Life expectancy of major league baseball umpires.

UNLABELLED

Analysis of umpires' age at death suggests that fears regarding risks of their profession are unfounded.

BACKGROUND

The on-field death 4 years ago of a veteran Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire raised questions regarding the mortality risks of this profession.

OBJECTIVE

To determine if the life expectancy of MLB umpires differs from that of the general population.

DESIGN

Ages of death of MLB umpires were determined, and the differences between the ages of death and age-adjusted life expectancies were calculated. T-score analysis was performed on these differences. Correlational analysis was also done on many different factors, including umpire debut year, debut age, life expectancy at debut, and length of career.

RESULTS

No significant difference was found between the age at death of MLB umpires and their age-adjusted life expectancy. Correlational analyses showed that only length of career correlated with age at death.

CONCLUSION

MLB umpiring is not associated with a shortened life expectancy. While this is most likely attributable to the profession having no inherent risk, it could also be explained by inherent risks being overcome by yet unidentified, unique factors.