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Leo Ernest Whitt is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), including twelve for the Toronto Blue Jays, and was the last player from the franchise's inaugural season of 1977 to remain through 1989. He has managed the Canada national baseball team since 2004. Whitt was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.
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.
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 is 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.
Jeffrey Nelson is an American professional baseball umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB), who was named to the National League (NL) staff prior to the 1999 season, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000.
José Manuel Roberto Guillermo Oquendo Contreras, nicknamed The Secret Weapon, is a Puerto Rican former infielder and current coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He currently serves as Minor League Infield Coordinator of the St. Louis Cardinals, an organization with whom he has been affiliated since 1985. He managed the Puerto Rico national team in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics. During his playing career, Oquendo proved highly versatile defensively: he played primarily second base and shortstop, but also frequently in the outfield, and made at least one appearance at every position during his MLB playing career. Oquendo has the second-highest career fielding percentage for second basemen at .9919 (99.19%), behind only Plácido Polanco's career mark of .9927 (99.27%).
Joseph Norbert Brinkman is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) who worked in the American League (AL) from 1972 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000 until his retirement during the 2006 season.
Lawrence Robert Barnett is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1969 to 1999 before becoming the major leagues' supervisor of umpires from 2000 to 2001. He is perhaps well remembered for a controversial call in Game 3 of the 1975 World Series while working home plate in the 10th inning that led to the Reds winning the game. He was also the home plate umpire for the infamous Jeffrey Maier game, but did not have anything to do with the controversy.
DeMarlo Hale is an American professional baseball coach who is currently serving as bench coach for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hale played minor league baseball from 1983 to 1988 in the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics organizations.
Rick Roder is an author, editor, consultant, and educator specializing in baseball rules and umpiring. He attended the Joe Brinkman Umpire School in 1987 and was a professional umpire from 1987 to 1996. His umpiring experience included the Pioneer League (1987), Midwest League (1988-1989), Texas League, Southern League (1991), Pacific Coast League (1993), International League (1994), and American Association (1995-1996). He was the head rules instructor at the Brinkman school from 1990 to 1995 and co-authored the only complete re-write of baseball's professional rules with fellow instructor Chris Jaksa. Roder has authored three other books on rules and umpiring. He is also the author of Frontiers of Faith: A History of the Diocese of Sioux City and We Are Called: A History of St. Mary's Parish, Remsen, Iowa.
Robert Allan Davidson is a former umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Balkin' Bob" and "Balk-a-Day Bob" for his tendency to liberally invoke baseball's balk rule, Davidson was an umpire on the National League (NL) staff from 1982 to 1999, and he was on the combined MLB umpiring staff from 2005 to 2016. He worked one World Series (1992) and several other postseason series.
Edward George Barrett is an American umpire in Major League Baseball. He joined the American League's staff in 1994, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000. He has worked in twenty three play-off series, including five World Series.
Steven Earl McCatty is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1985. He graduated from Troy High School in Troy, Michigan, in 1972. He coached the Washington Nationals from 2009 through 2015.
James Alfred Joyce III is an American former professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League (AL) from 1987 to 1999 and throughout Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000 to 2016. He wore uniform number 6 while in the AL and number 66 for MLB. His loud and enthusiastic strike call drew comparisons to that of retired umpire Bruce Froemming. Though his umpiring was generally praised by players and coaches, Joyce is perhaps best known for his incorrect call in Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game in June 2010.
Edwin William Hickox is an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1990 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues beginning in 2005. He wears uniform number 15. Hickox has officiated the Division Series in 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2019 and 2020, as well as the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
William Ervin Kinnamon was an umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1960 to 1969. Kinnamon officiated in the 1968 World Series, and in the All-Star Game in 1962 and 1968. He went on to become an umpiring instructor, and he operated one of the two principal umpiring schools for several years.
James David Adduci is an American former left-handed outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies. He attended Southern Illinois University, where he played college baseball. He is the father of former MLB player Jim Adduci.
Eric Richard Cooper was an American professional baseball umpire, whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned 1999 until his death in October 2019. He wore umpire uniform number 56. As a Major League umpire, Cooper officiated in ten Division Series, four League Championship Series, three Wild Card Games, one All-Star Game, and one World Series.
Ramon Armendariz is an American former Major League Baseball umpire. Armendariz was used as an MLB reserve umpire from 2004 to 2007, umpiring a total of 61 games.
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.
John Libka is a Major League Baseball umpire.
References
- ↑ "Sports Roundup: ESPN Follows Ump". The Vindicator. October 12, 1989. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- ↑ "The Permanente Medical Group: Christopher Jaksa, MD" . Retrieved July 16, 2012.