umpire

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A Long-Running Gender Barrier Will Finally Be Broken

Jen Pawol will work Saturday's Marlins-Braves game

(Newser) - Jen Pawol is set to become the first woman to umpire in Major League Baseball when she works games this weekend between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves. Pawol will work the bases in Saturday's doubleheader at Truist Park and the plate on Sunday, MLB said Wednesday. Pawol, a...

All Hail MLB's New Robot Umpires
All Hail MLB's
New Robot Umpires
Feb 22, 2025 9:30 AM CST

All Hail MLB's New Robot Umpires

Computerized Automated Ball-Strike System being used for challenges in spring training

(Newser) - A computerized system that calls balls and strikes began its test run this week during some Major League Baseball spring training exhibition games, after four years of experiments in the minor leagues. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is an advocate of the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS), which potentially as early as...

MLB Fires Umpire for Violating Gambling Rules

Pat Hoberg shared his account with poker player friend, then deleted messages

(Newser) - Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by Major League Baseball on Monday for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league's investigation, per the AP . MLB opened the investigation last February when it was...

Baseball's Most Controversial Ump Is Out
Baseball's
Most Vilified
Ump Is Out
the rundown
May 28, 2024 10:04 AM CDT

Baseball's Most Vilified Ump Is Out

Angel Hernandez retires midseason

(Newser) - News that a Major League Baseball umpire is retiring typically doesn't make waves. But in this case, the umpire just happens to be the most vilified one in the game—Angel Hernandez. As coverage shows, however, not everybody thinks he deserves his reputation:
  • Retirement: Hernandez, 62, announced his retirement
...

Think Twice Before Yelling at Your Kid's Ump Here
This Town's
Little League Has
'Ingenious' Plan
for Unruly Parents
in case you missed it
Apr 30, 2023 3:30 PM CDT

This Town's Little League Has 'Ingenious' Plan for Unruly Parents

In Deptford, New Jersey, abusive spectators will have to take on umpire duties or be banned

(Newser) - If you've ever attended a children's sporting event, you've likely witnessed a select few parents who get a little too much into the game, becoming agitated from the sidelines and even berating the refs or umpires. One New Jersey town has come up with a solution for...

Umpire Hospitalized After 'Scary' Moment in Cleveland

Larry Vanover was hit in the head by a relay throw

(Newser) - Umpire Larry Vanover was hospitalized after being hit in the head with a relay throw on Wednesday in a "scary" moment during the New York Yankees game against the Cleveland Guardians. Vanover was evaluated for a concussion and other injuries at the Cleveland Clinic, where he was taken shortly...

Umpire Wins This Argument, Along With $500K

Joe West sued former player Paul Lo Duca after latter alleged that the ump rigged a game

(Newser) - Umpires and players argue all the time, but this one went to court and resulted in a $500,000 payday for the ump. The strange dispute involves veteran Major League Baseball umpire Joe West and former catcher Paul Lo Duca, explains the New York Daily News . In 2019, the retired...

He Hit a Home Run, Then 'Not the Smartest Move'

Minnesota Twins' Josh Donaldson is ejected after words with umpire Dan Bellino and a lot of dust

(Newser) - With a four-game playoff series hanging in the balance between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Josh Donaldson's home run should've given the Twins a big boost. And it did, until what happened as he crossed home plate. Per MLB , words were exchanged between Donaldson...

MLB Umpire Apologizes for Assault Rifle Tweet

Rob Drake threatened 'CIVAL WAR'

(Newser) - If President Trump is impeached, the umpire apparently will not strike back. Major League Baseball umpire Rob Drake has apologized for a tweet in which he said he was ready to pick up an assault rifle "because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL...

MLB Ump Warns of 'CIVAL WAR' in Pro-Trump Tweet

League looking into deleted post by Rob Drake

(Newser) - Rob Drake's 20 years as an MLB umpire may now be in jeopardy after a tweet about the possible impeachment of President Trump. As in, he's clearly upset by the impeachment inquiry, evidenced by a post seen by ESPN that he put up late Tuesday (and has since...

Serena Was Right: Ump Was 'a Thief'
Serena Was Right:
Ump Was 'a Thief'
OPINION
Sep 9, 2018 9:11 AM CDT

Serena Was Right: Ump Was 'a Thief'

Carlos Ramos 'couldn’t take a woman speaking sharply to him'

(Newser) - Carlos Ramos, the man tasked with umpiring the women's final of the US Open between Serena Williams and Naiomi Osaka, instead "marred Osaka’s first Grand Slam title and one of Williams’s last bids for all-time greatness," and he did it "all because he couldn’...

Hall of Fame Umpire Nicknamed 'God' Dies
Hall of Fame
Umpire 
Nicknamed
'God' Dies
OBITUARY
Jan 15, 2018 12:16 AM CST

Hall of Fame Umpire Nicknamed 'God' Dies

'A generation of umpires learned as a result of Doug's example'

(Newser) - Doug Harvey was so sure of his calls on the diamond, he ended every game the same way. Following the last out, the umpire took his wad of chewing tobacco and flung it on home plate. "I never did have any doubt in my mind," he once said....

Latest Protesters: MLB Umpires
Latest Protesters:
MLB Umpires 
Aug 20, 2017 7:07 AM CDT

Latest Protesters: MLB Umpires

Umps start wearing white wristbands to protest 'abusive' treatment

(Newser) - Major League Baseball umpires wore white wristbands during games Saturday, protesting "abusive player behavior" after Detroit second baseman Ian Kinsler was fined but not suspended for his recent verbal tirade against ump Angel Hernandez, in which he called him a bad umpire who "just needs to go away....

MLB Umpire Saves Suicidal Woman
MLB Umpire Saves
Suicidal Woman
Jun 29, 2017 2:48 AM CDT

MLB Umpire Saves Suicidal Woman

He says she was preparing to jump from bridge

(Newser) - John Tumpane can't explain why he approached the woman as she hopped over the railing of the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon. The woman told Tumpane she just wanted to get a better view of the Allegheny River below. The look on her face and the...

Ump Stops Game to Eject ... a Fan

Bob Davidson says fan was yelling obscene taunts

(Newser) - It's not unusual for an umpire to toss somebody out of a baseball game, but it's typically a hot-headed manager or a player. In Philadelphia on Tuesday night, it was a foul-mouthed fan. As the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, home-plate ump Bob Davidson stopped the Phillies-Giants game in the...

Baseball's Latest Drug Casualty Is ... an Ump

Brian Runge sacked after flunking drug test, sources say

(Newser) - You know your sport has a drug problem when even your officials flunk drug tests. Major League Baseball umpire Brian Runge has been canned and sources tell the AP that drugs are to blame. The 43-year-old failed at least one random drug test and was fired after failing to comply...

Little League Coach Charged With Assaulting Teen Ump

Witnesses say 43-year-old hit 17-year-old over a call

(Newser) - Next up in the sportsmanship fail category: A Little League coach in New Jersey has been charged with assault after police say he smacked a teenage ump in the head, reports the Asbury Park Press . The 43-year-old got an extra-special assault charge because the alleged incident happened in front of...

Murder Case Dropped Against Tennis Umpire

Lois Goodman, 70, says her 80-year-old husband fell

(Newser) - The strange case of a US Open umpire charged with murdering her 80-year-old husband has been dismissed, reports the Los Angeles Times . Prosecutors informed the judge that they were "unable to proceed" with the case against Lois Goodman, 70, but did not elaborate. The LAT says it might be...

Just Reverse the Call, Bud!
 Just Reverse the Call, Bud! 
OPINION
Jun 3, 2010 11:22 AM CDT

Just Reverse the Call, Bud!

Shouldn't Bud Selig just set matters right?

(Newser) - The baseball world is up in arms over the blown call that cost Armando Galarraga his perfect game. So here's a radical idea: Why can't Bud Selig just reverse the dang call? “Only a grinch would protest such a thing,” writes Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post . And...

Ump Blows Perfect Game
 Ump Blows Perfect Game 
Jun 3, 2010 5:45 AM CDT

Ump Blows Perfect Game

Bad call snatches record from Tigers' Galarraga

(Newser) - If umpire Jim Joyce hadn't screwed up, Armando Galarraga would have entered the record books as the first Detroit Tiger in history to pitch a perfect game. But the ump—with 8 and two-thirds innings gone—incorrectly ruled that the Cleveland Indians' Jason Donald was safe, sparking a chorus of...

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