UEFL History: Referee Magazine

The Umpire Ejection Fantasy League started as an e-mail chain in 2006 amongst a few friends. In July 2007, the Left Field Corner was formed at our former livejournal address with Mike Everitt leading the roster with seven ejections, until finally, in April 2011, we moved the site to the more reliable and customizable blogspot address we currently reside at, umpirejections.blogspot.com. Over the years, the UEFL has evolved from an occasional e-mail that might have read: "5/9/06, Charlie Reliford (5/9, 1, NYY Bernie Williams), Doug Eddings (5/9, 1, NYM Julio Franco)," (look it up, it's accurate) to one of the first Left Field Corner blog posts, "Ejections: Rob Drake (1)." In 2010, the league opened to non-invitees, and in 2011, the second league interactive season, we have 37 participants. Since 2006, in addition to improving the way in which ejections are covered and objectively analyzed, the UEFL has added other labels: Umpire Odds/Ends, Discussions, Case Plays, Polls, Other Sports, UEFL Matters, and of course, Ejections. UEFL is on twitter and facebook and continues to expand with the new Roster and Standings, Ejection List, Case Plays, UEFL Rulesbook, and Historical Data tabs. Over the past few seasons, UEFL features have been greatly expanded and refined, and already, further capabilities are being planned for next season.

Where is all of this going? In 2009, REFEREE Magazine featured the Left Field Corner livejournal website in their November 2009 publication. The clipping of that print allows us to take a brief look back at the early UEFL and see the great steps taken since then. Of course, REFEREE Magazine featured us in one of their more dissentious sections, but as some MLB Umpires like to say, "Nice to see you; good to be seen."