Sources: 10 MLB umps retiring, most since ’99

Published

2 years ago

December 30, 2022

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Dec 29, 2022

Ten MLB umpires, including seven crew chiefs, are set to retire at the end of the month, making it the largest turnover at that job since 1999, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.

Some of the retirements are due to nagging injuries while others are coincidental, as a group of the umpires entered the league around the same time — after a labor dispute saw 22 former umps resign at the end of last century.

Well-respected crew chiefs Ted Barrett, Greg Gibson, Tom Hallion, Sam Holbrook, Jerry Meals, Jim Reynolds and Bill Welke are among the group to hang up their chest protectors, while Marty Foster, Paul Nauert and Tim Timmons will join them in retirement.

“I’m so grateful to have the career that I did and to be a part of baseball history,” Barrett said in a phone interview. “I’m incredibly proud of the crews that I worked with and everything baseball provided for me. For all of us.”

The retirements have nothing to do with upcoming on-the-field rule changes for 2023, nor the possibility of the ABS (automatic balls and strikes) system being instituted at the MLB level in the near future.

The league will promote or hire 10 new umpires next month and is committed to making it a diverse group, but a first-ever female MLB umpire won’t be among them. Jen Pawol could eventually break that barrier, as she worked in Double-A last season.

The retirements come a year after Joe West, who umpired the most games in history, called it quits. MLB is losing decades of experience over the past two offseasons.

“Such a great group of men,” Chicago Cubs manager and former catcher David Ross said. “They’re such a big part of our game. Teddy Barrett can defuse any situation. Tom Hallion’s got one of the most aggressive punchouts in the game. You always see him reaching for the sky … one of those signature moves you see all the time. I’ll miss that.”

The retiring crew chiefs have called 16 World Series, and Barrett leads the way, having worked five Fall Classics. He was also behind the plate for David Cone’s perfect game in 1999 and Greg Maddux’s 300th win in 2004.

Meals sat behind the catcher for Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game in 1998 and a Justin Verlander no-hitter in 2011.

Gibson was the first umpire to have a call overturned based on a manager’s challenge in 2014, then later that season was behind the plate for a Clayton Kershaw no-hitter.

In all, the retiring umpires have worked over 200 combined MLB seasons.

The last time the league added as many as eight new umpires was in 2014, to account for instant replay. Current crews are part of a rotation who work the instant-replay room in New York.

Barrett acknowledged the job has good days and bad days. One of his toughest came early in his career when he was warned of former pitcher David Cone’s backdoor slider.

“I had seen plenty of sliders in the minors, so I thought I was prepared,” Barrett said. “I called his a ball way too early, then it broke over the plate and into [catcher] Mike Macfarlane’s glove. Cone was just shaking his head. Macfarlane said, ‘First time having him, kid?’

“I knew I was in the big leagues.”

Sports

Flames’ Zary gets 2 games for elbowing Pettersson

Published

4 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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Flames' Zary gets 2 games for elbowing Pettersson

Associated Press

Mar 13, 2025, 06:50 PM ET

NEW YORK — Calgary forward Connor Zary was suspended two games without pay Thursday for elbowing Vancouver defenseman Elias Pettersson during the Canucks’ 4-3 shootout victory over the Flames.

Zary, 23, was assessed a minor penalty for interference on the play at 11:19 of the first period Wednesday night. The suspension will cost him $8,993 in salary.

After Pettersson knocked Calgary center Nazem Kadri off his skates just as Kadri unloaded the puck and crossed the blue line, Zary retaliated with a blindside hit that led to the penalty.

Pettersson had the tying goal with 6:44 remaining in regulation and scored in the first round of the shootout. Conor Garland added the winner in the fourth round of the shootout.

Sports

Devils’ Hamilton out for regular season, GM says

Published

4 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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Devils' Hamilton out for regular season, GM says

Field Level Media

Mar 13, 2025, 12:07 PM ET

New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton will miss the remainder of the regular season and “possibly” the playoffs due to a lower-body injury, general manager Tom Fitzgerald said.

When pressed if Hamilton could return if the Devils reach the second round of the postseason, Fitzgerald wasn’t too optimistic on Wednesday.

“We’re not planning on it, how’s that?” Fitzgerald said during an appearance on the “Krackin’ Canuckleheads” podcast.

Hamilton has been sidelined since he was tangled up with Stars forward Mason Marchment in the first period of a 4-3 loss to Dallas on March 4.

Hamilton, 31, has 40 points (nine goals, 31 assists) in 63 games this season. He is competing in the fourth campaign of his seven-year, $63 million contract.

Hamilton has totaled 501 points (151 goals, 350 assists) in 834 career games with the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and Devils.

Hamilton was selected by the Bruins with the ninth overall pick of the 2011 NHL draft.

Sports

Devers: Willing to do whatever Red Sox want

Published

4 hours ago

March 14, 2025

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Devers: Willing to do whatever Red Sox want

Mar 13, 2025, 04:26 PM ET

Rafael Devers told reporters Thursday that he’s “good to do whatever” the Boston Red Sox want him to do, an indication that he’s willing to move away from third base and serve as the team’s designated hitter this season.

A switch of roles didn’t seem likely last month, when Devers balked at the idea at moving to DH in the wake of Boston signing Alex Bregman.

“Third base is my position,” Devers said then.

But the three-time All-Star said Thursday that he spoke with manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow a few weeks ago and told them “I’m good to do whatever they want me to do.

“I’m here to help,” he said through his interpreter, according to The Athletic. “I’ve already spoken with them about that and they know where I stand, but I’m just ready to play.

“I’m not going to share what we talked about here just because it would make me come off … those are private conversations. So I told them everything of my point of view, how I see things, and they know that.”

Devers has yet to appear in an official spring training game for Boston. It was supposed to happen Tuesday but got pushed back to this weekend. He battled soreness in both of his shoulders last season and spent the first couple of weeks of spring training trying to strengthen them ahead of the regular season.

He did play in an intrasquad game Thursday in Fort Myers, Florida, before he spoke with the media, and had a home run off new Red Sox starter Walker Buehler.

Asked if he expects to be ready for Opening Day against the Rangers on March 27 in Texas, Devers said: “I expect to be there.”