MLB promotes five to full-time umpiring staff
Major League Baseball announced today that four umpires – Gary Cederstrom, Dana DeMuth, Mike Everitt and Jeff Kellogg – are retiring from the full-time Major League Umpiring staff.
Cederstrom was a 26-year Major League Umpire who worked four World Series (2005, 2011, 2015 and 2019), including the last two as crew chief. The North Dakota native was the home plate umpire in Game Six of the 2011 World Series, remembered for the heroics by David Freese of the St. Louis Cardinals, and for the first no-hitter in the history of the New York Mets, by Johan Santana on June 1, 2012.
DeMuth was a 36-year Major League Umpire who worked the Fall Classic five times (1993, 1998, 2001, 2009 and 2013). He was behind the plate for Joe Carter’s World Series-clinching home run to end the 1993 World Series for the Champion Toronto Blue Jays and for the finale of the New York Yankees’ sweep of the 1998 Fall Classic. DeMuth also was the plate umpire in Chicago Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta’s April 2016 no-hitter at Cincinnati.
Everitt completed a 21-year Major League career on the field, including three World Series assignments (2007, 2009 and 2015) and three years as a crew chief. Kellogg collected more than 27 years as a Major League Umpire, including five sets of Fall Classic duties (2000, 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2014). Both Everitt and Kellogg are now transitioning into roles as Major League Supervisors for the Umpiring Department.
The four crew chief vacancies are being filled by longtime Major League Umpires Kerwin Danley, Dan Iassogna, Alfonso Marquez and Jim Reynolds. Danley is the first African-American umpire named as a Major League crew chief, while Marquez is the first Latino-born crew chief. There are five newcomers to the Major League Umpiring staff in 2020. Nic Lentz was promoted earlier this off-season, replacing the late Major League Umpire Eric Cooper on the roster. The four other umpires being promoted to the Major League staff are Ryan Blakney (pronounced BLAKE-knee), Ramon De Jesus, Chris Segal (pronounced see-GULL) and Jansen Visconti. In 2017, De Jesus became the first Dominican-born umpire to work a Major League game, and he is the second graduate of MLB’s Umpire Camps to reach the Major Leagues, joining four-year Major League Umpire Carlos Torres. More details on the five new Major League Umpires are below.
NEW MAJOR LEAGUE UMPIRE HIRES
RYAN BLAKNEY: The 34-year-old Blakney has been a Minor League umpire since 2006. Blakney has had more than 600 assignments to Major League games as a call-up umpire and has worked Major League Spring Training since 2015. Blakney will wear number 36.
RAMON DE JESUS: The 36-year-old De Jesus has been a Minor League umpire since 2009. De Jesus has had more than 380 assignments to Major League games and has worked Major League Spring Training since 2016. De Jesus will wear number 18.
NIC LENTZ: The 30-year-old Lentz has been a Minor League Umpire since 2008. He has had more than 500 assignments to Major League games as a call-up umpire and has worked Major League Spring Training since 2015. Lentz will wear number 59.
CHRIS SEGAL: The 37-year-old Segal has been a Minor League umpire since 2006. Segal has had more than 650 assignments to Major League games and has worked Major League Spring Training since 2012. Segal will wear number 96.
JANSEN VISCONTI: The 32-year-old Visconti has been a Minor League umpire since 2010. Visconti has more than 250 assignments to Major League games and has worked Major League Spring Training since 2018. Visconti will wear number 52.
NEW CREW CHIEFS
KERWIN DANLEY: 23-Year Major League Umpire with two World Series (2008 and 2018). Danley is a former college teammate of Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn at San Diego State University.
DAN IASSOGNA: 18-Year Major League Umpire with two World Series (2012 and 2017). Iassogna served as the lead presenter on umpiring at the joint MLB-MLBPA Rookie Program from 2014-2019.
ALFONSO MARQUEZ: 20-Year Major League Umpire with three World Series (2006, 2011 and 2015). In 1999, Marquez became the first Mexican-born umpire to work in the Major Leagues. He joins the late Jim McKean, who hailed from Canada, as the only crew chiefs to have been born outside the United States.
JIM REYNOLDS: 20-Year Major League Umpire with two World Series (2014 and 2018). Reynolds currently serves as the Vice President of UMPS Care, the charity of the Major League Umpires.