Mark Hirschbeck is a former umpire

Umpire (baseball)

In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who worked in the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 from to , and both Major Leagues from until his retirement in . He wore uniform number 4 (previously worn by former NL umpire Satch Davidson

Satch Davidson

David "Satch" Davidson was a National Major League Baseball umpire starting in 1969 until forced to retire in 1984 due to back problems...

) throughout his career. His brother John

John Hirschbeck

John Francis Hirschbeck is an umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the American League from 1984 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2000; he is currently a crew chief. On February 28, 2000, Hirschbeck was elected as the first president of the newly certified World Umpires...

 is also a Major League umpire, making the Hirschbecks the first pair of brothers to umpire in the Major Leagues at the same time.

Mark Hirschbeck's assignments included the 1997

1997 National League Division Series

-Houston Astros vs. Atlanta Braves:-San Francisco vs. Florida:The San Francisco Giants made it back to the postseason for the first time since the 1989 World Series. The Florida Marlins were in the postseason for the first time ever.-Game 1, September 30:...

, 1999

1999 National League Division Series

-Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Mets:-Game 1, October 5:Turner Field in Atlanta, GeorgiaA pitcher's duel between Shane Reynolds and Greg Maddux highlighted Game 1. The Astros struck first in the top of the second when Tony Eusebio singled in Carl Everett. Gerald Williams would tie the game in...

 and 2002

2002 National League Division Series

-Arizona Diamondbacks vs. St. Louis Cardinals:-Atlanta vs. San Francisco:The Atlanta Braves had won their eleventh straight division title. The San Francisco Giants were making their third appearance in the postseason since 1997...

 National League Division Series

National League Division Series

In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series determine which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series...

, the 2001 American League Division Series

2001 American League Division Series

-New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics:-Game 1, October 9:Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington-Game 2, October 11:Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington-Game 3, October 13:Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio-Game 4, October 14:Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio...

, the 1996 NLCS

1996 National League Championship Series

-Game 1:Wednesday, October 9, 1996 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaGame 1 was played in Atlanta with 24-game winner John Smoltz on the mound for the Braves. Brian Jordan tripled and scored the first run of the series for St. Louis, but Mark Lemke singled in two runs in the...

, the 2000 ALCS

2000 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 2000 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkGame 1 at Yankee Stadium started as a pitchers' duel between Mariners' Freddy García and Yankees' Denny Neagle. Neither team would score until the top of the fifth when Mark McLemore hit a two-out ground rule double off Neagle...

, and the 1998

1998 World Series

The 1998 World Series, the 94th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, matched the New York Yankees against the San Diego Padres . The Yankees swept the Series in four games to capture their second championship in three years, and their 24th overall...

 and 2001

2001 World Series

-Game 1:Saturday, October 27, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, ArizonaArizona showed no fear and chased Yankees starter Mike Mussina after just three innings. The Yankees gave up five unearned runs and the Diamondbacks rode Curt Schilling's seven strong innings to a 9–1 rout...

 World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

. Hirschbeck also officiated the 1993

1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 64th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 13, 1993 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland,...

 and 2000

2000 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 2000 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 71st playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball...

 All-Star Games

Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

.

Hirschbeck was forced to retire 7 games into the 2003 season

2003 Major League Baseball season

*World Series MVP: Josh Beckett**American League Championship Series MVP: Mariano Rivera**National League Championship Series MVP: Iván Rodríguez*All-Star Game, July 15 at U.S...

 after it was discovered that he needed a hip replacement in order to umpire in the future. Although Hirschbeck originally had hoped to return to umpiring after he recovered from his surgery, his ceramic implant cracked six weeks after the operation. About two months later, a staph infection

Staphylococcal infection

Staphylococcus is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria which includes several species that can cause a wide variety of infections in humans and other animals through either toxin production or invasion....

formed in Hirschbeck's hip, and he was eventually forced to retire for good. Hirschbeck later sued Wright Medical Technology, the company that made the ceramic prosthetic, as well as the doctor who performed the surgery. A settlement was reached between the two sides shortly before the trial began.