Brian O'Nora
Brian Keith O'Nora
- Height 6' 1", Weight 210 lb.
- High School Austintown Fitch High School
- Born February 7 1963 in Youngstown, OH USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Brian O'Nora has been a major league umpire since 1992.
O'Nora started off in the 1985 Appalachian League after attending the Joe Brinkman umpire school, then moved up to the Midwest League (1986-1987), Eastern League (1988-1989), Pacific Coast League (1990) and American Association (1991). In 1990-1992, he also worked the Puerto Rican Winter League. From 1992-1993, Brian was an umpire in the International League, but also worked games in the American League each year. He became a full member of the major league staff in 1994. He worked the 2000 All-Star Game. He also worked the 2008 ALCS and 2010 All-Star Game. He worked his first World Series in 2012.
O'Nora was part of the umpiring crew that was disciplined for an egregious misinterpretation of the rules on May 9, 2013, when they allowed Houston Astros manager Bo Porter to make an illegal substitution of a relief pitcher, over the protest of rival manager Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Crew chief Fieldin Culbreth bore the brunt of the Commissioner's office's wrath, being issued a two-day suspension in addition to the fine, but the other three members of the crew were fined as well for failing to correct the mistake.
He was one of a number of veteran umpires who decided to sit out the 2020 season because of health and safety concerns related to the Coronavirus pandemic. On December 6th that year he was one of fourteen men arrested in Ohio by a human trafficking task force investigating on-line solicitations for sex. He later pleaded guilty amended charges of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to pay fines and court costs.
Primary Source: 2010 MLB Umpire Media Guide
Further Reading[edit]
- Tom Larwin et. al.: "Observations of Umpires at Work", in The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 40, Number 1 (Spring 2011), pp. 77-87.
- Mike Oz: "MLB umpire among 14 arrested in Ohio sex sting operation", Yahoo! Sports, December 7, 2020. [1]
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