MLB Umpire Brothers Open Hirschbeck's Sports Bar & Grille

MLB Umpire brothers Mark and John Hirschbeck have opened a sports bar in Shelton, Connecticut. The Hirschbecks were the first brothers in MLB history to umpire at the same time; since then, brothers Bill and Tim Welke have joined the familial co-worker ranks, serving on the same umpiring crew until two years ago.

Mark Hirschbeck was forced into retirement in 2003 after his artificial hip shattered during a Diamondbacks-Rockies game. The younger Hirschbeck sued manufacturer Wright Medical Technology and settled for $3 million.

As first reported by the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League last month, John Hirschbeck was placed on MLB's umpiring disabled list this offseason after missing the entire 2008 season due to back surgery and the final two months of the 2009 season due to cancer treatment and surgery. Unfortunately, the cancer appears to have returned and Hirschbeck is once again fighting the illness.

"John recently went through chemotherapy so this opening means a lot to me and him," said Mark Hirschbeck during the Hirschbeck's Sports Bar & Grille opening ceremony: "I wish he was here right now to be a part of this." Indications suggest a John Hirschbeck retirement following the 2012 season if the illness has not been controlled by season's end while Hirschbeck may vow to return in 2013 if treatment is successful, though the decision has not yet been finalized.

Source: 2012 MLB Umpire Crews

The 2012 MLB Umpire Crews are now available and accessible via the UEFL Portal, thanks to a source.

Not yet officially released, this unofficial news break will provide UEFL members the opportunity to complete the draft process with their Crew Chief selections based on the 2012 start-of-season crews. As such, the UEFL Crew Draft deadline has been solidified as 10:05 AM Pacific Time, April 7.

The following is the umpiring crew list for the 2012 MLB regular season:

Crew	Crew Chief	Umpire 2	Umpire 3	Umpire 4
Crew A	12 Gerry Davis	10 Phil Cuzzi	1 Bruce Dreckman*	53 Greg Gibson
Crew B	32 Dana DeMuth	44 Kerwin Danley	88 Doug Eddings	39 Paul Nauert
Crew C	36 Tim McClelland	65 Ted Barrett	18 Brian Runge	51 Marvin Hudson
Crew D	66 Jim Joyce**	77 Jim Reynolds	16 Mike DiMuro	92 James Hoye
Crew E	3 Tim Welke	63 Laz Diaz	57 Mike Everitt	43 Paul Schrieber
Crew F	5 Dale Scott	14 Bill Miller	58 Dan Iassogna	54 C. B. Bucknor
Crew G	22 Joe West	49 Sam Holbrook	30 Andy Fletcher	34 Rob Drake
Crew H	37 Gary Darling	41 Jerry Meals	50 Paul Emmel	87 Scott Barry
Crew I	4 Tim Tschida	52 Jeff Nelson	45 Bill Welke	68 Chris Guccione
Crew J	13 Derryl Cousins	46 Ron Kulpa	28 Jim Wolf	AAA Fill-in
Crew K	38 Gary Cederstrom	25 Fieldin Culbreth	80 Lance Barksdale	23 Adrian Johnson
Crew L	24 Jerry Layne	61 Bob Davidson	21 Hunter Wendlestedt	2 Dan Bellino
Crew M	9 Brian Gorman	27 Larry Vanover	11 Tony Randazzo	97 Todd Tichenor
Crew N	8 Jeff Kellogg	56 Eric Cooper	60 Marty Foster	95 Tim Timmons
Crew O	20 Tom Hallion	72 Brian O'Nora	7 Alfonso Márquez	75 Chad Fairchild
Crew P	33 Mike Winters	47 Wally Bell	35 Mark Wegner	91 Brian Knight
Crew Q	19 Ed Rapuano	55 Angel Hernandez	6 Mark Carlson	15 Ed Hickox

*Medical leave until May / ** Interim Crew Chief status while John Hirschbeck is on the Disabled List.

Nonetheless and from top to bottom, the annual changes to the MLB Umpire Crew list generate excitement as the season begins. Among the most notable features of the 2012 MLB Umpire Crew list are:

    » The separation of Joe West (22; Crew Chief) and Angel Hernandez (55; Crew Chief: Ed Rapuano [19])
    » The absence of John Hirschbeck (MLB 17; DL) and Bruce Dreckman (MLB 1; Medical)
            » Vic Carapazza is expected to replace Dreckman until his return no sooner than May

    » MLB number changes: Dan Bellino (93-to-2), Mark Carlson (48-to-6), Bob Davidson (6-to-61)

            » AAA number change: David Rackley (76-to-86)

    » The promotion of Jim Joyce (66) to Interim Crew Chief necessitated by Hirschbeck's movement to the DL

            » Joyce's Crew: Mike DiMuro (16), Jim Reynolds (77), James Hoye (92)

    » The dissolution of the Opening Series umpires sent to Tokyo, Japan

            » Crew Chief Tom Hallion (20), Jeff Nelson (45), Marvin Hudson (51), Dan Bellino (2)

For more information and to access the 2012 MLB Umpire Crews, visit the Umpire Roster / Stats page on the UEFL Portal.

UEFL Draft 2012: Primary and Secondary Results

The Umpire Ejection Fantasy League Draft has now concluded, with all Primary and Secondary phases officially complete: To review results of the draft, visit the Member Roster / Results page on the UEFL Portal.

18 UEFL members have not submitted secondary draft selections. Because of the public nature of the secondary draft, if you are affected, you may still submit secondary draft selections at this time, though all submissions must be received prior to the close of the Crew Chief round; accordingly, the Crew Chief round (for all members) closes April 7 at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time.

If you have any questions or to submit secondary or crew chief selections, either e-mail the UEFL Commissioner or reply to this post.

The following are the results of the Live Secondary Draft:

UEFL Draft 2012: Live Secondary Draft

Welcome to the 2012 UEFL Live Draft for Secondary Umpires. The draft began at 2:00 p.m. with the first picks finalized by 2:05 p.m. and in accordance with UEFL Rule 1-4, which specifies terms of the UEFL draft process. The draft concluded at 3:40 p.m..

Draft Order and Results: Click here to access the member roster and draft order list. Results will also be posted to the Member Roster page on the UEFL Portal.

Umpire Jerry Layne's Crew

Of the 199 MLB ejections in 2011, Jerry Layne and crewmates Bob Davidson, Hunter Wendelstedt and Brian Knight accounted for 26, or 13 percent—8 for Davidson, 8 for Wendelstedt, 6 for Knight and 4 for Layne. With 17 umpire crews, the average crew administered just 11-12 ejections, meaning Layne's crew ejected twice as much as the ordinary crew. By comparison, Joe West's crew barely scratched the 20 ejection mark.

As such, perhaps a parting-of-the-ways is ineluctably necessary.