Umpires Announced for the World Series
Toronto will be the stage for the exciting World Series, and the names of those in charge of administering justice on the field are already known. Mark Wegner will lead the umpiring team for the first time in this prestigious event.
Alongside Wegner will be Jordan Baker, Adam Hamari, Adrian Johnson, Will Little, Alan Porter, and John Tumpane, who will be responsible for overseeing the encounters between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hamari, Johnson, Little, and Tumpane will debut in a World Series, marking a milestone in their careers. Major League Baseball (MLB) announced the composition of the umpiring crew on Thursday.
Wegner, 53 years old and with experience since 1998 in the Major Leagues, already participated in the 2013 and 2017 Series. In this last year, he was behind the plate in the decisive seventh game that the Houston Astros won against the Dodgers.
Porter, 47, will add his third World Series, after his participations in 2019 and 2022. Baker, 43, will be present for the second time, after his experience in 2022.
Little will be in charge of calling balls and strikes in the first game in Toronto. Wegner will be at first base, Tumpane at second, Porter at third, Hamari in left field, Baker in right field and Johnson as a reserve.
For the second game, Johnson will be behind the plate, followed by Wegner, Tumpane, Porter, Hamari, and Baker.
Porter will be the head of the referee team in the second match, with Wegner as a reserve.
Johnson debuted in 2006, while Porter and Tumpane, aged 42, did so in 2010. Baker, for his part, debuted in 2012. Little, 41 years old, refereed his first game on June 24, 2013, one day before Hamari, 42.
According to umpscorecards.com, Porter had the third-highest accuracy in balls and strikes in the Major Leagues this year, with 95.46%, only surpassed by Edwin Jiménez (96.18%) and Mark Ripperger (95.48%). Wegner recorded 94.78%, followed by Hamari (94.77%), Little (94.72%), Tumpane (94.25%), Baker (93.91%) and Johnson (93.41%) among the World Series umpires.
Dan Iassogna and Jeremie Rehak will be the video referees at the replay operations center in the commissioner’s office in New York.
Eight of the nine umpires participated in the Divisional Series, and Iassogna was crew chief in the Wild Card Series.
