John Richard Shulock (April 29, 1949 – June 5, 2025) was a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

who worked in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

from 1979 to 1999 and throughout

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

between 2000 and 2002. Shulock wore number 29 when the AL adopted them for its umpires in 1980, and retained the number when the NL and AL umpire staffs merged in 2000. Shulock umpired 3,050 major league games in his 24-year career. He umpired in two

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

(

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

), two All-Star Games (

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

), four

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and ...

(

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

), and two

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

(

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Playing career

After earning fourteen varsity letters at

Vero Beach High School Vero Beach High School (VBHS) is a 9–12 public high school in Vero Beach, Florida, Vero Beach, Florida, United States that was established in 1925. The school is operated by the Indian River County School District, and it's similar to Keyport ...

in Florida, Shulock played minor league baseball in the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

organization.

Umpiring career

1979 MLB umpire strike

Shulock was promoted to the American League as a replacement during the umpire strike that spanned the first seven weeks of the 1979 major league season. When the regular major league umpires returned to work, Shulock and seven other replacement umpires were retained in the major leagues. Crossing the picket lines would affect Shulock's relationships with MLB umpires for at least several years. "To this day, there are still hard feelings," American League crew chief Don Denkinger said in 1994. Backlash against Shulock may have been particularly harsh because he was felt to have enough talent to make the big leagues under non-strike conditions.

Notable games

Shulock was the second base umpire for

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryan pitched for the New Yo ...

's sixth career

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

on June 11, 1990. In September 1999, Shulock was fined and suspended for three games following a confrontation with Tampa Bay Devil Rays catcher Mike DiFelice during an Anaheim Angels at Tampa Bay Rays game. In the game's third inning, Shulock was struck in the mask by a fastball from pitcher Wilson Alvarez. Thinking he had been intentionally targeted by Alvarez and that DiFelice made no effort to catch the ball, Shulock charged toward the mound until he was intercepted by DiFelice. He was cited by league officials for display of temper, overly aggressive behavior and physical contact with DiFelice. He was also disciplined for inappropriate public remarks when he told reporters, "I hope somebody smokes a line drive off lvarez'shead. I'll be the first to laugh." Shulock was the second base umpire for

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (December 25, 1958 – December 20, 2024), nicknamed "Man of Steal", was an American professional baseball left fielder who played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, inc ...

's 3,000th hit on October 7, 2001; that game was also

Tony Gwynn Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hi ...

's final MLB game.Box Score of Rickey Henderson's 3,000th hit
BaseballReference.com.

Death

Shulock died at home on June 5, 2025, at the age of 76.https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/john-shulock-obituary?id=58582335John Richard Shulock's Obituary
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References

External links

The Sporting News umpire card
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schulock, John 1949 births 2025 deaths American League umpires Major League Baseball umpires Baseball people from New York (state) Vero Beach High School alumni Gulf Coast Twins players Orlando Twins players St. Cloud Rox players Wisconsin Rapids Twins players