Major League Umpiring Debut: Pat Hoberg (31)

Umpire Pat Hoberg made his MLB debut Opening Day during the Giants-Diamondbacks game in Arizona. Hoberg joined Tom Hallion's crew Monday night and umpired at third base, working alongside 2B Umpire Chris Guccione, 1B Umpire Eric Cooper and Home Plate Umpire Hallion. Hallion's umpiring crew K is one of several crews that will feature a Triple-A fill-in umpire for the 2014 regular season.

Pat Hoberg working MLB Replay Review

Hoberg is on the Pacific Coast League umpire roster for the 2014 season, which is his first full season in the PCL (second overall) and as a AAA umpire. Hoberg is a 2009 graduate of the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring and began his career with Minor League Baseball in the Arizona League, working the Appalachian, Florida State and Texas Leagues before his promotion to the PCL. Hoberg worked the 2013 All-Star Futures Game at Citi Field in New York City, which draws an MLB All-Star Home Run Derby assignment as collateral, and the 2013 Arizona Fall League All-Star Game ("Fall Stars").

After Hoberg ejected South Bend Silver Hawks Manager Mark Haley in June 2011, Haley predicted, "it's going to be a long ways to go before [Hoberg] reaches his goal."

Fast-forward to 2014 and Haley is still managing the Single-A South Bend Hawks, minor-league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, whose game Hoberg is working at the big-league level Monday.

Hoberg resides in Urbandale, Iowa and wears the sleeve uniform number 31, last worn by veteran MLB crew chief Mike Reilly. The 6-foot-1, 208-pound Hoberg, who makes his MLB debut at the age of 27, is an alum of Grand View University (then GV College) in Des Moines, IA. Hoberg was part of the MiLB crew assigned to the Arizona Fall League instant replay experiment in November 2013 and was two-for-two (100% accuracy) in Replay Reviews during 2014 MLB Spring Training.

Other umpires from the Iowa area include Tim McClelland (resides in), Eric Cooper (from Des Moines), Mike Everitt (lives in Iowa) and, yes, the retired Mike Reilly (from Sioux City).