Better Know An Umpire: Brian Gorman

Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year.

Name: Brian Gorman

Uniform number: 9 (crew chief)

Age: 52

Height/weight: 6-foot-1, 200 pounds

First year as MLB umpire: 1991

Total MLB games worked through 2011: 2,588 (home plate: 645)

Previous experience: New York-Penn League, Florida State League, Southern League, American Association

Career ejections: 40

No-hitters called: Zero

Over/under record ( 1999-2011): 178-212

Hated in: The Bronx

Notable alleged blown calls: Rangers-Yankees, October 22, 2010 (Game 6, ALCS); Tigers-Mariners, September 8, 2007

Claim to fame: His father, Tom, umpired more than 3,800 games from 1951 to 1977.

Scouting report from Major League Umpires' Performance, 2007-2010, by Andy Goldblatt:

In 2007, Brian Gorman was a hitters' umpire, but since then his strike zone has expanded. ... But it would be wrong to conclude that Gorman is a pitchers' umpire. His overall R/9 still favors hitters.

Scouting report from an Internet message board:

Worst fcuking homeplate umpire I have seen all year.

Average K/9 ( 2010): 14.22

Average BB/9 ( 2010): 6.08

Sample PITCHf/x strike zone: April 16, 2009. Rays manager Joe Maddon was ejected for arguing a disputed foul ball, but all those green squares in the strike zone probably didn't help his temperament.

True fact: His father, Tom, worked home plate for the first game at Shea Stadium on April 17, 1964. Brian worked first base for the last game at Shea Stadium on September 28, 2008.

Strike 3 call:

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