Topic: John Hirschbeck
John Francis Hirschbeck (born September 7, 1954 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the American League from 1984 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2000; he is currently a crew chief. On February 28, 2000, Hirschbeck was elected as the first president of the newly certified World Umpires Association. He wears uniform number 17, which was also his number when the leagues maintained separate umpiring staffs.
Hirschbeck has officiated in the All-Star Game twice (1989, 2004), in the Division Series 7 times (AL: 1995, 1998, 1999, 2005; NL: 2001, 2003, 2006), the American League Championship Series 4 times (1990, 1997, 2000 and 2004), and the World Series twice (1995, 2006).
Hirschbeck was the home plate umpire on August 7, 2007 at AT&T Park in San Francisco when the Giants' Barry Bonds hit his record 756th career home run.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "John Hirschbeck."