Jeff Nelson is the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League's 2011 umpire of the year.
In his 13th Major League season, Jeff Nelson called four ejections at 100% accuracy (4/4) and was selected to umpire his fourth Championship Series and his fourth consecutive postseason.
Nelson's ejection of Nationals left fielder Jerry Hairston, Jr. concerned an overturned call at first base. Originally ruled an out by 1B Umpire Mike Estabrook, the call was correctly overturned to "safe" after umpire consultation. While some UEFL'ers have speculated that acting crew chief Nelson improperly overruled Estabrook, others praised Nelson for his hustle and work ethic in working to get the call right.
Nelson has been described as "definitely one of the best," turning in the best plate performance of the 2011 postseason. In Game 5 of the ALCS, Nelson missed just two pitches and called 98.7% correctly, a full 2.6% higher than second place Greg Gibson's 96.1% during Game 2 of the World Series.
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| Nelson's ALCS Game 5 Plot |
UEFL'er clement30 described Nelson as "a total class act, and an A+ umpire...He would be deserving of this award based off his umpiring skills alone, but his incredible work this year should put him over the top."
Others referred to Nelson as a "consummate professional" and praised him for a tremendous performance as interim crew chief while Tim Tschida was injured during the latter half of the 2011 season. These consistent praises for Nelson combined with his tremendous all-around performance this season have combined to make Jeff Nelson the UEFL's 2011 Umpire of the Year.
Others referred to Nelson as a "consummate professional" and praised him for a tremendous performance as interim crew chief while Tim Tschida was injured during the latter half of the 2011 season. These consistent praises for Nelson combined with his tremendous all-around performance this season have combined to make Jeff Nelson the UEFL's 2011 Umpire of the Year.
Jeff Nelson now has 22 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (17 Previous + 5 Award = 22).
Final Standings will be released tomorrow. The Rules Summit will begin tomorrow as well.