FOUR AMERICAN ASSOCIATION UMPIRES EARN PROMOTIONS TO AFFILIATED BASEBALL

MOORHEAD, MINN. – Four members for the 2018 American Association umpire staff have been offered positions in affiliated Minor League Baseball leagues for the 2019 season. Umpires Lane Cullipher, Jacob McConnell, Guillermo (Memo) Rodriguez and Jesse Segura were each offered positions following 2019 Umpire Advanced Evaluation Course in Vero Beach, Fla.

(Pictured L-R: Memo Rodriguez, Lane Cullipher, Jacob McConnell, Jesse Segura)

The four umpires attended the four-week Minor League Baseball Umpire Training Academy, and all were selected to move on to the one-week Evaluation Course to compete for jobs in Minor League Baseball against their classmates and the best from Wendelstadt Umpire Academy. The final assignments will be made at a later date, but all will likely be assigned to Rookie or Short-Season leagues to start the 2019 season.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Lane, Jacob, Memo and Jesse,” said Ron Teague, the American Association Director of Umpires. “The umpire program, originally set up by Kevin Winn in 2006, gives young umpires a second chance to fulfill their dreams in affiliated baseball and continues to develop some of the best young umpires in the world. The American Association has been the leading Independent League in placing umpires in Minor League Baseball, and we will hope to continue that tradition for years to come.”