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Every Little Leaguer\u00ae\u00a0who picks up a\u00a0baseball\u00a0bat or glove for the first time dreams of one day making it to\u00a0the biggest stage in professional baseball \u2013 the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series.\u00a0They imagine the roar of the crowd, the bright lights, and the pressure of coming through when the stakes are\u00a0at their highest. Few, however, picture themselves standing behind home plate\u00a0with their umpire\u00a0mask on, responsible for every call that shapes the game, but that\u2019s where Alan Porter\u2019s journey led him.<\/p>\n
Porter\u2019s\u00a0path\u00a0to\u00a0his first\u00a0MLB\u00a0World Series\u00a0assignment in 2019\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0come from chasing stardom on the field, but from discovering\u00a0a different way\u00a0to be part of the game he\u00a0fell in love with as a youth athlete.\u00a0His career quietly began when he was at\u00a0Montgomery\u00a0County Community College, where\u00a0his\u00a0coach, Lou Lombardo,\u00a0saw something in him beyond just his playing ability\u00a0and connected him with a local assigner.\u00a0What started as a\u00a0fun\u00a0opportunity\u00a0quickly became something more. Through that connection, Porter met a man named John\u00a0Kilally, a mentor\u00a0whose\u00a0guidance left a lasting\u00a0impact on\u00a0Porter. Even\u00a0after his passing,\u00a0Porter\u00a0still credits\u00a0Kilally\u00a0as a key figure in his journey.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, Porter was still playing baseball, including a brief stint at California University of Pennsylvania and semi-pro ball in the summer.\u00a0Some of the guys were older than\u00a0Porter,\u00a0and\u00a0they soon began\u00a0having\u00a0conversations\u00a0with him\u00a0that began to shift his thinking. The players were\u00a0adamant\u00a0about Porter\u00a0attending\u00a0umpiring\u00a0school \u2013 something that Porter had never even heard of.\u00a0After some research\u00a0and more games under his belt,\u00a0Porter\u00a0took the leap and\u00a0enrolled in January 2002.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The training program\u00a0proved to be a new challenge for Porter. Individuals\u00a0must\u00a0finish\u00a0top\u00a025 to\u00a0move to the Minor League evaluation\u00a0course. Porter took this challenge head-on and performed\u00a0well enough to earn his shot.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
From there, his climb through the minors was a long but steady climb. He began at\u00a0the\u00a0Gulf\u00a0Coast League,\u00a0the lowest\u00a0level in\u00a0the Minors, and later\u00a0moved\u00a0into\u00a0the New York Penn\u00a0League, a Rookie Ball League.\u00a0As Porter became more experienced and his skills became more ironed out, he continued to be promoted. His next step was\u00a0with the South Atlantic League in\u00a0the\u00a0Low-A\u00a0Division. As he began to have more success, it motivated him to a new degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2005, he was climbing the hill faster, reaching High-A,\u00a0with a promotion the following year\u00a0to the Eastern League for\u00a0AA, and\u00a0before he knew it,\u00a0in 2008, he\u00a0quickly found\u00a0himself\u00a0one step away from achieving a dream of his\u00a0at the International League\u00a0AAA\u00a0level of play.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2009, Porter faced his toughest test yet. He was in the\u00a0Arizona Fall League\u00a0for six weeks,\u00a0which was a prerequisite to\u00a0try\u00a0to get to the big leagues.\u00a0\u00a0After an impressive showing,\u00a0he\u00a0earned his chance in 2010 to umpire a\u00a0Major League game,\u00a0becoming one of only 11 Black umpires to reach this\u00a0milestone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Through\u00a0all\u00a0this success, Porter\u2019s approach to the game\u00a0remains\u00a0grounded. While players\u00a0prepare with\u00a0a variety of\u00a0routines and rituals, Porter\u2019s pregame routine is built around relaxation. He arrives\u00a0at\u00a0the ballpark\u00a0approximately\u00a090 minutes\u00a0prior to\u00a0game time, sips his coffee, and plays cards with the rest of the\u00a0umpire\u00a0crew up until 30 minutes before game time.\u00a0Being able to take his mind off the game\u00a0and relax has been beneficial for him. The worst thing\u00a0he\u00a0can do before a game is to overthink it.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0know\u00a0some of\u00a0the other guys are different,\u201d said Porter.\u00a0\u201cThere are guys who pace around the locker room for 45 minutes. I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0do\u00a0that.\u00a0I need to be able to relax and get in game-mode.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That mindset has stayed with him\u00a0through\u00a0all of his accomplishments, which include his first World Series in 2019, being named Crew Chief for the 2023\u00a0National League Wild Card series\u00a0\u2013 making him the third Black umpire to earn this leadership role \u2013\u00a0several MLB All-Star games,\u00a0and\u00a0the dramatic final game of the 2025 World Series.\u00a0\u00a0Even in big moments like these, when Porter is on the field, he treats the games like they are just a regular-season game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I\u00a0have\u00a0to\u00a0tell myself,\u00a0\u2018I have done this thousands of times, just go\u00a0do it,\u2019\u201d said Porter.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
As\u00a0his\u00a0career has evolved, so have his goals. When he first entered the league, it was all about proving that he belonged.\u00a0Now, after each\u00a0season, filled with\u00a0exciting moments, his goals\u00a0now focus on more leadership opportunities.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, goals change, unless you don\u2019t reach them in the previous year,\u201d said Porter. \u201cOnce you don\u2019t have the goals, or just don\u2019t care, that is when your performance begins to lack. Setting a standard for myself and working towards something always gives me that extra motivation to do my best every single game.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Porter, being a good umpire is more than just calling balls and strikes; it is about having respect from both teams. However, respect is not just given to any umpire; it is earned. Being able to learn and be accountable for his own mistakes has allowed Porter to grow substantially, not just as an umpire, but as a person, too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Players and managers\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0expect perfection, as mistakes are part of the human aspect of the game.\u00a0What\u00a0they do expect is\u00a0honesty,\u00a0accountability, and transparency.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I walk on the field, and players see that I am umpiring the game, I want them to think that I am giving them everything that I can to them. We\u2019re\u00a0all going to\u00a0make mistakes. I have them, managers have them, and the players do,\u00a0too. It happens to everyone, no matter how good we are out there. But I\u00a0like\u00a0them to know that when I am out there, they are getting my\u00a0very best.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Having that respect also builds a deeper meaning for him personally. As a Black umpire\u00a0in a profession where\u00a0only 10\u00a0officials look like him, Porter understands the significance\u00a0of representation.\u00a0In 2024, Porter was named one of the umpires assigned to MLB\u2019s game at\u00a0Rickwood\u00a0Field in Alabama. Honoring the Negro Leagues,\u00a0the game\u00a0featured a crew of all\u00a0Black umpires for the first time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is important for young black men and women to see us representing a sport in other capacities, not just as the athletes on the field. As an umpire, we are there to uphold and protect the integrity of the game. I feel that representing the umpiring profession at the highest level of baseball can give young people hope in accomplishing whatever their goals are in life.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even with years of experience, Porter says the game continues to evolve.\u00a0From the pitch clock implementation\u00a0in 2023\u00a0to\u00a0automated balls and strikes\u00a0starting\u00a0in\u00a02026, advances in\u00a0technology\u00a0have\u00a0completely changed the\u00a0game for\u00a0umpires.\u00a0Despite\u00a0the changes, one lesson\u00a0remains\u00a0\u2013\u00a0managing the game matters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
While\u00a0reflecting\u00a0on\u00a0his career, Porter\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0thought about the legacy that he wants to leave behind\u00a0but rather looks ahead to the more than a decade he hopes to add on to his career.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to\u00a0be an umpire\u00a0until I am 60. When it is all said and done, I would love to say that I was\u00a0a very good\u00a0umpire. As far as goals go, I have a lot of time to get a couple more achieved,\u201d said Porter.\u00a0\u201cIf I could give a piece of advice for someone trying to get to baseball\u2019s biggest stage, I would say to just keep going and keep learning. There are a lot of technicalities in umpiring now; make sure that you are constantly reading, learning, and understanding.\u00a0That will separate you from others.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Porter begins his 16th\u00a0season with Major League Baseball, the mindset is still the same\u00a0\u2013\u00a0take every game and every pitch one call at a time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Looking to step up to the plate and be an umpire this season? Visit to learn more and find a league near you. Also, don\u2019t forget to shop for all your umpire polos, caps, and accessories by visiting .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every Little Leaguer\u00ae\u00a0who picks up a\u00a0baseball\u00a0bat or glove for the first time dreams of one day making it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-499836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}