Another (far less controversial) umpire is joining Angel Hernandez in retirement.
Umpire-focused retailer Ump Attire announced to social media this week that veteran umpire Paul Emmel has retired. The 56-year-old Emmel had served as an MLB umpire since 1999 and had been a crew chief since 2017.
For Emmel, who worked over 2,500 MLB games in his career, his retirement appears to have been somewhat expected. He did not work at all during the 2020 and 2021 seasons thanks to leg and knee issues and worked just 37 games in the 2023 MLB season (with none this season). Emmel was also involved in a 2016 incident where he was hit on the head by a flying bat during a game.
Though like any umpire, Emmel had his fair share of missed calls over the years, he was a generally well-regarded umpire who kept a low profile and did his job well. The same cannot be said though of Hernandez, whose own retirement announcement this week was met with widespread celebrations.
H/T Baseball Reddit
