Youth Movement: Five MLB Umpires Retire, Five New Ones on the Way

Per MLB’s press release, five MLB umpires are retiring, and five new umpires from the minor leagues will be in their place. Among the five retired MLB umpires are Fieldin Culbreth, Kevin Danley, Gerry Davis, Brian Gorman, and one of the more notable names in Joe West. The new crew chiefs will be Laz Diaz, Greg Gibson, Marvin Hudson, Ron Kulpa, and Bill Welke in response to these retirements.  

Out with the old. In with the new.

5 MLB umpires retiring. 5 Minor League umpires on the way up pic.twitter.com/Sqd1w8EJvO

— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) February 4, 2022

List of new umpires

Ryan Additon- At the age of 36, Additon has been a minor league umpire since 2010 and has been a call-up umpire since 2017. The most notable game he has been a part of was Corey Kluber’s no-hitter last season.

Sean Barber-  Barber, who is also 36, has been a minor league umpire since 2006. Barber has been used as a call-up umpire since 2014 and has 690 games of major league experience.

John Libka- The youngest of the bunch, Libka is just 34 years of age and has served as a minor league umpire since 2010. Libka has 371 games of major league experience and has served in the call-up role since 2017

Ben May- The oldest of the group, May is 40 years of age and has been an umpire in the minors since 2007. May has 650 games of major league experience and has served as a call-up role since 2014

Roberto Ortiz- At the age of 37, Ortiz has been a minor league umpire since 2007. Since 2016, Ortiz has served as a call-up umpire and has 411 games of major league experience. 

MLB is moving towards a more youthful umpire crew, and with the automated strike zone coming soon, it would make sense to have a younger group of umpires get acclimated to the new system instead of an older group used to the old way of things.