Mark Hirschbeck (born September 22, 1960) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

who worked in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

from to , and both Major Leagues from until his retirement in .

Career

He wore uniform number 4 (previously worn by former NL umpire Satch Davidson) throughout his NL career, but changed to 20 when the umpiring staffs unified in 2000. His brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

is also a major league umpire, making the Hirschbecks the first pair of brothers to umpire in the Major Leagues at the same time. (Brothers Tim and

Bill Welke William Anthony Welke (born August 22, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball umpire. He joined the major league staff in 1999 and worked the World Series in 2015. Welke was promoted to crew chief for the 2022 season, and retired follo ...

became the second such pair.) Mark Hirschbeck's assignments included the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

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 ...

and

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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

, the

2001 American League Division Series The 2001 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the American League side in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2001 postseason, began on Tuesday, October 9, and ended on Monday, October 15, with the champions of the three AL ...

, the 1996 NLCS, the 2000 ALCS, and the

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 ...

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- ...

. Hirschbeck also officiated the

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 ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

All-Star Games.

Health problems and retirement

Hirschbeck was forced to retire seven games into the 2003 season after it was discovered that he needed a hip replacement. Although Hirschbeck originally hoped to return to umpiring after he recovered from his surgery, his ceramic implant cracked six weeks after the operation. About two months later, a

staph infection A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria. These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasi ...

formed in Hirschbeck's hip and he was unable to return to baseball. Hirschbeck later sued Wright Medical Technology, makers of the ceramic prosthetic, as well as the doctor who performed the surgery. Hirschbeck settled out of court with both the surgeon and the medical device company.

Post-umpiring career

In 2012, Hirschbeck opened the

Shelton, Connecticut Shelton is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 40,869 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, Naugatuck Valley ...

restaurant, ''Hirschbeck's Sports Bar & Grille'', which later closed in 2015.

References

External links

The Baseball Cube
Living people 1960 births Sportspeople from Bridgeport, Connecticut Major League Baseball umpires National League umpires {{US-baseball-umpire-stub

Career

Health problems and retirement

Post-umpiring career

See also

References

External links