John Tumpane

John Francis Tumpane (born May 4, 1983) (sometimes nicknamed Jack the Ripper by fans) is an American Major League Baseball umpire wearing number 74.

John Tumpane
Tumpane in 2014
Born: (1983-05-04) May 4, 1983
Evergreen Park, Illinois[1]
MLB debut
August 2, 2010
Crew Information
Umpiring crew12
Crew members
Career highlights and awards
Special Assignments

Umpiring career

He made his major league umpiring debut on August 2, 2010. He umpired in six major league games in 2010, and returned in 2011, umpiring in 68 games.[2] On July 1, 2016, Tumpane was promoted to the full-time MLB umpiring staff.[3]

In August 2015, Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal complained about Tumpane’s strike zone, saying "This whole season I’ve been fighting that guy... It's one of those frustrating things where you don't really know what it is he's going to call."[4] In October 2020, third baseman Josh Donaldson tweeted his opinion that Tumpane was a "Top 3 worst ump in the game," adding "Trust me this guy has no idea what the zone is in the rule book."[5]

Notable games

On August 21, 2015, he was the home plate umpire in Houston for Mike Fiers' no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.[6] On May 4, 2018, he was the home plate umpire for Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia, and Adam Liberatore's of the Los Angeles Dodgers combined no-hitter against the San Diego Padres.[7] On August 25, 2020, Tumpane was the second base umpire for a no-hitter thrown by Lucas Giolito of the Chicago White Sox against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[8]

For game 2 of the 2020 American League Championship Series, played on October 12, 2020, Tumpane was credited with a 99.3% correctly called game in which he correctly called as ball or strike 134 of 135 pitches at which a batter did not swing.[9]

On September 27, 2022, Tumpane, serving as first base umpire, called an MLB-record 3 balks on Miami Marlins pitcher Richard Bleier while Bleier was pitching to the same batter; Bleier had never been called for a balk in his MLB career previously, over the course of 303 games in seven seasons.[10] CBS Sports opined: "Some balks are obvious. Those are not... You almost have to be looking for a reason to call a balk to ring Bleier up on that motion three -- again, three! -- times in a single inning."[11]

Personal life

Tumpane is a 2001 graduate of Saint Laurence High School in Burbank, Illinois. On June 28, 2017, Tumpane helped prevent a suicide attempt on the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania prior to umpiring a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Pittsburgh Pirates.[12][13]

See also

References
  1. "John Tumpane Player Card". Baseball Prospectus.
  2. Retrosheet Directory: John Tumpane, retrieved June 10, 2012
  3. "Tumpane becomes full-time MLB umpire". kgw.com.
  4. Brown, Larry (August 22, 2015). "Yasmani Grandal complains about umpire John Tumpane's strike zone after no-hitter". Larry Brown Sports.
  5. "Josh Donaldson destroys umpire John Tumpane in middle of ALCS". October 12, 2020.
  6. ""Gameday"
  7. "2018 No-Hitter 2, John Tumpane (2; Buehler & Co)". Close Call Sports and the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  8. "MLB Pirates vs White Sox Box Score - Aug 25, 2020". Covers. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  9. Imber, Gil. "Perfect Game for John Tumpane is First in UEFL History". Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  10. "Umpire called 3 balks in one at-bat on Marlins' Richard Bleier and MLB fans were stunned". September 28, 2022.
  11. "Marlins' Richard Bleier becomes first pitcher called for three balks in one inning since 1988". CBS Sports.
  12. Nesbitt, Stephen J.; Chambers, Steph (June 28, 2017). "MLB umpire saves woman from edge of Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  13. Berry, Adam (June 28, 2017). "Umpire saves life, then calls balls & strikes". Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
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