Samuel Woodford Holbrook (born July 7, 1965) is an American retired Major League Baseball umpire.
[4] The game was halted for ten minutes and police were summoned as fans at Busch Stadium littered the field with trash and assorted knickknacks.
Holbrook, in his first professional season as a full-time umpire, said "The farthest thing from my mind of what I wanted to do was eject Mark McGwire.
Fans again threw trash on the field at the end of the fifth inning after an awkward diving catch by Braves left fielder Ryan Klesko led to a double play.
[8] During the eighth inning of the 2012 National League Wild Card Playoff, Holbrook, acting as the umpire down the left field line, ruled that a popup in mid left field, 225 feet from home plate,[9] hit by Atlanta Brave Andrelton Simmons was an out under the infield fly rule.
The ball dropped between St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma and left fielder Matt Holliday just as Holbrook made his call.
[10][11] Atlanta played the rest of the game under protest, which was denied by MLB Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Joe Torre.
[14] Analysts supporting the call cited the Official Baseball Rules, which states, in part, that the fly ball's depth into the outfield is irrelevant in adjudicating this play.
[15][a] Holbrook was the third base umpire when the Texas Rangers set the American League record for most runs scored in a game with 30 against the Baltimore Orioles on August 23, 2007.
[2] After she died from cancer in February 2014, Holbrook spent the 2014 season on the bereavement list, returning to work Major League games in March 2015.