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On Tuesday, Oct. 26, Chris Conroy, a Siena College graduate from the Massachusetts town of Williamstown in Berkshire County, was front and center as the home plate umpire to kick off the first game of the World Series between the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros.
The visiting Braves took the first game of the series 6-2 over the Astros after getting contributions from each member of its lineup, despite starter Charlie Morton leaving with a leg fracture on a line drive early in the game.
Conroy has been a full-time MLB ump since 2013, with multiple postseason assignments during his tenure. Before that he worked as a professional umpire in the New York-Penn League.
During his time in New York at Siena, Conroy didn’t play baseball for the Saints, but served as a team manager for the men’s basketball coach.
Conroy told his hometown Berkshire Eagle last week that he first found out he was getting the call from Michael Hill, the co-senior vice president for on-field operations for MLB.
“I was ecstatic," Conroy said. "Game 1, every game of the World Series is special, but hitting leadoff for the crew, going out there for Game 1, all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the first game and the first pitch of any World Series is special. To have a pretty good seat for that is extra special, that’s for sure.”
Conroy received mostly positive marks after his game behind the plate, making the correct call 92.7 percent of the time, according to Umpire Auditor, which reviews “the worst calls of the day, every day.”
According to Umpire Auditor, Conroy missed 11 calls, 10 of which went the Astros’ way.
Moving forward in the series, Conroy will rotate to right field for the second game, left field for Game 3, and third base in Game 4. If necessary, Conroy would work second base in Game 5 and first base in Game 6.
If the game goes the distance, Conroy would serve as a reserve official.
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