Doug Eddings

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Doug Eddings
Eddings in 2013
Born: (1968-09-14) September 14, 1968 (age 56)
Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S.
MLB debut
August 16, 1998
Crew Information
Umpiring crew2
Crew members
Career highlights and awards
Special Assignments

Douglas Leon Eddings (born September 14, 1968) is an American professional umpire in Major League Baseball.

Early life

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Eddings first umpired baseball games at 12 years old at the request of his mother, who was on the board of the local Little League. Eddings attended Mayfield High School in New Mexico and New Mexico State University before attending Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School. He officiated high school baseball, basketball and football game in New Mexico for over a decade.[1]

Career

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In his early career, he worked throughout the minor leagues. He started working American League games in 1998, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000. In the postseason, Eddings has worked the 2000 ALDS, 2002 ALDS, 2005 ALCS, 2014 NL Wild Card Game, 2018 NLDS, 2019 NLDS, the 2019 World Series the 2020 National League Wild Card Series, 2020 NLDS, 2021 NLDS, the 2022 AL Wild Card Series, 2022 NLCS, the 2023 National League Wild Card Series, 2023 ALCS and 2024 NLDS. He also worked the 2004 All-Star Game and was the replay official for the 2017 All-Star Game. He wears uniform number 88.

Notable games

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Eddings was the home plate umpire for Cal Ripken Jr.'s final major league game on October 6, 2001. He was the second base umpire for the game between the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres on August 4, 2007, at San Diego when Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron for first place on Major League Baseball's career home run list by hitting his 755th career home run. He was the home plate umpire for Carlos Rodon's no-hitter thrown on April 14, 2021.

Eddings was the home plate umpire for Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS between the White Sox and the Angels. White Sox batter A. J. Pierzynski quickly got two strikes and then swung at the third pitch, a splitter which came in very low. Angels catcher Josh Paul caught the ball so "thought the inning was over."[2] Not hearing himself called out, Pierzynski took a couple of steps toward the dugout, then turned and ran to first base while most of the Angels were walking off the field. Eddings ruled that the ball had not been legally caught (an uncaught third strike), but made no audible call that the ball hit the ground.[3] Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, announcing the game on Fox and reviewing replays of the pitch, felt the ball had clearly been caught;[4] note that MLB did not adopt review via instant replay until the 2008 season. A pinch runner for Pierzynski subsequently scored the winning run of the game for the White Sox.[5] According to umpire supervisor Rich Rieker, the replays showed "there was definitely a change in direction there" indicating the ball touched the ground and felt, at best, the replay was inconclusive.[6] After the game, Eddings said he would adjust his umpiring style to clarify a third strike call from calling the batter out.[7]

In July & August 2021, Eddings would once again come under fire after being the home plate umpire in two San Diego Padres games. The first, on July 24, saw the ejections of Padres left fielder Tommy Pham and associate manager Skip Schumaker.[8] The scorecard report on Eddings' performance also showed a +0.69 skew for the Padres opponent (which coincidentally happened to be the Marlins).[9][10] Afterwards, the Padres filed a formal complaint against Eddings due to the result of the game.[11] The next game, on August 20, saw the ejections of Padres manager Jayce Tingler, third baseman Manny Machado, and development coach Ryan Flaherty.[12] The report for this game showed a greater skew (+1.21) that also favored the Padres opponent (this time, the Phillies).[13][14]

Eddings worked his 3,000th game on June 13, 2023, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Umpiring style

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A report in The Hardball Times listed Eddings as having called the largest strike zone among all Major League umpires in 2011.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Murrieta, JP (October 21, 2019). "Mayfield High School Graduate Gets His Shot in the World Series". New Mexico Activities Association. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  2. ^ "Inside Baseball". Verducci, Tom (October 13, 2005), Sports Illustrated. Copy at [1].
  3. ^ "Umpires postgame interview". mlb.com. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
  4. ^ "ALCS Gm2: A.J. reaches first on dropped third strike". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2018 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Chicago White Sox 2, Anaheim Angels 1". Retrosheet. October 12, 2005. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  6. ^ Bisheff, Steve (October 13, 2005). "Eddings' blown call a stinker". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  7. ^ "Eddings to change his umpiring style". Montgomery Advertiser. AP. October 14, 2005. p. 27. Retrieved October 16, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Lindsay. "MLB Ejections 110-111 - Doug Eddings (2-3; SD x2)". Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  9. ^ "Umpire Scorecards | Single Game". umpscorecards.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Umpire Scorecards [@UmpScorecards] (July 25, 2021). "Umpire: Doug Eddings Final: Marlins 3, Padres 2 #JuntosMiami // #HungryForMore #MIAvsSD // #SDvsMIA https://t.co/kU6gO2QqIx" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Brown, Larry (July 25, 2021). "Padres to call MLB over bad umpiring from Doug Eddings". Larry Brown Sports. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Lindsay. "MLB Ejections 144-146 - Doug Eddings (4-6; SD x3)". Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  13. ^ "Umpire Scorecards | Single Game". umpscorecards.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  14. ^ Umpire Scorecards [@UmpScorecards] (August 21, 2021). "Umpire: Doug Eddings Final: Padres 3, Phillies 4 #HungryForMore // #RingTheBell #SDvsPHI // #PHIvsSD https://t.co/nl5k9Am8oa" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Weinstock, Josh (January 11, 2012). "Which umpire has the largest strike zone?". The Hardball Times. Retrieved June 23, 2012.

Further reading

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