Special Event Roster - 2018 Puerto Rico Umpires

MLB appointed the following umpires to officiate the 2018 Puerto Rico series between Cleveland and Minnesota at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan.

Umpire Roberto Ortiz is a PR native.

Game 1 Assignments
HP: Cory Blaser.
1B: Eric Cooper.
2B: Gary Cederstrom -cc.
3B: Roberto Ortiz.

Ortiz, who made his big league debut in 2016, is originally from Puerto Rico and is the second Puerto Rican to officiate Major League Baseball games, the first being former MiLB call-up Delfin Colón. Ortiz, who is on the 2018 Pacific Coast League roster, was born in Caguas, which is less than a 30-minute drive from the ballpark and makes history as the only PR native to officiate a regular season MLB game in Puerto Rico.
Related Post: Major League Debut of Umpire Roberto Ortiz (40) (5/14/16).

MLB has previously assigned foreign-born umpires to significant games featuring their lands of origin. For instance, Canadian umpire Stu Scheurwater recently officiated the Blue Jays' preseason exhibition games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, while Angel Hernandez and Laz Diaz—both of whom have Cuban heritage (Hernandez was born in Havana and Diaz's parents emigrated to the United States from Cuba)—officiated MLB's Cuba exhibition series in 2016.
Related Post: MLB in Cuba Roster Features US Umps Diaz, Hernandez (3/22/16).