It looks like this year's Fall Classic has a theme: No vets allowed.
The last time the Arizona Diamondbacks reached the World Series was in 2001. The last time the Texas Rangers reached the World Series was in 2011. Those teams could hardly be considered postseason maestros.
The umpire crew for this year's World Series is also skewing toward the newly initiated. Two established veterans will helm the crew: Bill Miller and Alfonso Márquez. Each ump will be working his fifth World Series with Miller serving as the umpire crew chief and the man behind the plate in a potential Game 7.
The five other umps will each be first-time World Series umpires.
2023 World Series umpire crew consists of five newbies
In the opener on Friday night, D.J. Reyburn will start behind the plate. He and Márquez are two of the lowest-ranking umpires based on regular season stats. David Rackley will be at second, Brian Knight at third, Vic Carapazza in left field, and Bill Miller in right in Game 1.
Every umpire working the 2023 World Series has worked in some capacity during this year's Division Series. Quinn Wolcott is by far the youngest ump at 37 years old, but he's also one of the most accurate at balls and strikes this season, ranked first among qualifying umps in the regular season.
Miller, who last worked the 2020 World Series, and Márquez, who last worked the 2021 World Series, are 56 and 51 years old respectively. The rest of the umps are under 50 years old: Reyburn is 47, Rackley is 42, Knight is 49, and Carapazza is 44.
Wolcott drives down the average age of this umpire crew quite a bit, though fans of both teams should be more or less pleased that the eagle-eyed ump is working this upcoming series. Let's hope both the players and the umpires bring their A-game on Friday night.
