| Doug Eddings | |
|---|---|
 Eddings in 2013 | |
| Born:September 14, 1968 Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S. | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 16, 1998 | |
| Crew Information | |
| Umpiring crew | 2 |
| Crew members |
|
| Career highlights and awards | |
Special Assignments
| |
Douglas Leon Eddings (born September 14, 1968) is an American professional umpire in Major League Baseball.
Eddings first umpired baseball games at 12 years old at the request of his mother, who was on the board of the local Little League. Eddings attended Mayfield High School in New Mexico and New Mexico State University before attending Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School. He officiated high school baseball, basketball and football game in New Mexico for over a decade. [1]
In his early career, he worked throughout the minor leagues. He started working American League games in 1998, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000. In the postseason, Eddings has worked the 2000 ALDS, 2002 ALDS, 2005 ALCS, 2014 NL Wild Card Game, 2018 NLDS, 2019 NLDS, the 2019 World Series the 2020 National League Wild Card Series, 2020 NLDS, 2021 NLDS, the 2022 AL Wild Card Series, 2022 NLCS and the 2023 National League Wild Card Series. He also worked the 2004 All-Star Game and was the replay official for the 2017 All-Star Game. He wears uniform number 88.
Eddings was the home plate umpire for Cal Ripken Jr.'s final major league game on October 6, 2001. He was the second base umpire for the game between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres on August 4, 2007, at San Diego when Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron for first place on Major League Baseball's career home run list by hitting his 755th career home run. He was the home plate umpire for Carlos Rodon's no-hitter thrown on April 14, 2021.
Eddings was the home plate umpire for Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS between the White Sox and the Angels. White Sox batter A. J. Pierzynski quickly got two strikes and then swung at the third pitch, a splitter which came in very low. Angels catcher Josh Paul caught the ball so "thought the inning was over." [2] Not hearing himself called out, Pierzynski took a couple of steps toward the dugout, then turned and ran to first base while most of the Angels were walking off the field. Eddings ruled that the ball had not been legally caught (an uncaught third strike), but made no audible call that the ball hit the ground. [3] Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, announcing the game on Fox and reviewing replays of the pitch, felt the ball had clearly been caught; [4] note that MLB did not adopt review via instant replay until the 2008 season. A pinch runner for Pierzynski subsequently scored the winning run of the game for the White Sox. [5] According to umpire supervisor Rich Rieker, the replays showed "there was definitely a change in direction there" indicating the ball touched the ground and felt, at best, the replay was inconclusive. [6] After the game, Eddings said he would adjust his umpiring style to clarify a third strike call from calling the batter out. [7]
In July & August 2021, Eddings would once again come under fire after being the home plate umpire in two San Diego Padres games. The first, on July 24, saw the ejections of Padres left fielder Tommy Pham and associate manager Skip Schumaker. [8] The scorecard report on Eddings' performance also showed a +0.69 skew for the Padres opponent (which coincidentally happened to be the Marlins). [9] [10] Afterwards, the Padres filed a formal complaint against Eddings due to the result of the game. [11] The next game, on August 20, saw the ejections of Padres manager Jayce Tingler, third baseman Manny Machado, and development coach Ryan Flaherty. [12] The report for this game showed a greater skew (+1.21) that also favored the Padres opponent (this time, the Phillies). [13] [14]
Eddings worked his 3,000th game on June 13, 2023 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
A report in The Hardball Times listed Eddings as having called the largest strike zone among all Major League umpires in 2011. [15]
Bruce Neal Froemming is an American Major League Baseball Special Assistant to the Vice President on Umpiring, after having served as an umpire in Major League Baseball. He first umpired in the National League in 1971, and from 2000 to 2007 worked throughout both major leagues. Early in the 2007 season, Froemming tied Bill Klem for the most seasons umpired. Previously, on August 16, 2006, Froemming umpired his 5,000th game between the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, making him the second umpire to reach that milestone; Klem retired after 5,374 games. Froemming now stands third on the all-time list of games umpired, having been passed when Joe West officiated his 5,164th Major League Baseball game on August 14, 2019. On April 20, 2007, he umpired at first base in the Cleveland Indians-Tampa Bay Devil Rays game, passing Klem to become – at age 67 years 204 days – the man then believed to be the oldest umpire in major league history; Hank O'Day holds the record, retiring at 68 years, 2 months. He worked his final regular-season game at age 68 years 2 days on September 30, 2007, when Froemming received a standing ovation before umpiring his last regular-season game, manning the third base position as the Milwaukee Brewers hosted the San Diego Padres at Miller Park in his native Milwaukee, with much of his family in attendance. Because Froemming was then over age 65, he became eligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 instead of having to wait the customary five years.
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Anthony John Pierzynski is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports presenter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher with the Minnesota Twins (1998–2003), San Francisco Giants (2004), Chicago White Sox (2005–2012), Texas Rangers (2013), Boston Red Sox (2014), St. Louis Cardinals (2014) and Atlanta Braves (2015–2016). Pierzynski is one of only thirteen catchers in Major League history to reach 2,000 hits in his career.
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