Better Know An Umpire: Mike Everitt

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. (All cumulative statistics are through the 2011 season, unless otherwise stated.)

Name: Mike Everitt

Uniform number: 57

Age: 47

Height/weight: 6-foot-1, 194 pounds

First year as MLB umpire: 1996

Total MLB games worked through 2011: 1,799 (home plate: 459)

Previous experience: Gulf Coast League, Midwest League, Eastern League, Texas League, Venezuelan Winter League, Pacific Coast League

Career ejections: 61 (led all MLB umpires in 2000 with 13)

No-hitters called: One ( Kevin Millwood, 2003)

Over/under record ( 1999-2011): 185-200

Hated in: Chicago

Notable alleged blown calls: Royals-Astros, June 17, 2010; Nationals-Reds, April 15, 2012.

Claim to fame: Was the left field umpire at Wrigley Field on October 14, 2003. That's right: Game 6 of the NLCS. Moises Alou pleaded with Everitt to call fan interference after he and Steve Bartman reached for the same foul ball, but Everitt declined. The Marlins won the game and, eventually, the series.

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

Everitt's R/9, BB/9, and K/9 had all been rising since 2007, but in 2010 they went down. In the case of his R/9 and BB/9, he was just joining the larger trend ... but the drop in K/9 bucked the trend. ... While establishing himself in 2000, he led the major leagues with 13 ejections. He hasn't had a year like that since, but his ejection rate remains higher than average.

Scouting report from a forewarning Philly blogger:

There is a specific, inescapable horror in umpires these days. You never know when the next screwy mindfuck of a call is going to come, and if it can happen to a guy with as much skill as Mike Everitt, it can happen to anybody.

Average K/9 ( 2011): 14.4

Average BB/9 ( 2011): 6.2

Sample PITCHf/x strike zone: May 15, 2011. NESN called Everitt's Sunday Night Baseball strike zone " questionable at best," even as the Red Sox pulled off a sweep of the Yankees last May.

True fact: Was a two-time All-State trumpet player in high school and is a " political enthusiast" who "enjoys watching viewpoint programs."

On umpiring the Bartman play:

The ball was in the stands. It was clear. I just zeroed in on the ball, and it was an easy call.

Strike 3 call:

To check out other installments of Better Know An Umpire, click here.