Mark Wegner
Wegner in 2012
Born: (1972-03-04) March 4, 1972
Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
MLB debut
May 20, 1998
Crew Information
Umpiring crew6
Crew members
Career highlights and awards
Special Assignments

Mark Patrick Wegner (born March 4, 1972) is an American Major League Baseball umpire. He worked in the National League from 1998 to 1999, and throughout both major leagues since 2000. He was promoted to Crew Chief for the 2018 MLB season when Dale Scott retired after the 2017 MLB season.[1]

Umpiring career

Wegner has umpired in ten Division Series (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2020), five League Championship Series (2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018), and two World Baseball Classics (2009, 2013). He also officiated in the 2008 All-Star Game, the 2014 and 2018 National League Wild Card Games, and the 2013 World Series and recently the 2017 World Series. Wegner wears uniform number 14, and previously wore uniform number 47. For the 2018 regular season he was found to be a Top 10 performing home plate umpire in terms of accuracy in calling balls and strikes. His error rate was 7.28 percent. This was based on a study conducted at Boston University where 372,442 pitches were culled and analyzed.[2]

Controversy

On June 2, 2007, Wegner was involved in a heated argument with Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella. After Wegner ruled that Ángel Pagán was out at third on an attempted steal, Piniella, who later acknowledged the call was correct, stormed out of the dugout, threw his hat down, and started kicking dirt on Wegner. Piniella would be ejected and given a four-game suspension and he later apologized to Wegner.[3]

Notable games

On June 28, 2007, Wegner was behind the plate when Toronto Blue Jay Frank Thomas hit his 500th career home run off Minnesota Twins pitcher Carlos Silva. Later in the game, Thomas was ejected by Wegner for arguing balls and strikes. Toronto manager John Gibbons was thrown out of the game as well.[4]

Wegner umpired at third base on the game where Randy Johnson won his 300th career game on June 4, 2009.[5]

On May 30, 2012, Wegner was the target of Chicago White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson for ejecting pitcher Jose Quintana. Harrelson claimed Wegner "knew nothing about the game of baseball". Those comments drew much ire from Major League Baseball, and Harrelson apologized for those comments.

Wegner worked his first career no-hitter on July 13, 2013, calling balls and strikes for Tim Lincecum's 148-pitch performance against the San Diego Padres. Replays indicate Wegner called Lincecum to the tune of 97.9% accuracy, missing just two pitches.[6]

On November 1, 2017, Wegner was behind home plate for Game 7 of the World Series, which was won by the Houston Astros by a score of 5‍–‍1 over the host Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to the start of the 2018 season, Wegner was promoted to crew chief.[7]

Personal life

A Catholic known for his charity work,[8] Wegner has been involved in church activities and the "BLUE for kids" outreach of UMPS CARE, the MLB Umpires' charity.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Mark Wegner Promoted to Crew Chief for 2018".
  2. ↑ "MLB Umpires Missed 34,294 Ball-Strike Calls in 2018. Bring on Robo-umps?". BU Today. 8 April 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Piniella suspended four games by Major League Baseball". ESPN.com. 3 June 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  4. ↑ Momentum of Thomas' 500th homer erased as Twins rally. ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  5. ↑ San Francisco Giants at Washington Nationals Box Score, June 4, 2009 Baseball Reference.com Retrieved 11 August 2017
  6. ↑ "Freak No-Hitter: Lincecum Dices Padres for 2013 No-No 2." Close Call Sports and the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. July 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ ”http://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=371101119”
  8. ↑ Wiering, Maria. "A hero behind home plate: MLB umpire feeds hungry at Our Daily Bread," The Catholic Review (Archdiocese of Baltimore), September 7, 2012.
  9. ↑ "UMPS CARE Charities Featured on MASN Broadcast". closecallsports.com. September 12, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
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