Terry Lee Craft (born December 9, 1954) is a former 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 1987 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000 to 2006. Craft umpired 1,734 major league games in his 20-year career. He umpired in two no-hitters, a

Major League Baseball All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

, an

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 ...

, and two

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball postseason. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series ...

Early career

After graduating from McKell High School in

South Shore, Kentucky South Shore is a home rule-class city in Greenup County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,122 at the 2010 census, down from 1,226 in 2000. It is located along the Ohio River across from Portsmouth, Ohio, at the mouth of Tygarts C ...

, Craft enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. During his seven years on active duty, Craft began to umpire baseball games. He attended the Bill Kinnamon Umpire School after his military discharge. From 1979 to 1986, Craft worked in several minor leagues, including the Appalachian League, South Atlantic League, Carolina League, Southern League, International League and Dominican Winter League.

MLB career

Craft broke into Major League Baseball as a reserve umpire in 1987. He moved up from the International League when needed to cover for MLB umpire vacations. He worked portions of six major league seasons, working predominantly at the major league level for the 1992 season. He was officially called up to the full-time MLB staff in 1993. Craft was one of only a handful of umpires who did not submit resignations during the

1999 Major League Umpires Association mass resignation The 1999 Major League Umpires Association mass resignation was a labor tactic used by 68 Major League Baseball (MLB) umpires, including 66 members of the Major League Umpires Association (MLUA), the official umpires union at the time. Unable to st ...

. Craft worked the

1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1997 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 68th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July ...

, the

2003 American League Championship Series The 2003 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a semifinal series in Major League Baseball's 2003 postseason played between the Wild Card Boston Red Sox and the top-seeded New York Yankees from October 8 to 16, 2003. The Yankees won the ...

, and two

(

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

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 ...

). He umpired in two MLB no-hitters. In 1990, he was on the field when Dave Stewart threw a no-hitter against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. In 1993,

Jim Abbott James Anthony Abbott (born September 19, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers, from 1989 to 1999. He w ...

did the same against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. He was also the home plate umpire when

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 ...

broke

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent ...

's American League stolen base record. In 2001, Craft suffered a knee injury that cut his season short. After having surgery for the injury, he developed a blood clot that kept him out of action until July 2002. After rehab games in the Florida State League where he worked with future MLB umpire Mike Estabrook, Craft rejoined the crew of

John Shulock John Richard Shulock (April 29, 1949 – June 5, 2025) was a professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League from 1979 to 1999 and throughout Major League Baseball between 2000 and 2002. Shulock wore number 29 when the AL adopted t ...

, Mike Everitt and

Doug Eddings Douglas Leon Eddings (born September 14, 1968) is an American professional umpire in Major League Baseball. He wears uniform number 88. Early life Eddings first umpired baseball games at 12 years old at the request of his mother, who was on the ...

Personal life

Craft lives in Colorado. He has a wife and two children. He attended

Shawnee State University Shawnee State University (SSU) is a public university in Portsmouth, Ohio, United States, established in 1986. It is the southernmost member of the University System of Ohio. History Although its roots date back to 1945 when Ohio University est ...

References

External links

The Sporting News umpire card
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craft, Terry 1954 births Living people American League umpires Major League Baseball umpires Sportspeople from Ohio People from Portsmouth, Ohio People from South Shore, Kentucky Shawnee State University alumni

Early career

MLB career

Personal life

See also

References

External links