Tom Hallion

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Tom Hallion
Tom Hallion.jpg
Hallion in 2011
Born: (1956-09-05) September 5, 1956 (age 65)
Kingston, New York
debut
June 10, 1985
Crew Information
Umpiring crew5
Crew members
Career highlights and awards
Special Assignments

Thomas Francis Hallion (born September 5, 1956) is an American umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) who has worked in the National League (NL) from 1985 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2005. He is a crew chief. Hallion has worn number 20 during his MLB career. He resigned from the NL in 1999 as part of a failed mass bargaining strategy, but he was rehired by MLB before the 2005 season.

Early and personal life[]

Hallion was born on September 5, 1956, to Alice Golding Hallion (March 20, 1926-March 25, 2007) and Francis Joseph Hallion (December 1, 1923-February 21, 1999) in Kingston, New York and grew up in Saugerties, New York. He has two sisters, Kathy Cotich and Maribeth, and a brother, Francis Joseph, Jr.[1]

Hallion's father served in the United States Navy during World War II; his uncles Vincent and James T. Hallion in the United States Army; and uncle Edward Hallion in the United States Coast Guard. His father also worked for the Ulster County Department of Public Works for 27 years and as a town councilman in Saugerties from 1964 to 1977.[2]

Hallion attended the University at Buffalo. He married Elizabeth "Betsy" Carnright on September 11, 1983 in Saugerties. They have three children, Corey Nicholas Hallion (b. 1985), Kyle Matthew Hallion (b. 1988) and Jacob Carnright Hallion (b. 1995), and reside in Louisville, Kentucky.[3][4]

Umpiring career[]

While a student at the University at Buffalo, Hallion got his first umpiring job through his friend Jack Keeley; he worked games for the Saugerties Athletic Association softball league. In 1979, he attended Bill Kinnamon Umpiring School.

He began his professional umpiring career in the New York–Penn League (1979), which was followed by stints in the Carolina League (1980–81), Eastern League (1982) and American Association (1983–85) before joining the NL staff. He was among the umpires who lost their jobs after resigning as part of a failed union bargaining strategy in 1999, but he was rehired in a December 2004 settlement with MLB.[5]

He has officiated in the World Series in 2008, the League Championship Series in 1998, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011, and in the Division Series in 1996, 1997, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019. He has also worked the All-Star Game in 1992, 2008, being at second base at Yankee Stadium which went a record 15 innings, and 2021.

In 2013, Hallion was fined by MLB for swearing at pitcher David Price.[6]

Hallion is known for his exciting and demonstrative strikeout signal in which he twists his body 180 degrees. Hallion wore uniform number 20 during his NL career and retained the number when he rejoined the MLB umpire staff in 2005.

Notable games[]

Hallion was the home plate umpire on July 12, 1997, when Francisco Córdova and Ricardo Rincón of the Pittsburgh Pirates combined on a 3–0, 10-inning no-hitter against the Houston Astros.[7]

In 2009, he was the home plate umpire for the first game at the New Yankee Stadium.[8] On July 10 of that season, Hallion was the first base umpire when San Francisco Giants pitcher Jonathan Sánchez no-hit the San Diego Padres.[9]

On June 8, 2010, he was behind the plate when Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 batters in his MLB debut.[10] Hallion was the second base umpire for Henderson Álvarez's no-hitter on September 29, 2013.[11]

Hallion has umpired in international play several times. He worked the 2006 World Baseball Classic, and was behind the plate for the championship game between Japan and Cuba. His crew was also selected to umpire the 2012 MLB Japan Series between the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics. Hallion was the home-plate umpire for the first of the two games.

A leaked recording from May 28, 2016, showcased Hallion's conversation with New York Mets manager Terry Collins after pitcher Noah Syndergaard was ejected for attempting to throw a beanball at Chase Utley. The recording went viral as it offered an uncensored view into an on-field interaction between an umpire and a manager.[12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Saugerties Sports Hall of Fame Club saugertieshof.com (accessed August 1, 2010) Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Francis Joseph Hallion and Alice Golding". ourfamtree.org. Ray Gurganus. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  3. ^ National League Green Book 1999, p. 49.
  4. ^ Berkow, Ira [1] New York Times, April 4, 2005 (accessed August 1, 2010)
  5. ^ "Six more will split $2.3M in severance pay". ESPN. Associated Press. December 24, 2004. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  6. ^ Crasnick, Jerry. "David Price, Tom Hallion fined". espn.go.com. May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  7. ^ "Boxscore of July 12, 1997 game at Three Rivers Stadium". Retrosheet. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  8. ^ Yankees open new stadium with blowout loss to Indians ESPN.com. Retrieved July 26, 2012
  9. ^ Sanchez makes most of opportunity, throws no-hitter in front of father ESPN.com. Retrieved 26 July 2012
  10. ^ Strasburg lives up to hype by reaching 100 mph with fastball to fan Pirates ESPN.com. Retrieved 2 July 2012
  11. ^ [2] ESPN.com Retrieved September 29, 2013
  12. ^ Bieler, Des. "That viral video of a manager's profane rant? MLB is trying to rid it from the Internet". Washington Post. Retrieved July 25, 2018.

External links[]

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