Rich Garcia

Richard Raul Garcia
(Richie)

• Height 5' 9", Weight 175 lb.

• Born May 22, 1942 in Key West, FL USA

Biographical Information

Rich Garcia was an umpire in the Florida State League (1970-1971), Southern League (1972), and International League (1973-1974). He was then an American League umpire from 1975 to 1999. At the end of the 1999 season, he handed in his resignation as part of a failed negotiating ploy by the umpires union. In 2002, he accepted a settlement that had him become an umpiring supervisor for Major League Baseball and allowed him to retire with benefits. He was the first Hispanic umpire to reach the rank of crew chief.

He was the umpire in right field at Yankee Stadium during Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS when 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier reached over the railing and deflected a fly ball off the bat of Derek Jeter into the stands; Garcia called the play a home run, although most observers think that fan interference should have been called.

He is the father-in-law of umpire Vic Carapazza.

Related Sites

• Rich Garcia on Retrosheet.org
• Sporting News umpire card