Major League Baseball announced the umpiring crew for the 2024 World Series on Thursday, just over 24 hours before the scheduled first pitch of Game 1 between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Mark Carlson, who previously worked the World Series in 2015 and 2020, will serve as crew chief for the first time. Carlson has umpired for MLB since 1999, giving him more than a quarter century of experience at the game's highest level.
Carlson's staff will feature six other umpires, making for seven in total. Of course, there will be only six umpires on the field in any given game -- one at the plate, one apiece at the three bases, and then two down the foul lines -- with the other sitting out on a rotation basis. That includes Carlson, who is slated to be on the sidelines for Game 2.
The rest of the crew includes Doug Eddings (second World Series), Chad Fairchild (second), Andy Fletcher (first), Mark Ripperger (first), Todd Tichenor (second), and Carlos Torres (first). Tichenor will serve as crew chief in Game 2.
Each umpire will get a turn behind the plate if the series goes a full seven games. Here's how they'll line up in Game 1:
- HP: Torres
- 1B: Carlson
- 2B: Eddings
- 3B: Ripperger
- LF: Fairchild
- RF: Tichenor
- Reserve: Fletcher
And here is the home plate assignment rotation for the entire World Series:
- Game 1: Torres
- Game 2: Fletcher
- Game 3: Carlson
- Game 4: Eddings
- Game 5: Ripperger
- Game 6: Fairchild
- Game 7: Tichenor
Umpires Cory Blaser and James Hoye will serve in Replay. Both Blaser and Hoye worked on the field during the Divisional Round, along with every other umpire included on the World Series crew.
The Yankees and Dodgers are meeting in the World Series for the 12th time, making it the most frequent Fall Classic matchup in MLB history. The Yankees have won eight of the previous 11 series, albeit not the most recent matchup between the teams, back in 1981.
