Terry Anthony Tata (born April 24, 1940) is a former
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 ...
(MLB)
umpire. His MLB career began when the
National League purchased his contract from the
Triple-A International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...
on March 21, 1973. It ended in 1999.
Career
During his career, Tata officiated four
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- ...
, seven
National League Championship Series
The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Natio ...
and three
All-Star
An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry.
Sports
"All-star" as a sport ...
games. He also officiated in five
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 ...
s, including being the home plate umpire for two:
Phil Niekro
Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, N ...
's on August 5, 1973 and
Tom Seaver's on June 16, 1978. Tata wore uniform number 19 for most of his career.
Tata appeared on the television program ''
What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...
'' on June 11, 1961, where he was presented as being the youngest umpire in "organized baseball." He was 21 years old at the time and stated that he worked in the
Northern League which incorporated, he said on the program, "Minnesota, the Dakotas, Canada, and Wisconsin." The panelists were able to discern his occupation.
Personal life
Tata is married to his wife Janice, and they live in
Cheshire, Connecticut.
On June 22, 1993, Tata was drugged and robbed in his room in
Burlingame, California. After working second base in that evening’s game between the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants at
Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium located in the Bayview-Hunters Point, Hunters Point area of San Francisco, California, United States. It was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 S ...
, he invited a woman up to his room for a drink. She slipped a tranquilizer into his glass and made off with a Rolex watch, a gold bracelet, two World Series rings, and $500 in cash.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball umpires (disambiguation)
References
External links
* Retrieved on 2013-10-15
Retrosheet.org
1940 births
Living people
Major League Baseball umpires
National League umpires
Sportspeople from Waterbury, Connecticut
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