Kerwin Danley has become the first black umpire crew chief in the history of Major League Baseball after a series of promotions Thursday.
The promotions also highlighted several other first for minority umpiring in the MLB, according to the AP. Alfonso Marquez became the second Hispanic crew chief in MLB history. Ramon De Jesus became the first Dominican-born umpire in the MLB. There have been 10 full-time African American umpires in major league baseball since Emmett Ashford in 1966. (RELATED: Toronto Blue Jays Player Reese McGuire Arrested For Masturbating In Public)
Danley has worked two World Series and 10 postseason games as well as two All-Star Games. The 58-year old called his first major league game in 1992 and was hired full-time by the league in 1998. Danley played baseball at San Diego State and was a teammate of Bud Black during his time there. The future hall-of-famer scored his 3,000 hit during a 1999 game in Montreal, a game that Danley was umpiring.
Marquez, 47, was the first Mexican-born umpire to work in major league baseball when he joined the league in 1999. He has worked three World Series, 15 postseason games and two All-Star Games.
Crew chiefs Jeff Kellogg, Dana DeMuth, Gary Cederstrom and Mike Everitt have all retired from their positions as crew chief, with Kellogg and Everitt becoming MLB umpire supervisors. DeMuth was a major league umpire for 36 years and appeared in five World Series, the same amount of appearances as Kellogg in his 27 years.