Umpire Eric Gregg Dies

Former major league umpire Eric Gregg died Monday evening, a day after suffering a stroke. He was 55. Gregg was known for his large size and will largely, but unfairly, be remembered for his wide strike zone in Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS. In that game, Marlins pitcher Livan Hernandez struck out 15 Braves en route to a 2-1 victory.

Deisring to be a part of the game but lacking the talent to play it, Gregg decided he would make it to the major leagues as an umpire. He made it to the bigs in 1975 and worked as an upmire in the National League for over 20 years. He was proud of his work, telling The Associated Press in 2001, "For a kid from the ghetto, I've done things you've never dreamed of."

Gregg lost his job in 1999 after he and 21 other umpires resigned in an attempt to pressure Major League Baseball into contract concessions. The move backfired and Gregg was not rehired.

Gregg was also noted for letting his personality show on the field, as shown in this excerpt from his AP obituary:

Larry Bowa, a coach for the Phillies in the 1990s, remembered a steamy day in Florida when Lenny Dykstra argued balls and strikes with Gregg, hoping an ejection would give him an extra day off.

"Eric said, 'Lenny, I know exactly what you want me to do. You want me to run you out of this game.' And he says, 'If I got to stay in this heat, you got to stay in this heat, so it doesn't matter what you call me, how many times you call me, I'm not running you out of this game,'" Bowa said.