Paul Lewis Emmel (born May 2, 1968) is an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

. He worked in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in 1999, and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000. Emmel was named a crew chief in 2017 and wears uniform number 50.

Career

Prior to reaching the major leagues in 1999, Emmel worked in the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

(1992–1993),

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

(1994),

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

(1995),

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

(1996), Eastern League (1996–1997), and

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

(1998). Emmel missed the 2018 season, returning in 2019, but again missing work in July and part of August. He missed the 2020 and 2021 seasons with knee and leg issues. He returned to MLB in the 2022 season.

Controversies

Emmel

ejected Ejection or Eject may refer to: * Ejection (sports), the act of officially removing someone from a game * Eject (''Transformers''), a fictional character from ''The Transformers'' television series * "Eject" (song), 1993 rap rock single by Sense ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

manager

Bobby Cox Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of ...

from Game 2 of the

2010 NLDS The 2010 National League Division Series (NLDS) were two best-of-five game series to determine the participating teams in the 2010 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth team—a "Wild Card"—played in t ...

for disputing an out call on the grounds that

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

first baseman

Aubrey Huff Aubrey Lewis Huff III (born December 20, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Huff played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tiger ...

had come off of first base.

Notable games

Emmel has umpired two

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

s (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

); two

Wild Card Game The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Major League Baseball postseason, postseason. A single wild card game was first ...

s (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

); eight

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...

(

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

); three

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, and ...

(

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

); and the

2013 World Series The 2013 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2013 season. The 109th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Lea ...

. He has also officiated in two

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

s (

). Emmel was the second base umpire when

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

pitcher

Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...

threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the ...

against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

on June 12, . Five days prior to Verlander's no-hitter, Emmel was also at second base in a game between the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

in which Boston pitcher

Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...

had a no-hitter until Shannon Stewart broke up the no-hitter with a single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. On May 8, 2012, Emmel was the plate umpire for

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers teams that won two consecutive Americ ...

's four-homer game. On June 23, 2016, Emmel suffered a scalp laceration requiring stitches after being struck by an errant bat, which slipped from the grasp of Los Angeles Angels' pinch hitter Jefry Marté during a swinging strike, in a game between the Angels and the Oakland Athletics.Stephen, Eric
"Umpire leaves game bloodied after getting struck by an errant bat,"
''SBNation'' (24 June 2016). On September 1, 2019, Emmel was the home plate umpire when Justin Verlander (now with the Houston Astros) threw a no-hitter against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Personal life

Emmel is a graduate of

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

with a B.A. in finance (1991). He lives in the Denver area and has two children. In late 2020, Emmel was honored by the

Points of Light Points of Light is an international nonprofit, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Georgia, United States dedicated to engaging more people and resources in solving serious social problems through voluntary service. Each year, Points ...

foundation for his work as the UMPS CARE charities secretary, among other charity activities.Kelly, Fred
"Midland native Emmel earns high honor: Longtime MLB ump named 'point of light' for extensive charitable work,"
''Midland Daily News'' (Oct. 10, 2020).

References

External links