proposed by: wwjd2200.

Rule 4 (League Scoring).

>> 4-2-b-1. 2 points for an ejection occurring as a result of a player/coach arguing a correctly ruled call by the ejector that would be confirmed by replay.

4-2-b-2: 1 point for an ejection occurring as a result of a player/coach arguing a correctly ruled call by a crewmate of the ejector that would be confirmed by replay or a call by the ejecting umpire that would stand or be inconclusive via replay.

4-2-b-5: 0 points for an ejection occurring as a result of a player/coach arguing a crewmate's call that is inconclusive or would stand after replay.

Rationale: An Ejection call that is 100% correct should be rewarded with a higher point reward than a call that some may logically view as incorrect. Proposed by: Lstaben.

>> 4-2-b-4. -2 -1 or +0 points for each ejection occurring as a result of a player/coach arguing an incorrectly ruled call by a crewmate of the ejector.

Rationale: I don't think that an umpire who ejects over a crewmate's incorrect call should be penalized by two points. Maybe make it -1 or 0, a good umpire should stick up for his crew, especially young guys, when they make a mistake. Proposed by: Yeehaw.

>> 4-3-d. Postseason Replay Reviews shall be worth an additional point in both directions, such that an affirmed call shall result in +2 points while an overturned call results in -2 points. The same +2/-2 scheme shall apply to postseason Crew Division. Editor's Note: If the 4-2-b-1 / 4-2-b-2 / 4-2-b-5 proposal for ejections is adopted, 4-3-b shall be revised to indicate ejection points of: +3 QOCY (self/confirmed), +2 QOCY (crewmate/confirmed or self/stands).

Rationale: Calls made in the postseason weigh greater on the outcome of the game and series due to the small amount of games. Therefore should carry more weight in point values. Proposed by: Znyhusmoen.

>> 4-4-c. An umpire recognized as Bernice Gera Honorable Umpire of the Year (min. 0 / max. 1 umpire 2 umpires) will receive 2 bonus points.

Rationale: For those who don't know Gera, she was the first female to umpire a professional game. Proposed by: tmac.

>> 4-4-h. An umpire whose season is recognized as Most Disappointing Season (min. 0 / max. 1 umpire) will receive -1 bonus points. An umpire recognized as Comeback Umpire of the Year (min. 0 / max. 1 umpire) will receive 1 bonus point. OR change description of Most Disappointing Season to reference 'regrettable on-field incidents.'

Rationale: The disappointing award seems to be trending towards tracking a social and/or political stance with one wrong sequence rather than the expectations and results of a full season. Many of us are regulars, so we know who's okay, good, excellent, top of the class. Comeback correctly recognizes a usually good ump who had a bad previous season(s), but performed well {this} season. It could even be recognized as the Eric Cooper Comeback Award, as he had an off-year in 2018 & exceeded expectations in 2019. Proposed by: BkSl14812.

>> 4-6. Prop predictions are forecasts of what might occur during an upcoming season, series or game. They may be numerical (e.g., "On what date will the first ejection of the MLB season occur?") or objective (e.g., "What umpire will finish the season with exactly 10 ejections?").

Rationale: I propose that the section pertaining to prop predictions be eliminated as in the last couple of seasons we've not been given any prop predictions to vote on. Proposed by: wwjd2200.

>> 4-7-a-1. Calls affirmed or upheld as correct or inconclusive will result in the addition of one (1) point confirmed via replay will result in the addition of two (2) points and calls that stand via replay will result in the addition of one (1) point.

Rationale: A Replay Review call that is 100% correct should be rewarded with a higher point reward than a call that some may logically view as incorrect. Proposed by: Lstaben.

Rule 5 (Statistics).

Rule 6 (Challenges and Appeals).

>> 6-2-b-5-a: All ejections of players/coaches not on the active roster (e.g., Disabled List) as well as ejections of bench personnel shall be associated with a reason listed under aforementioned UEFL Rule 6-2-b-5 assigned a QOC of Correct.

Rationale: This shall be referred to as the "Bob Davidson Go Ump Slow Pitch Softball" rule. Proposed by: Turducken.

>> 6-4-a-1: This board shall be comprised of two UEFL Commissioners and five through seven at-large members. Board members shall rotate abstentions such that no less than three board members adjudicate each QOC appeal.

Rationale: Make 7 at large members permanent to make the appeals board always have 9 members. Proposed by: Guest.

>> 6-4-a-2-a. The pre-season election shall take the form of a plurality-at-large ranked choice voting system such that top vote recipients are elected voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots.

Rationale: I would like to propose for appeals board openings that the winner get 50% of the vote so if there is more than 2 candidates the candidate with the least votes gets eliminated after each round until someone is above 50% of the vote. [Editor's Note: Ranked Choice ensures only one cast of ballots is necessary as least-vote candidates are eliminated, if applicable. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate is declared the winner, removed, and the process repeated for subsequent vacancies. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, applicable second-preference votes elevated as applicable, and so forth, until the winner(s) are declared.] Proposed by: Uefl Observer.

>> 6-4-a-4: At the conclusion of the season and during the Rules Summit, Appeals Board members may sit for re-election/retention. An absolute simple majority is required for re-election. If a Board member fails to ascertain this during a first ballot, a run-off may be initiated. Any vacancies remaining after the re-election process shall be subject to pre-season nomination and vote, as in 6-4-a-3.

Rationale: Because Appeals Board re-elections are conducted as separate items with only YES / NO options, a runoff is not necessary. Language should be changed from "absolute" to "simple" majority to reflect that a candidate need achieve a YES vote greater than 50% for re-election to be affirmed. Any vacancies shall be decided as part of a pre-season nomination process concurrent with registration/draft, as specified by existing rule 6-4-a-3. Proposed by: Gil.

Rule 7 (Unresolved Classifications and References).

Rule 8 (Umpire Odds & Ends and Community Issues).

Rule 9 (Unaddressed and Authorized Provisions).

>> 9-2. All decisions regarding challenges shall be final unless overwhelming evidence surfaces to overturn the challenged decision. This overwhelming clause challenge may only be initiated by the appellate interpreter or Appeals Board of the UEFL.

Rationale: Allow the appeals board to invoke the Finality and Overwhelming Exemption.

The final portion of the Rules Summit ballot will feature 2020 UEFL Appeals Board members seeking re-election for 2020, pursuant to UEFL Rule 6-4-a-4. Click here to view UEFL Appeals Board decisions from the 2020 season.

The following list includes 2020 UEFL Appeals Board members and indicated statuses for 2021.

> Gil. 2021: Yes (not subject to election), Ex-Officio Member.

> tmac. 2021: Yes (not subject to election pursuant to 2016 Rules Summit vote), Ex-Officio Member.

> Jeremy. 2021: Yes (not subject to election), Ex-Officio Member.

> RichMSN. 2021: Yes (not subject to election pursuant to 2016 Rules Summit vote), Charter Member.

> Arik G. 2021: Seeking re-election via 2020 UEFL Rules Summit.

> cyclone14. 2021: Seeking re-election via 2020 UEFL Rules Summit.

> MarkCanada. 2021: Seeking re-election via 2020 UEFL Rules Summit.

> MLB Umpire Observer. 2021: Not seeking re-election via 2020 UEFL Rules Summit.

> jvick2017. 2021: Seeking re-election via 2020 UEFL Rules Summit.

Voting will occur following the 2020 Rules Summit's discussion phase. The ballot will be finalized no sooner than Saturday, November 21 and voting itself will be open for no less than three days.

Retired MLB Umpire Paul Schrieber Dies at 54

Retired Major League umpire Paul Schrieber has passed away as reported by UmpsCare on Friday. After beginning his baseball career in the 1990 Northwest Lg, Schrieber joined the NL staff in 1998 with MLB success shortly thereafter, from 2000 through 2015; he died Thursday, November 12, 2020, at the age of 54.

Schrieber's 1997 National League debut marked a culmination of a minor league journey that took the Oregon-born umpire through the Northwest, California, Florida State, Southern League, and American Association. 

Prior to his umpiring career, Schrieber played baseball at Canada Junior College and Portland State University, serving as a catcher; his father Harry also officiated baseball at the Triple-A level (Pacific Coast League).

He officiated the 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2014 Division Series, as well as the 2000 and 2015 All-Star Game and concluded his 2,207-game career with 31 ejections.

Schrieber's uniform number 43 is presently worn by call-up Shane Livensparger.

It has been a difficult year for the umpiring community, with October's loss of Derryl Cousins and July's loss of Rick Reed, with losses of Eric Cooper and Chuck Meriwether in late 2019.

With such widespread grief in the officiating community, especially as COVID-related restrictions threaten to derail or cancel sports, it may be appropriate to revisit our prior article on mental health and our recent podcast with Jack Furlong of the OSIP Foundation. As part of that discussion, we published information about the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available at 1-800-273-8255. In addition to the hotline, one can also chat online with a trained operator.

Related Post: Let's Talk - Mental Health in an Abusive Environment (10/10/17).

Related Post: Plate Meeting - COVID Mental Health Checkup with OSIP Foundation (5/8/20).

2020 Final Standings & UEFL's Perfect Crew

UEFL Awards Season concludes with the 2020 Umpire Ejection Fantasy League's final standings and announcement of this year's perfect crew. The highest score in 2020 was 104 and the lowest score possible was -16, a points spread of 120 (compare to 2019's Perfect Score of 136 and lowest score of -23 [bear in mind that 2020 produced a COVID-shortened 60-game regular season vs 2019's standard 162-game schedule]).
Related Post: 2019 UEFL Final Standings and the Perfect Crew (11/12/19).

2020 Perfect Crew (Highest Score): 104 points.
Crew Chief (Crew Division): Angel Hernandez (21 pts).
Primary Umpires: Mark Ripperger (27 pts) & Dan Bellino (22 pts).
Secondary Umpires: Angel Hernandez (18 pts) & Jim Reynolds (16 pts).

Primary Umpire Points Leaders:
1) Mark Ripperger (27 pts)

2) Dan Bellino (22 pts)

3) Angel Hernandez (21 pts)

4) Vic Carapazza (18 pts)

5) Jim Reynolds (17 pts)

T-6) Ted Barrett, Jeremie Rehak, Quinn Wolcott (15 pts)

9) Bill Miller (14 pts)

10) Edwin Moscoso (13 pts)

2020 UEFL Imperfect Crew (Lowest Score): -16 points.
Crew Chief: Larry Vanover (-3 pts).
Primary Umpires: Mike Muchlinski (-3 pts) & Nate Tomlinson (-3 pts).
Secondary Umpires: Chad Fairchild (-4 pts) & Chad Whitson (-3 pts).

Final Standings for the 2020 UEFL Season.

Replay Review Ranking by Umpire [min. n=4] (RAP)
1) Cory Blaser (1.000, 5-for-5).
T-2) Angel Hernandez (.857, 6-for-7).

T-2) Vic Carapazza (.857, 6-for-7).

T-4) Ramon De Jesus (.833, 5-for-6).

T-4) Ben May (.833, 5-for-6).

T-4) Jansen Visconti (.833, 5-for-6).

7) Alan Porter (.800, 4-for-5).

T-8) Jim Reynolds (.750, 9-for-12).

T-8) Ryan Additon (.750, 6-for-8).

T-8) Lance Barrett (.750, 6-for-8).

T-8) Pat Hoberg (.750, 3-for-4).

T-8) Jeff Nelson (.750, 3-for-4).

T-8) Alex Tosi (.750, 3-for-4).

T-14) Mark Ripperger (.714, 10-for-14).

T-14) Chris Guccione (.714, 5-for-7).

16) Ted Barrett (.700, 7-for-10).

T-17) Brian Knight (.667, 6-for-9).

T-17) Roberto Ortiz (.667, 6-for-9).

T-17) Jeremie Rehak (.667, 6-for-9).

T-17) CB Bucknor (.667, 4-for-6).

T-17) Marvin Hudson (.667, 4-for-6).

T-22) Andy Fletcher (.636, 7-for-11).

T-22) Paul Nauert (.636, 7-for-11).

T-24) Chris Conroy (.625, 5-for-8).

T-24) Quinn Wolcott (.625, 5-for-8).

Full Results: UEFL's MLB Umpire Replay Review Statistics & Sabermetrics

Most Raw Overturns (Greatest # of Overturned Calls)
1) 8: Doug Eddings, Chad Fairchild.

2) 7: Ron Kulpa, Shane Livensparger.

3) 6: Mike Muchlinski.

4) 5: Jordan Baker, Adrian Johnson, DJ Reyburn, Chad Whitson.

2020 Ejection Leaders
1) Dan Bellino (8).

2) Mark Ripperger (5).

T-3) Vic Carapazza, Will Little (4).

T-5) Ted Barrett, Angel Hernandez, Ron Kulpa (3).

2020 UEFL Final Standings (Ties resolved per Rule 5-3)
1) ajbeisheim (65 pts).
2) cyclone14 (56 pts).
3) FVB6 (53 pts).
4) bschmidt24 (52 pts).

5) Dutch65 (49 pts).

6) MrMLBSmith (48 pts, 18 PRM-A [Carapazza]).
7) Cha Lee (48 pts, 15 PRM-A [Wolcott]).

8) braytonboggs (48 pts, 11 PRM-A [Timmons]).

9) elaresD (48 pts, 6 PRM-A [Hamari]).

10) Krusty The Clown (47 pts).

11) lshlarson (46 pts, 10 PRM-A [L Barrett] | 9 PRM-B [Hudson]).

12) andrew downs (46 pts, 10 PRM-A [Scheurwater] | 3 PRM-B [Torres]).

13) Williamsb59 (46 pts, 5 PRM-A [Bucknor]).

14) Cincyump08 (45 pts, 15 PRM-A [T Barrett]).

15) bbfan (45 pts, 14 PRM-A [Bi Miller]).

16) lsh9168 (44 pts).

17) TXWrangler (43 pts).

18) Young_Ump (42 pts, 15 PRM-A [T Barrett]).

19) ref44 (42 pts, 9 PRM-A [Tumpane]).

20) Umpirewillie100 (42 pts, 8 PRM-A [Nelson]).

21) Richard Gordon (42 pts, 4 PRM-A [Joe West]).

22) tre_n.47 (41 pts).

23) UmpAtty (39 pts, 10 PRM-A [Scheurwater]).

24) nyumpire (39 pts, 4 PRM-A [Baker] | 21 PRM-B [Hernandez]).

25) Alex Cheriel (39 pts, 4 PRM-A [Eddings] | 7 PRM-B [Marquez]).

Complete Final Standings, points, and results available via the UEFL Portal's 2020 Standings page.
Umpire Leaders available at UEFL's MLB Umpire Replay Review Statistics and Sabermetrics page.

The Rules Summit will begin tomorrow.

2020 UEFL Award for Umpire of the Year - Mark Carlson

On Veteran's Day, former Marine Mark Carlson wins UEFL's 2020 Umpire of the Year Award.

Voting: Carlson (18.8%), John Tumpane (17.0%), Pat Hoberg (10.1%).

Mark Carlson is the UEFL's 2020 Umpire of the Year.

Named an interim crew chief for the 60-game COVID schedule, Carlson drew praise for developing his crew throughout the season and again found himself with postseason assignments.

Wrote Russ, "For several years now Carlson has been one of the best Umpires in the league and that was no different this year."

Carlson officiated the 2020 Division Series round as well as the 2020 World Series, serving as Game 1's Right Field Umpire and concluding his season off the field; had the series gone to a winner-take-all Game 7, Carlson would have been the home plate umpire.

This marks the second consecutive season in which the UEFL's Best Umpire of the Year corresponds to MLB's selected umpire to officiate Game 7 of the World Series (Jim Wolf, 2019).

UEFL Awards History, Mark Carlson

Noteworthy Umpire of the Year: 2015

Mark Carlson now has 12 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (7 Previous + 5 Award = 12).

Final Standings will be released tomorrow.

2020 Ejection of the Year Award - Dan Bellino (x2)

Dan Bellino wins UEFL's 2020 Ejections of the Year Award [2019: Phil Cuzzi & Brennan Miller].

A two-fer win, Bellino ejected Twins 3B Josh Donaldson for exaggeratedly kicking dirt on home plate during a home run trot in Detroit on September 17 for the number one ejection of the 2020 season, having ejected a trio of Cincinnati Reds during a fight situation on August 29, the number two ejection sequence of 2020.

After taking a 2-0 slider from White Sox pitcher Reynaldo Lopez in Chicago, Donaldson stepped back and expressed his displeasure, leading manager Rocko Baldelli to exit the dugout and have a brief conversation with Bellino behind home plate.

Upon his return to the batter's box, Donaldson hit Lopez's very next pitch for a solo-HR to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead. As Donaldson completed his journey around the bases, he made a point of kicking dirt onto home plate while jogging past home plate before returning to make sure Bellino had gotten the message, resulting in an ejection. Donaldson's Twins ultimately surrendered the lead on a White Sox ground ball to third base, where Donaldson would have been playing had he not been ejected; Chicago ultimately won the contest, 4-3.

Related Post: MLB Ejection 62 - Dan Bellino (4; Josh Donaldson) (9/17/20).

Several weeks earlier, Bellino presided over a benches-clearing incident in Cincinnati after Reds batter Shogo Akiyama took a 2-1 fastball from Cubs pitcher Adbert Alzolay that replays indicate was located over the heart of home plate, albeit above the height of the batter's head, during a back-pick attempt at first base (catcher-to-first baseman).

Bellino ejected Reds DH Joey Votto, LF Jesse Winker, and Manager David Bell in short order after warning the trio not to come onto the field to participate in the confrontation between teams.

Related Post: MLB Ejections 39-43 - Lentz, Bellino (CHC-CIN) (8/29/20).

Voting Results (Top 3): 62 Bellino (12.5%), 41-43 Bellino (11.2%), Mike Estabrook (<10%).

Dan Bellino now has 22 points in the UEFL Standings (21 Previous + 1 Award = 22).

The final postseason award, (Best) Umpire of the Year, will be released on Wednesday.

2020 Promising Umpire Award - Hoberg & Tumpane

Pat Hoberg & John Tumpane are 2020's Promising Umpires of the Year [2019: Hoberg & Al Porter].

Voting: Hoberg (25.0%), Tumpane (18.4%), Jordan Baker (14.2%), Adam Hamari (13.2%).

Pat Hoberg & John Tumpane are UEFL's 2020 Promising Umpires of the Year.

2019's top vote getter for Promising Umpire of the Year Pat Hoberg repeats with back-to-back Promising Awards as Hoberg adds to his impressive postseason résumé for a 2017 full-time hire to the MLB staff.

Hoberg officiated the 2020 Wild Card Round as well as his first League Championship Series, meaning that Hoberg has officiated the highest possible round of the postseason he has been eligible for ever since he became a full-time umpire (hired in 2017, Wild Card Game in 2018, Division Series in 2019, League Championship Series in 2020). Will Hoberg soon see a World Series?

Praised for his pose and command of the game, Hoberg's 99.3% mark tied for the highest plate score of the 2020 LCS with this year's second Promising Umpire of the Year Award winner, John Tumpane, after the real-time balls/strikes computer initially ruled that Tumpane had officiated a perfect game pursuant to UEFL f/x rules. In the end, both Hoberg and Tumpane came up just one pitch shy.

Tumpane similarly has officiated every postseason since his first year of eligibility in 2017 following his 2016 hiring and also worked his first League Championship Series in 2020.

UEFL Awards History, Pat Hoberg

Promising Umpire of the Year: 2019

UEFL Awards History, John Tumpane

Honorable Umpire of the Year: 2017

Fill-In Umpire of the Year: 2015

Pat Hoberg now has 12 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (9 Previous + 3 Award = 12).

John Tumpane now has 9 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (6 Previous + 3 Award = 9).

The next postseason award to be released will be Ejection of the Year.