Umpire (baseball)
To avoid injury, the home plate umpire wears similar equipment to the catcher, including mask, chest protector, leg guards and shoes with extra protection added over the laces.
[2] On the Major League level, an umpiring crew generally rotates positions clockwise each game.
[5] If an umpire seems to make an error in rule interpretation, his call, in some leagues, can be officially protested as is the case in MLB.
An independent study of umpire pitch-call accuracy over 11 seasons (2008–2018) released on April 8, 2019, by Mark T. Williams of Boston University concluded that over 20% of certain pitches were called incorrectly.
For the 2018 season, home plate umpires made about 34,000 incorrect ball and strike calls, which is about 14 per game and 1.6 per inning.
[6] In the early years of professional baseball, umpires were not engaged by the league but rather by agreement between the team captains.
And, unlike college athletics, umpires on the high school level are not administered by a national organization (such as the NCAA).
Thus, while high school baseball is administered on a state level, almost all state associations use the same unique baseball rulebook (and the associated casebook and umpire manual) written specifically for the high school level.
Provided the individual makes satisfactory progress throughout, it typically takes from 7–10 years to achieve MLB status.
Top students at these camps are eligible to earn scholarships to either of the professional umpire schools in Florida.
[18] After five weeks of training, each school sends its top students to the Minor League Baseball Umpire Development (MiLBUD) evaluation course also held in Florida.
[19] Minor League Baseball Umpire Development, "is the entity which is responsible for the training, evaluation, and recommendation for promotion, retention, or release of all umpires in the Minor League Baseball system throughout the United States and Canada.
The evaluation course is conducted by MiLBUD staff, some of whom are also instructors at the Minor League Baseball Umpire Training Academy.
Out of approximately 300 original umpire school students, about 30-35 will ultimately be offered jobs in Minor League Baseball after the evaluation course.
[22] In addition, all umpires (except those in the rookie or Short Season Class-A leagues) receive written mid-season evaluations.
During this entire process, if an umpire is evaluated as no longer being a major-league prospect, he will be released, ending his professional career.
[19] As of 2018[update], major league umpires earn $150,000 to $450,000 per year depending on their experience, with a $340 per diem for hotel and meals, plus first-class commercial airline tickets.
[26] In December 2019, MLB and the Major League Baseball Umpires Association agreed in principle to a new five-year labor agreement running through 2024.
That season, AL umpires were also allowed to work both behind the plate and on the bases wearing a long-sleeved light blue shirt with a tie but without the blazer.
That same year, the NL also introduced a short-sleeved light blue shirt worn without coat or tie for hot summer games; the American League also adopted the short sleeve variant in 1971.
Beginning with the 1976 World Series, in cold weather umpires could replace the shirt and tie with a turtleneck sweater (originally light blue for the NL and beige for the AL).
Late in the decade, windbreaker-style jackets and heavier coats similar to those worn by players in the dugouts were adopted as alternatives to the blazer when weather appropriate.
The NL added a light blue polo shirt for warm weather in 1997 and was very popular, especially in the humid climates of Atlanta, Miami and St. Louis.
During the 2000 postseason, the uniforms switched to black polo shirts with grey slacks, with the hats and chest patches now bearing the MLB logo.
[29][30] Several player inductees to the Hall of Fame served as substitute umpires for a small number of games during the early years of baseball; these include Hughie Jennings, Willie Keeler, King Kelly, and Chuck Klein.
[31] Additionally, Hall of Fame player inductees Tim Keefe and Ed Walsh umpired professionally in the major leagues after their playing careers ended.
(For example, the American League had retired Lou DiMuro's number 16 after his death, but it was made available to his son Mike after the staffs were unified.)
Only one umpire number has been retired since the current format was established, 42, because of the Major League Baseball policy instituted in 1997.
The leading n became attached to the article, changing it to an Oumper around 1475; this sort of linguistic shift is called false splitting.
The word was applied to the officials of many sports before baseball, including association football (where it has been superseded by referee) and cricket (which still uses it).
