The Angels won’t have as big a hole to fill with Darrin Erstad out as they think, the Orioles could actually benefit from Segui and Cordova going on the shelf, Jody Gerut and Gerald Laird get well-earned opportunities, while Jermaine Clark doesn’t.
Jim Evans broke into Major League Baseball in 1972 as the youngest umpire ever at age 23. His career spanned 28 seasons, including 18 as a crew chief. He umpired four World Series, eight League Championship Series, three All-Star games, and was the plate umpire for Nolan Ryan’s first no-hitter. Currently, Jim is the owner and chief instructor of the leading professional umpire-training academy, the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring, founded in 1989. He recently chatted with BP about his career in the bigs, the intricacies of the rule book, and a few dustups with ornery managers.