Umpire Crew Announced For Triple-A All-Star Game

Triple-A Baseball officials announced today the four-man umpiring crew for the 32^nd annual Triple-A All-Star Game, to be held at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas on Wednesday, July 10 at 7:05 p.m. MT. The Pacific Coast League's Roberto Ortiz and Junior Valentine, along with the International League's Shane Livensparger and Alex Tosi have been selected as the umpires for the midsummer classic.

Roberto Ortiz, a four-year PCL umpire and six-year Triple-A veteran, will be working behind the plate. Now in his 11^th professional season, the Kissimmee, Florida resident has been a professional umpire since 2009. He has spent time in the Gulf Coast, New York-Penn, South Atlantic, Florida State, Arizona Instructional, Eastern, Arizona Fall, International and Pacific Coast leagues. Ortiz, 34, made his MLB debut on May 14, 2016, becoming the first Puerto Rican-born MLB umpire since Delfin Colon in 2009. Ortiz has umpired over 150 games in MLB, including a game in his native country on April 17, 2018 when the Cleveland Indians played the Minnesota Twins in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Jacksonville, Florida resident Shane Livensparger will man first base. Livensparger has been a professional umpire for the past 11 seasons, with 2019 marking his fifth year at the Triple-A level, all with the IL. The 35-year-old has also made stops in the Arizona, Arizona Fall, New York-Penn, Florida Instructional, South Atlantic, Florida State, Arizona Instructional, Southern, Dominican and Venezuelan leagues. Livensparger has umpired over 80 games at the MLB level after making his MLB debut on June 10, 2017.
 
Handling duties at second base will be 31-year-old Junior Valentine, a resident of Maryville, Tennessee. Currently in his ninth professional season and fourth with the Pacific Coast, Valentine has also worked in the Gulf Coast, Appalachian, Florida Instructional, South Atlantic, Carolina, Eastern, Arizona Instructional, and Arizona Fall leagues prior to joining the PCL in 2016.
The third base umpire, Alex Tosi, is in his ninth professional season including his fourth in Triple-A. In addition to the International League, the 31-year-old Imperial, Missouri resident has been an umpire in the New York-Penn, Midwest, Florida State, Arizona Instructional, Arizona Fall, and Eastern leagues. Tosi made his MLB debut on May 11, 2019 and served on the umpire crew for the 2018 Triple-A National Championship Game in Columbus, Ohio.
All-Star festivities in the Sun City begin with the 2019 Jarritos Triple-A All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday, July 8. Fans who are interested in more information on the events, or would like to purchase tickets, are encouraged to visit the official website of the host El Paso Chihuahuas (epchihuahuas.com).