Ron Kulpa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ronald Clarence Kulpa (born October 5, 1968 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an umpire in Major League Baseball. He wears uniform number 46.

Prior to pursuing professional umpiring, Kulpa attended Missouri Baptist College. His professional umpiring career began in 1992 and he advanced to the Pacific Coast League in 1998. Kulpa was one of the 22 umpires promoted in the wake of the Major League Umpires Association's mass-resignation strategy in July 1999, and was named to the National League staff for the remainder of the 1999 season. When the umpiring staffs from the two leagues merged for the 2000 season, Kulpa began working in both leagues.

He has worked in five postseasons, including the 2005 American League Championship Series and the Division Series in 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2007. He also umpired the All-Star Game in 2001.

Kulpa was infamously head-butted by Carl Everett of the Boston Red Sox in 2000 during an argument about the location of the inner boundary of the batter's box. Kulpa was also the home plate umpire when Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter at Comerica Park vs. the Milwaukee Brewers on June 12, 2007. Five days before Verlander's no-hitter, Kulpa called balls and strikes in a game between the Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics in which Boston pitcher Curt Schilling had a no-hitter until Shannon Stewart broke up the no-hitter with a single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.