| game; his
first chance at umpiring a major league baseball game. "I
was nervous at the beginning. It was a huge difference between
working Triple-A and working here," he said. At the time
of his promotion to the majors, Matt was umpiring in the Class
AAA International League.
Umpiring baseball since the age of 13, Matt played baseball
while a student at Albright. After graduating from college
he applied to law schools and umpire schools, both of which
he was accepted to. However, acting on a passion for baseball,
he chose to attend the Jim
Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring in Kissimmee, Fla.
Graduating among the top 10 in a class of 100, he earned a
chance to work minor league games in Florida in 1995, and
he's worked his way up through the ranks ever since. "They
say from the first day you go to umpire school to the day
you make the major leagues less than one percent of us make
it."
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