By J.Y. Mortimer
Parma, Ohio’s James Hoye to Serve as Crew Chief at 94th Midsummer Classic; Mark Kotsay of the Athletics, David Bell of the Reds Appointed as Honorary Coaches
6 25 2024
James Hoye, a 16-year Major League Umpire, will serve as the Crew Chief and work behind the plate at Baseball’s 94th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on Tuesday, July 16th at Globe Life Field in Texas.
Hoye will work his second Midsummer Classic following his 2015 assignment in Cincinnati. He has also worked two World Series; four League Championship Series; four Division Series; two Wild Card Series; three Wild Card Games; and one World Baseball Classic. Hoye’s crew will include Bruce Dreckman (first base), John Tumpane (second base), Nic Lentz (third base), Ben May (left field), and Texas resident Nestor Ceja (right field). This will mark the second career All-Star selection for Dreckman (also 2010), and the first for Ceja, Lentz, May and Tumpane. The Replay Official who will be based in the Replay Operations Center during the 2024 Midsummer Classic will be Rob Drake, a 16-year Major League Umpire. Drake worked on the field for the 2013 All-Star Game in New York.
American League Manager Bruce Bochy of the reigning World Series Champion and host Texas Rangers has invited Mark Kotsay of the Oakland Athletics to work on his AL staff alongside his Rangers coaching staff. Kotsay, who is in his third season as skipper of the A’s, will make his first trip to the Midsummer Classic. The 48-year-old former Major League outfielder, who played three seasons for Bochy in San Diego (2001-03), spent one season on the coaching staff in San Diego and six on the coaching staff in Oakland before becoming manager ahead of the 2022 season. Kotsay played 17 seasons in the Majors for the Florida Marlins (1997-2000); the San Diego Padres (2001-03, 2012-13); the A’s (2004-07); the Atlanta Braves (2008); the Boston Red Sox (2008-09); the Chicago White Sox (2009-10); and the Milwaukee Brewers (2011) . The Cal State Fullerton product, who was the ninth overall pick in the 1996 MLB Draft by Florida, registered 1,784 career hits with 353 doubles, 48 triples, 127 home runs, 720 RBI, 98 stolen bases and 790 run scored. The athletic trainers for the American League will be Matt Lucero of the host Rangers and Brian Ebel of the Baltimore Orioles. Ryan Stoneberg of the Kansas City Royals will serve as the AL’s strength and conditioning coach.
National League manager Torey Lovullo of the defending NL Champion Arizona Diamondbacks has asked Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell to be part of the NL staff alongside his D-backs coaches. Bell, currently in his sixth season as manager of the Reds, will make his All-Star Game debut. The 51-year-old, who was teammates with Lovullo in Cleveland in 1998, played 12 seasons as an infielder in the Majors for the Cleveland Indians (1995, 1998); the St. Louis Cardinals (1995-98); the Seattle Mariners (1998-2001); the San Francisco Giants (2002); the Philadelphia Phillies (2003-06); and the Brewers (2006). The seventh-round selection in the 1990 MLB Draft collected 1,239 career hits with 267 doubles, 18 triples, 123 home runs, 589 RBI, 19 stolen bases and 587 runs scored. Following his playing career, Bell spent four seasons managing in the Minor Leagues for the Reds before joining the Major League staff of the Chicago Cubs for the 2013 season. Bell worked on the Major League staff of the Giants from 2014-17, and prior to being named skipper of the Reds, Bell also spent time as vice president of player development for the Giants. The NL’s athletic trainers will be Ryan DiPanfilo of the D-backs and Tony Leo of the Pittsburgh Pirates, while Brendan Verner of the Miami Marlins will manage the NL’s strength and conditioning.
The Minor League Baseball Umpires who will work the All-Star Futures Game on Saturday, July 13th are Triple-A Umpire Felix Neon; Double-A Umpire Matt Blackborow of the Eastern League; Triple-A Umpire Casey James; and Double-A Umpire Sean Sparling of the Texas League. All four umpires will also be on the field for the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday, July 15th. In addition, two of the four umpires will be assigned to the all-new Futures Skills Showcase on Saturday following the Futures Game, while the other two will work Saturday evening’s All-Star Celebrity Softball Game presented by Corona.
MLB All-Star Week includes the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard (July 16th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 15th), All-Star Saturday featuring the All-Star Futures Game and the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game presented by Corona (July 13th), the MLB Draft presented by Nike (July 14th-16th), the HBCU Swingman Classic presented by T-Mobile (July 12th), and Capital One All-Star Village (July 13th-16th). The 94th Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish language coverage in the United States. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game, while Univision will provide Spanish language coverage on radio. MLB Network and MLB.com will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week, including ticket information and updates, please visit allstargame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.
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