San Diego State alum Kerwin Danley became the first black umpire to hold the title of crew chief after MLB announced on Feb. 27 a series of promotions and retirements.
The promotion comes after the retirement of former crew chiefs Jeff Kellog, Dana Demuth, Gary Cederstrom and Mike Everitt.
As a crew chief, it will be Danley’s responsibility to act as a liaison between the crew and the league. As the senior member of the crew, Danley will be responsible for supervising other umpires while acting as the main director of the rulebook and official reviews.
Danley spent 2019 as a member of “Crew S,” one of 19 umpiring crews in MLB, alongside Ted Barret, Lance Barksdale and John Tumpane while appearing in the NL Wild Card game and the ALCS.