Major League Baseball's owner-imposed lockout is now in its second month, but that didn't stop the league from announcing the promotion of five umpires to its full-time staff on Friday. That group of five includes Roberto Ortiz, who, per the league, is the first Puerto Rican-born umpire to be made part of the full-time staff, and Ryan Additon, who called balls and strikes for Corey Kluber's no-hitter last season.
Ortiz and Additon are joined by Sean Barber, John Libka, and Ben May. Each of the five has been a minor-league umpire since at least 2010. Here are the full biographies of each, as provided by the league:
Additon, 36, has been a Minor League Umpire since 2010. Ryan has 381 Major League games of on-field experience as a call-up umpire since 2017, and he was behind the plate for last season's no-hitter by Corey Kluber, then of the New York Yankees, at Texas. He worked Triple-A East in 2021.
Barber, 36, has been a Minor League Umpire since 2006. Sean has 690 Major League games as a call-up umpire since 2014 and worked Triple-A East in 2021.
Libka, 34, has been a Minor League Umpire since 2010. John has 371 Major League games as a call-up umpire since 2017 and worked Triple-A West in 2021.
May, 40, has been a Minor League Umpire since 2007. Ben has 650 Major League games as a call-up umpire since 2014 and worked Triple-A West in 2021.
Ortiz, 37, has been a Minor League Umpire since 2009. Roberto has 411 Major League games as a call-up umpire since 2016 and worked Triple-A East in 2021.
The five promotions are taking the spots of five umpires who retired last season: Fieldin Culbreth, Kerwin Danley, Gerry Davis, Brian Gorman, and Joe West. While West is the best known of those umpires, Danley has the most historical significance: he became the first African American crew chief in MLB history in 2020.
Laz Díaz, Greg Gibson, Marvin Hudson, Ron Kulpa and Bill Welke were named new crew chiefs in place of the retired umpires.
