- This article is about the baseball umpire. For the South Park character, see Randy Marsh (South Park).
Randall Gilbert Marsh (born April 8 1949 in Covington, Kentucky) is an umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the National League from 1981 to 1999 and throughout both major leagues since 2000. Marsh wears the uniform number 30. He has umpired in the World Series in 1990, 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2006, serving as crew chief for the last three Series, and in the All-Star Game in 1985, 1988, 1996 and 2006, calling balls and strikes for the 1996 game. He is the tenth umpire in history to serve as crew chief for three World Series. He has also officiated in seven League Championship Series (1989, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005) and in five Division Series (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006). He has been a crew chief since the 1998 season. Marsh's crew for the 2006 season includes Angel Hernandez, Hunter Wendelstedt, and Sam Holbrook. On August 28, 2006, Marsh was involved in a controversial call during a Philadelphia Phillies-New York Mets game. In the third inning, David Wright hit a grounder that appeared to strike third base but was called foul by Marsh. After a conference between the umpires, the call was reversed and Wright was awarded first base. The runners previously on first base and third base were also awarded one base. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel proceeded to argue the reversal and was subsequently ejected by Marsh. The reversal presumably violated a fundamental tenet of baseball rules - that a batted ball, once ruled foul, must stay foul - and that it is beyond the umpires' judgment to determine what would have happened on the play should the batted ball been ruled fair. Marsh is known for a comparatively small yet highly consistent strike zone, meaning he is among the most popular umpires for pitchers as well as hitters.
