| Harry Wendelstedt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Umpire | |
| Born:(1938-07-27)July 27, 1938 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| Died: March 9, 2012(2012-03-09) (aged 73) Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 13, 1966 | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1998 | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Special Assignments |
Harry Hunter Wendelstedt Jr. (July 27, 1938 – March 9, 2012) was an Americanumpire inMajor League Baseball who worked in theNational League from 1966 to 1998. He was born inBaltimore, Maryland. Wendelstedt umpired in theWorld Series in1973,1980,1986,1991 and1995, serving as crew chief in 1980 and 1995. He also officiated in sevenNational League Championship Series (1970,1972,1977,1981,1982,1988,1990), fourAll-Star games (1968,1976,1983,1992), and threeNational League Division Series (1995,1996,1997). He wore uniform number 21.
Wendelstedt called balls and strikes in fiveno-hitters, tying an NL record held byBill Klem. As a home plate umpire, Wendelstedt was known for keeping a wide strike zone.
On May 31, 1968, Wendelstedt made a call that preservedLos Angeles Dodgers pitcherDon Drysdale's consecutive shutouts and scoreless innings streaks.San Francisco Giants catcherDick Dietz came to the plate in the top of the 9th inning with the bases loaded and no outs. On a 2–2 count, Drysdale hit Dietz on the elbow, apparently forcing in a run that would have ended the streaks. However, Wendelstedt ruled that Dietz made no attempt to avoid being struck by the pitch, and called him back. Drysdale retired Dietz on a short fly ball and got out of the inning without yielding a run, earning his fifth straight shutout.
When thePittsburgh Pirates debuted a video board atThree Rivers Stadium, Wendelstedt and other umpires contended that the Pirates purposely replayed close calls and missed calls, making the umpires look bad and putting them at risk of harm from angry fans. Wendelstedt went so far as to threaten tostrike unless the Pirates stopped showing such replays.[1]
On October 8, 1988, in Game 3 of the1988 National League Championship Series, Wendelstedt, the crew chief, ejected Los Angeles Dodgers pitcherJay Howell from the game for havingpine tar on his glove afterNew York Mets managerDavey Johnson asked the umpires to check Howell. Howell was later suspended for the rest of the series.
Wendelstedt's son,Harry Hunter Wendelstedt III, followed in his father's footsteps and became a major league umpire. The younger Wendelstedt goes by his middle name of "Hunter" professionally. To honor his father, Hunter also wears uniform number 21.
In 1977, Wendelstedt took over control of theAl Somers Umpire School from its founder (who had trained Wendelstedt), renaming it the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School. He ran the school until his death and it continues to bear his name. His son Hunter now leads the school, located inOrmond Beach, Florida.[2]
Wendelstedt died at the age of 73 on March 9, 2012, after suffering from brain cancer for several years.[3][4][5]
