Mark Wegner
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Wegner in 2012
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| Born | March 4, 1972 Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| MLB debut | May 20, 1998 |
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Special Assignments
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Mark Patrick Wegner (born March 4, 1972) is a Major League Baseball umpire. He worked in the National League from 1998 to 1999, and throughout both major leagues since 2000.
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Umpiring career
Wegner has umpired in seven Division Series (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013), as well as the League Championship Series in 2007, 2014, and 2015, the 2008 All-Star Game, the 2014 National League Wild Card Game, and the 2013 World Series. Wegner wears uniform number 14. He is a member of crew L along with Marty Foster, Mike Muchlinski and crew chief Mike Winters.
Controversy
On June 2, 2007, Wegner was involved in a heated argument with Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella. After Wegner ruled that Ángel Pagán was out at third on an attempted steal, Piniella, who later acknowledged the call was correct, stormed out of the dugout, threw his hat down, and started kicking dirt on Wegner. Piniella would be ejected and given a four-game suspension and he later apologized to Wegner.[1]
In 2012, following Wegner's ejection of Chicago White Sox rookie pitcher José Quintana for throwing a pitch behind Ben Zobrist and White Sox manager Robin Ventura’s ejection for arguing the call, Chicago announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson lashed out Wegner on the air, saying: "I'll tell you what, they have got to start making guys be accountable. That is totally absurd. Here's an umpire in the American League that knows nothing about the game of baseball. They have got to do something about this. They have got some guys in this league that have no business umpiring. They have no business umpiring because they don't know what the game of baseball is about."
Notable games
On June 28, 2007, Wegner was behind the plate when Toronto Blue Jay Frank Thomas hit his 500th career home run off Minnesota Twins pitcher Carlos Silva. Later in the game, Thomas was ejected by Wegner for arguing balls and strikes. Toronto manager John Gibbons was thrown out of the game as well.[2]
Wegner worked his first career no-hitter on July 13, 2013, calling balls and strikes for Tim Lincecum's 148-pitch performance against the San Diego Padres. Replays indicate Wegner called Lincecum to the tune of 97.9% accuracy, missing just two pitches.[3]
Personal
A Catholic known for his charity work,[4] Wegner has been involved in church activities and BLUE for kids, a charity founded by fellow MLB umpires Mike DiMuro and Marvin Hudson.
At 5'8" tall, Wegner and Jerry Meals are the shortest umpires in Major League Baseball.
See also
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References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Momentum of Thomas' 500th homer erased as Twins rally. ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- ↑ "Freak No-Hitter: Lincecum Dices Padres for 2013 No-No 2." Close Call Sports and the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League. July 14, 2013.
- ↑ Wiering, Maria. "A hero behind home plate: MLB umpire feeds hungry at Our Daily Bread," The Catholic Review (Archdiocese of Baltimore), September 7, 2012.
