Robert Paul Drake (born May 24, 1969) is an American umpire in Major League Baseball. He was named to the Major League staff in 2010, and wears uniform number 30.

Umpiring career

Drake was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and has worked in both Major Leagues since umpiring his first MLB game on September 3, 1999. Drake had previously worked in the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

, Eastern, California and

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

leagues before reaching the MLB. Drake has also umpired winter baseball in the Dominican Republic, and officiated during the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...

. Drake has worked MLB's All-Star Game (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

), Wild Card Game (

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

), Division Series (

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

), and League Championship Series (

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

). Drake ended the 2016 season on the Bereavement List for immediate family following the sudden death of his wife Yvonnka on September 10, 2016. Drake was the third base umpire for Aníbal Sánchez's

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

on September 6, . He was also the

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

umpire for Roy Halladay's no-hitter in the 2010 NLDS, and was the second base umpire for

Francisco Liriano Francisco Liriano Casillas (born October 26, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, ...

's no-hitter in . In 2011, Drake ejected St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina from a game against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. During the ensuing argument, Drake appeared to be hit by Molina's spittle. After the game, Molina said, "I would never spit on anybody's face." That comment notwithstanding, Molina was suspended for five games. Drake was the home plate umpire for Félix Hernández's perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 15, . Drake ejected Rays manager Joe Maddon in the seventh inning of the game. He was chosen as one of the umpires for the one-game Wild Card playoff between the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals on October 5, 2012, and advanced to the

2012 ALCS The 2012 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the New York Yankees against the Detroit Tigers for the American League pennant and the right to play in the 2012 World Series. The series, the 43rd in league his ...

less than two weeks later. Drake was the home plate umpire for Chris Heston's

against the New York Mets on June 9, 2015. Drake was the second base umpire who called the first game-ending triple play in National League history. Eric Bruntlett (Phillies) caught a line drive, and the Mets ran themselves into an unassisted triple play, cementing the Phillies' 9–7 win. In 2019, Drake tweeted about the Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump, declaring that he would buy an AR-15 "because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! # MAGA2020." The tweet was deleted. A follow-up tweet incorrectly claimed that Congress could not begin an impeachment inquiry without a vote. An MLB spokesman said that the league began investigating Drake's tweet. Drake deleted his Twitter account within hours of his tweets being picked up by the media.

References

External links

MLB.com profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Rob 1969 births Living people People from Indiana, Pennsylvania Major League Baseball umpires

Umpiring career

See also

References

External links