Although football is in season and headed into the playoffs, all baseball fans want is for the Superbowl to be played so that baseball has the floor again. The 2023 season will bring new faces to each team … and the umpiring staff.

At the end of December, a source released to the media that ten MLB umpires, including seven crew chiefs, would be retiring at the end of the month, making it the largest group of retirees since 1999. New faces are just one thing to change during the 2023 season. Several new rules also come to play that may take some getting used to seeing during plays on the field, such as banning the shift, to name one of many.

It feels like yesterday when then-69-year-old record-setting Major League Baseball umpire Joe West announced his retirement last February. West’s announcement was more of a relief for fans than anything. Still, this retirement announcement is more significant than that of “Cowboy Joe.” The retirees include crew chiefs Ted Barrett, Greg Gibson, Tom Hallion, Sam Holbrook, Jerry Meals, Jim Reynolds, and Bill Welke. Marty Foster, Paul Nauert, and Tim Timmons will also join them in retirement.

The history that these umpires have seen take place behind the plate is remarkable. Fifty-seven-year-old Ted Barrett alone witnessed right-hander David Cone‘s perfect game for the New York Yankees against the Montreal Expos on July 18, 1999, the first interleague no-hitter in the regular season, right behind home plate.

Many fans have concluded that the upcoming wave of retirements has to do with the automatic balls and strike zone (ABS system) being projected in the future. Still, several media sources have released that it is not due to that.

“I’m so grateful to have the career that I did and to be a part of baseball history,” Barrett said in a phone interview. “I’m incredibly proud of the crews that I worked with and everything baseball provided for me. For all of us.”

The last time major league baseball had to add new umpires into the rotation was in 2014. The reason for hiring during 2014 was to provide proper staffing in New York for instant replays. The 2014 hiring surge took on eight new umpires. Taking on and promoting ten umpires will be a unique opportunity for the major leagues to gather a diverse group of officials. Now might be when fans see the first female umpire, Jen Pawol, call a Major League game.

Cheers to the upcoming 2023 season getting closer!

Let’s play ball!

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