Chris Jaksa is an emergency physician. He was formerly a professional baseball umpire and is one of the foremost authorities regarding the rules of the sport. He attended the Joe Brinkman Umpire School in 1984. His umpiring experience included the Appalachian League (1984), Midwest League (1985-1987), Carolina League (1988), and Southern League (1989). He was the head rules instructor at the Brinkman school from 1987 to 1989 and co-authored the only complete re-write of baseball's professional rules (commonly known as the "Jaksa/Roder Manual") with fellow instructor Rick Roder.