Nic Lentz and Gabe Morales will make their World Series umpiring debuts when the Milwaukee Brewers face the Tampa Bay Rays. They will be part of a Major League Baseball crew headed by James Hoye for the series, which starts Friday night. Dan Bellino, Vic Carapazza, Tripp Gibson and Jim Wolf also will work the World Series.
World Series assignments
Morales will be the plate umpire for Friday night’s opener, with Lentz at first base, Hoye at second base, Carapazza at third base, Bellino in left field and Gibson in right field. Wolf will work behind the plate in Game 2. Lentz, Hoye, Carapazza, Bellino and Gibson will follow him at first base, second base, third base, left field and right field, respectively.
Bellino will be the crew chief for Game 3. Hoye will serve as the reserve umpire for that game. Alfonso Marquez and D.J. Reyburn will be the video review umpires at the replay operations center in the commissioner’s office in New York.
Experience and debut milestones
Lentz made his major league debut in 2016 and, at 36, will be the youngest World Series umpire since Pat Hoberg in 2022. Morales, 42, made his major league debut in 2014. Hoye, 55, made his major league debut in 2003 and previously worked the World Series in 2019 and 2022.
Gibson, 45, made his major league debut in 2013 and also worked the 2022 World Series. Wolf, 57, made his major league debut in 1999 and previously worked the World Series in 2015 and 2019. Bellino, 48, made his major league debut in 2008 and worked the 2021 World Series, while Carapazza, 47, made his major league debut in 2010 and worked the 2023 World Series.
Hoye also worked behind the plate for Game 4 of the 2019 World Series and the opener of the 2022 World Series. Gibson was behind the plate for Game 4 of the 2022 World Series, when Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly combined on a 5-0 Houston victory that produced the second no-hitter in World Series history. Those assignments add previous World Series experience to a crew that includes two debuting umpires.
ABS review results
Lentz had a 48.3% overturn rate in the first season of the ABS ball-strike system, which ranked ninth among 76 umpires with at least 100 challenges. Gibson ranked 19th at 50.4%, Morales was 21st at 50.9%, Carapazza ranked 28th at 52% and Hoye was 29th at 52.3%. Wolf ranked 39th at 53.7%, while Bellino was 65th at 59.9%.
Gibson, Hoye, Lentz and Morales each had perfect ABS records in the Division Series, with two challenges upheld for each umpire. Teams won two of four challenges against Bellino and two of five against Carapazza. Wolf did not have a plate game in the Division Series.
FSB Take
The Milwaukee Brewers-Tampa Bay Rays World Series will begin with Morales and Lentz making their debuts on the umpiring crew. Morales will have the plate for the opener, while Lentz will work first base under Hoye’s leadership. The assignments also give the series a crew that combines two first-time World Series umpires with five officials who have previous experience in the event.
Source: Original report