HOUSTON — When the World Series begins tonight between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros, Murray State fans may want to pay attention. They may notice a familiar face.
Murray State alum Tripp Gibson was named earlier this week by Major League Baseball as a member of the umpiring crew that will officiate this year’s World Series games, starting with Game 1 tonight at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Gibson is a Mayfield native and Graves County High School alum, who graduated from Murray State in 2005.
After he graduated from Murray State, he went to umpiring school and eventually began making inroads to the upper echelon of the sport. He called his first Major League game in July 2013 at Chase Field in Phoenix. He was promoted to a full-time position in January 2015.
Gibson is no stranger to handling postseason action for Major League Baseball as he was part of the crew that oversaw the 2017 American League Wild Card clash at Yankee Stadium between Minnesota and host New York that was won by Yankees, 8-4.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that Gibson will be part of the youngest umpiring crew in several years with an average age of 45.7. Gibson is 41, but the Post reported that perhaps a big reason for him receiving this chance is that he was highly rated this season in pitch accuracy. He is slated to be behind the plate for Game 4 in Philadelphia.
Gibson has also been part of three wild card series, three divisional playoff series and one league championship series.
MLB.com said that Gibson will be joined by fellow crew members Pat Hoberg and Jordan Baker as World Series rookies. Dan Iassogna, who is a 21-year MLB veteran, will be the crew chief and will serve that role for the first time, while working his third World Series overall. Lance Barksdale, James Hoye and Alan Porter will all be working their second Fall Classic.