In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is usually achieved by hitting the ball over the outfield fence between the foul poles without the ball touching the field. Far less common is the "inside-the-park" home run where the batter reaches home safely while the baseball is in play on the field.
Michael Joseph Piazza is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1992 to 2007, and currently the manager of the Italy national baseball team. He played most notably for the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, while also having brief stints with the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Athletics. A 12-time All-Star and 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner at catcher, Piazza produced strong offensive numbers at his position; in his career, he recorded 427 home runs—a record 396 of which were hit as catcher—along with a .308 batting average and 1,335 runs batted in (RBI).
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump. They are also sometimes addressed as blue at lower levels due to the common color of the uniform worn by umpires. In professional baseball, the term blue is seldom used by players or managers, who instead call the umpire by name. Although games were often officiated by a sole umpire in the formative years of the sport, since the turn of the 20th century, officiating has been commonly divided among several umpires, who form the umpiring crew. The position is analogous to that of a referee in many other sports.
In baseball, interference occurs in situations in which a person illegally changes the course of play from what is expected. Interference might be committed by players on the offense, players not currently in the game, catchers, umpires, or spectators. Each type of interference is covered differently by the rules.
Bruce Neal Froemming is 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.
Gerald Sidney Davis is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball. He worked in the National League from 1982 to 1999 and in Major League Baseball from 2000 to 2021. He was promoted to crew chief in 1999. Davis has umpired five World Series, nine League Championship Series and eleven League Division Series. He has also worked in the All-Star Game four times. Davis has worn uniform number 12 throughout his career.
Douglas Leon Eddings is an American professional umpire in Major League Baseball.
Jerry Blake Layne is an American umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the National League between 1989 and 1999, and throughout both major leagues since 2000. He wore uniform number 24 in the NL, but when MLB merged the AL and NL umpiring staffs in 2000, Layne was forced to switch to number 26, as AL umpire Al Clark, who also wore 24, had more seniority. When Clark was fired midway through the 2001 season by MLB, Layne reclaimed number 24 and has worn it ever since. With the retirements of Joe West and Gerry Davis, Layne became MLB's most senior active umpire for the 2022 season.
Ángel Hernández is a Cuban umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). He worked in the National League from 1991 to 1999, and has worked throughout MLB since 2000.
Brian Michael McCann is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, the New York Yankees, and the Houston Astros. A seven-time All-Star and a six-time Silver Slugger Award winner, he won the 2017 World Series with the Astros.
The 2000 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2000 season. The 96th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between crosstown opponents, the two-time defending World Series champions and American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion New York Mets. The Yankees defeated the Mets, four games to one, to win their third consecutive championship and 26th overall. The series was often referred to as the "Subway Series", referring to the longstanding matchup between New York baseball teams; it was the first World Series contested between two New York teams since the 1956 World Series and the first since the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers moved west to California in 1958 and the subsequent formation of the Mets in 1962. This World Series that featured teams from the same city or state, was the first of its kind since 1989 between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.
Timothy Reid McClelland is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1983 to 1999 and throughout both leagues from 2000 until his retirement prior to the 2015 season. He called many important games, from post-season games to the George Brett "Pine Tar" game in 1983. He was the plate umpire for the Sammy Sosa corked bat game on June 3, 2003, when the Chicago Cubs hosted the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Wrigley Field. He wore uniform number 36 after his promotion to the AL, and kept the number when Major League Baseball merged the American and National League umpiring staffs in 2000.
Gregory Allan Gibson is an American umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the National League from 1997 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2000. He was promoted to crew chief for the 2022 season.
Brian Edward Runge is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League in 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000 to 2012; he wore uniform number 18.
Philip Cuzzi is an American professional baseball umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). He worked as a reserve umpire in the National League (NL) from 1991 to 1993 and returned to the NL in 1999. Since 2000, he has worked in both major leagues. Cuzzi wore number 99 when his career started; he now wears number 10.
Frank Victor Pulli was a professional baseball umpire, working in the National League from 1972 until 1999. He umpired many postseason games, including four World Series. Pulli wore uniform number 14 during his career.
Brian Keith O'Nora is an American umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). He joined the major league staff in 2000, after previously umpiring for the American League (AL) from 1992 to 1999 and wears sleeve number 7.
Major League Baseball (MLB) uses instant replay review to allow league officials to review certain types of plays in order to determine the accuracy of the initial call of the umpires on the field. Reviews may be initiated either by a team's manager with limitations or by the umpires themselves. All instant replay reviews are examined by umpires at the Replay Command Center in New York City, who have the final decision as to whether to uphold or overturn the initial call.
Gerald William Meals is an American Major League Baseball umpire. He has been a full-time MLB umpire since 1998 after serving as an MLB reserve umpire from 1992 to 1997. He worked in the 2008 NLCS between Philadelphia and Los Angeles and the All-Star Game in 2002 and 2015. He has also worked in nine Division Series and the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
The 2000 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2000 season. The winners of the League Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.
