Umpires Tom Hanahan and Ryan Wills to make postseason debuts in the Division Series

NEW YORK (AP) — Umpires Tom Hanahan and Ryan Wills will make their postseason debuts in the Division Series, with Hanahan assigned to the Chicago White Sox matchup against Cleveland and Wills working the New York Yankees’ games against Tampa Bay.

Hanahan, 36, made his major league debut in 2023 and joined the full-time major league staff this year. Wills, 39, also debuted in 2020 and was promoted to the MLB umpire staff in 2024.

Both will work right field for Game 1s on Saturday, and they will not be behind home plate in the best-of-five series.

Dan Bellino, James Hoye, Alfonso Márquez and Todd Tichenor will be crew chiefs, Major League Baseball said Friday. Bellino will work his 10th Division Series and be a DS crew chief for the second year in a row. Márquez will work his 13th, Tichenor his eighth and Hoye his sixth.

Bellino will work the Yankees-Rays series and Tichenor the White Sox-Guardians. Márquez is assigned to the San Diego Padres-Milwaukee Brewers and Hoye to Atlanta Braves-Los Angeles Dodgers. All four crew chiefs will be at second base for their series openers and work the plate for Game 3.

Umpires Tom Hanahan and Ryan Wills to make postseason debuts in the Division Series | iNFOnews.ca
Tampa Bay Rays’ Jonathan Aranda celebrates his double as umpire Ryan Wills (20) walks past during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Umpires rotate from right field to left and then clockwise around the bases starting at third.

The Yankees-Rays series will start with Shane Livensparger behind the plate, Jeremie Rehak at first, Ben May at third and D.J. Reyburn in left.

The White Sox-Guardians series opens with Cory Blaser working the plate, Gabe Morales at first, Jansen Visconti at third and Vic Carapazza in left.

Nick Mahrley will call balls and strikes for the Padres-Brewers opener, with Lance Barrett at first, Nic Lentz at third, Quinn Wolcott in left and Brennan Miller in right.

Roberto Ortiz is behind the plate for the start of the Braves-Dodgers series, joined by Chris Guccione at first, Tripp Gibson at third, Jim Wolf in left and Mike Estabrook in right.

Marvin Hudson, Dan Iassogna, Malachi Moore and Mike Muchlinski will be the video review umpires at MLB’s office in New York.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.