UMPS CARE Charities

It is only a short 15 minute drive along I-64 from Busch Stadium home of the St. Louis Cardinals, but it might as well be 15,000 miles. The pediatric oncology wing of the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, looks strikingly similar to hospital wings across the country. Walking these halls, much like the innocent, young children [...]

Mystery Umpire Photo: Can you identify the Major League Umpires in this photo? Who are the managers of each team also shown in this photo? Do you know the approximate year this photo was taken?

In our ongoing segment, “Ask the Ump”, Major League umpire, Mike Di Muro answers a question via video received from one of our viewers about umpire rotations. Look for more answers to your questions by Major League umpires or send in your question to: “Ask the Ump”

A great video from the Kansas City Royals pregame report on MLB umpires, Jeff Kellogg, Tim Timmons, Mark Carlson and Eric Cooper visiting the Children’s Mercy Hospital as part of UMPS CARE Charities, Blue for Kids Hospital program.

If you haven’t been to Retrosheet you are missing out on a huge archive of stats and scores and just about every possible numeric listing in the game of baseball. It also includes an extensive section about umpires with a long history and listing of every game worked by just about every umpire. The research [...]

The game of baseball would be sheer pandemonium, quickly become unrecognizable and ultimately collapse, if not for the use of lines. Lines are as fundamental as the laces on the ball and the leather and wood which every player would be rendered harmless without. For starters, the game cannot not even begin without the line-up. [...]

Connie Mack is to Tony La Russa, what Bill Klem is to Derryl Cousins. What does that mean? Well, for starters, a whole bunch of baseball games. When MLB umpire, Derryl Cousins and MLB manager, Tony La Russa – who recently reached 5,000 games – meet on the field together, they signify a modern day [...]

In our ongoing segment, “Ask the Ump”, Major League umpire, Mike Di Muro answers a question via video received from one of our viewers about lineup cards. Look for more answers to your questions by Major League umpires or send in your question to:  “Ask the Ump”  

Major League umpires will spend a vast majority of the year on the road and away from home. Hotels, airports, trains, planes and automobiles will be home to every umpire from March to October. This is an ongoing series entitled “Umpire Life on the Road”. June 1, 2011 Day 81 on the road – When [...]

In our ongoing segment, “Ask the Ump”, Major League umpires will answer questions via video received from our viewers.  Today, Gary Cederstrom a 17-year Major League umpire and crew chief answers a question about what shoes MLB umpires currently wear. Look for more answers to your questions by Major League umpires or send in your [...]

On Friday evening, entering Camden Yards in Baltimore, my legs seemed to be moving at an unusually slow and heavy pace. It was a walk I have made many times over the past 12 years. Weaving through the underground tunnels and hidden corridors – dodging busy vendors and staff preparing for the night’s game, I [...]

In our ongoing segment, “Ask the Ump”, Major League umpire, Jim Reynolds answers a question via video received from one of our viewers. Look for more answers to your questions answered by Major League umpires by video.

Not often will a ball lodge in the outfield fence, and certainly not twice in a single night. But that is exactly what happened in two Major League games this week. In one such game, our crew was working in Kansas City, a ball was hit and subsequently lodged in the lower portion of the [...]

Awaiting my flight to the next city, I was greeted by a post in my inbox from an attendee of a recent Washington National’s game. This particular game was dedicated to our men and women in the Armed Forces and all of those who have served our great Country. It was written by a Craig [...]

Every Saturday night the Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League played a doubleheader and were off on Sunday. The first game started at 6pm and the second began 20 minutes after the first game ended. We would usually arrive at the ballpark by 5pm and leave by 10:30pm. Not a bad schedule for a days [...]

Major League umpires will spend a vast majority of the year on the road and away from home. Hotels, airports, trains, planes and automobiles will be home to every umpire from March to October. This is an ongoing series entitled “Umpire Life on the Road”. April 26, 2011 Day 45 on the road – Rainout [...]

When Dave Garcia strolls through the door to the umpire’s room in Petco Park, you can be sure that you are in the presence of the one living man who has been in baseball longer than any other. He playfully boasts that he has likely seen more ballplayers (and umpires) now than any living person. [...]

The rain begins to fall in a steady stream in Oakland. My All Star helmet shimmers with moisture as the drops bounce softly off the polished black surface. Working the Red Sox and A’s finale of a short two game series, I begin to muse amidst the darkening clouds and plummeting temperatures, “I do not [...]

So long Rainbow Head. Un-pucker those lips Morganna. Check in with your probation officer Tasered Teen.  Toronto natives, Tim Williams and Joe Farrell aka the “Fake Umps” took Major League stadiums by storm last summer and they recently went on tour to benefit UMPS CARE Charities. The tour named, “Four Games for Bears” raised a [...]

The Alaska Airlines 737 lifts off the ground from SeaTac International Airport and makes its way through 14,000 feet. On this brilliantly crisp, clear late afternoon day, the majestic Mt. Rainier rises through the soft, billowing clouds that are clinging tightly to the base like that of a young child to a mother. Sunday evening [...]

The sounds and smells of America’s pastime awaken and sharpen every sense in the baseball fan.  The crack of the bat, the aroma of hot dogs, peanuts and freshly cut grass fill the air across the country.  Stadiums will resonant with the sounds of cheering fans and their boyish grins as their home town heroes [...]

There are 435 members in the House of Representatives. There are 100 United States Senators. There are 68 full time Major League umpires. If you have enough money saved up, do not have any college YouTube “moments” quietly stored on an old roommate’s hard drive, and can withstand an appearance with Joy Behar on The [...]

Every year before the start of spring training, Major League Umpires, all 68 of them, are summoned to gather in the warmth of the Arizona sun to attend a pre-season training meeting. The week-long training involves undergoing rigorous physicals, attending numerous meetings and presentations to discuss the rules, field positioning, administrative tasks and duties, and [...]