The 2020 Major League Baseball season is due to get underway on only four weeks, and it is expected that when it does, that it will include multiple new umpires being brought into to officiate.
The MLB made an announcement this past Thursday stated that longtime umpires Alfonso Marquez, and Kerwin Danley have received promotions as crew chiefs. Kerwin Danley will make history as the first black crew chief in the history of baseball and Marquez will be the first Latino crew chief. In addition, it was announced that Ramon De Jesus will become the full-time umpire who was born and raised in the Dominican.
Danley, who is 58, is a veteran with 23 years’ experience. He has two World Series under his belt, one in 2008 and the other 2018 and held ten other postseason rounds. His first time to the plate as an umpire in the MLB came in 1992 and in 1998, his position was made full-time. He as teammates at San Diego State with Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn and was working first base when Gwyen recorded his 3,000th hit.
In total, there have been 10 black umpires in the history of Major League Baseball, the first was Emmett Ashford in 1966. Marquez, who is 47, also is a veteran in the MLB with twenty years of service and has worked in three World Series, one in 2006, one in 2011 and most recently, the 2015 World Series. He is the second Hispanic crew chief in MLB history and was born and raised in Florida. Ramon De Jesus has been a staple since 2016 in the minor leagues as a fill-in umpire and has umpired close to 400 big-league game.
On Thursday, the MLB also announced it has promoted Jim Reynolds and Dan Iassogna to crew chief positions to cover the positions vacated due to retirement by Jeff Kellogg, Mike Everitt, Dana DeMuth and Gary Cederstro. In addition to Reynolds and Iassogna Jansen Visconti, Chris Segal, Nic Lentz and Ryan Blakney have been awarded full-time positions.
First Female Coach Hired in the MLB
In other MLB news, the league has announced the first female coach in its history has been hired by the San Francisco Giants. The hiring of Alyssa Nakken came last month, and it was stated that she is looking forward to the challenge and embracing the responsibility is carries. Nakken will join the coaching staff under Gabe Kapler, the head coach for the Giants.