Society for American Baseball Research

A collaboration of 34 SABR members. This book includes biographies of all the umpires in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, other notable arbiters, essays about professional female umpires, umpiring in the Negro Leagues, explorations of the baseball rules, umpire equipment, and much more.

During the work on this book, we interviewed 56 major league umpires, former umpires, supervisors and umpire administrators, and others whose jobs cause them to interact with umpires. We hope to shed light on the umpiring profession past and present, the work involved on the field, and the arduous challenges and sacrifices it takes to become an umpire at the top of the profession.

We have tried to look at the occupation from many different angles. No book can cover all facets of the job, but we hope to give readers a fuller appreciation of baseball and those charged with the integrity of the game.

Contributions by David W. Anderson, Andy Andres, Mark Armour, Perry Barber, John Behrend, Dennis Bingham, Alan Cohen, Reynaldo Cruz, Kevin Cuddihy, Rob Edelman, Eric Frost, Larry Gerlach, Dennis Goodman, Leslie Heaphy, Harold R. Higham, Bob Hurte, Gil Imber, Rodney Johnson, Chuck Johnson, Stephen Johnson III, Bob LeMoine, Hank Levy, Bob Luke, Shaun McReady, Brian Mills, Bill Nowlin, Al Piacente, Bill Pruden, David Vincent, Bob Webster, Chris Williams, Herb Wilson.

HALL OF FAME UMPIRES
Al Barlick
Nestor Chylak
Jocko Conlan
Tommy Connolly
Billy Evans
Doug Harvey
Cal Hubbard
Bill Klem
Bill McGowan
Hank O’Day

OTHER NOTABLE UMPIRES
Emmett Ashford
Charlie Berry
Augie Donatelli
Tom Gorman
Steve Palermo
Babe Pinelli
Ernie Quigley
Beans Reardon
Rev. Dr. Crew Chief Ted Barrett
Chris Guccione

HISTORICAL DATA
Retired Numbers (and un-retired) from the Umpires Media Guide
Honor Rolls of Baseball
Umpires who Played and/or Managed in the Major Leagues
Umpire Records
Umpires and No-Hitters
Historical Timeline of Major League Umpiring from the Umpires Media Guide
Umpires in Postseason

OTHER UMPIRES, OTHER PLACES
Umpires in the Negro Leagues
Three Arizona League Umpires
Once Upon a Blue Moon: A Love Affair with Umpiring
Around the World of Umpiring by Clark G. ＂Red＂ Merchant
Larry Young and International Umpiring
Cuban Umpiring
Umpire Elber Ibarra
Umpiring in Korea

PROFESSIONAL WOMAN UMPIRES
Amanda Clement: The Lady in Blue
The Stained Grass Window by Perry Barber
Yanet Moreno, the First Woman Umpire in Any Country’s Major League

Umpire Schools: Training Grounds for the Guardians of the Game
An Umpire School Diary
A Visit to the Wendelstedt Umpire School in 2017

The Evolution of Umpires’ Equipment and Uniforms
Ted Barrett’s Chest Protector and Plate Brush
What Do Umpires Do Exactly?
When the Rules Aren’t the Rules
Baseball Q & A - Applying the Rules
Umpire Mechanics
Umpire Changes During A Game
A History of Umpire Ejections
Throwing Out 17 Players In One Game

Dave Mellor, Director of Grounds, Fenway Park
Dean Lewis, Umpires Room Attendant
Chris Cundiff, Batboy
Replay As An Umpiring Tool
Larry Vanover - the first umpire to make a call at the Replay Operations Center
Rich Rieker, Director of Umpire Development
Umpire Observer Kevin O’Connor
Ross Larson, Instant Replay Coordinator
Replay Behind the Scenes - At the Ballpark
Andy Andres, Field Timing Coordinator
Dan Fish, Replay Headset Coordinator
Jeremy Almazan, Replay Headset Coordinator
John Herrholz, Ballpark Camera Technician
Umpire Analytics

The Chest Protector

SABR is the Society for American Baseball Research, a group of over 6,000 enthusiasts about the game of baseball whose research interests range from the game’s history to statistical analysis, records, cultural impact, and more.