the game 4–4 when Derek Jeter hit a fly ball to right field that 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier pulled into the stands after reaching over the right field wall. Garcia, who was umpiring in right field, ruled it a home run, but after seeing a replay admitted that he had made a mistake after the game; the Yankees won the game in 11 innings and would go on to win the series. Another call by Garcia that was questioned by some media members came in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series. Padres pitcher Mark Langston appeared to have struck out Tino Martinez on a 2–2 pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the 7th inning with the game tied at 5–5. Garcia, however, called the pitch a ball, and Martinez hit Langston's next pitch for a grand slam. Garcia took part in the 1999 Major League Umpires Association mass resignation which was engineered by Richie Phillips, the union's executive director. When the strategy backfired, Garcia lost his job because his resignation was one of the 22 accepted by Major League Baseball. After working as a consultant for the baseball commissioner's office, he was hired as an MLB umpire supervisor in 2002. Garcia, along with fellow supervisors Marty Springstead and Jim McKean, were ousted on March 6, 2010, as a result of a 2009 postseason which was plagued by various high-profile questionable calls that drew a firestorm of criticism from fans and the media. Outside of Major League Baseball Garcia has instructed at various umpire schools for several years and also conducted umpiring clinics during the offseason while serving as an active major league umpire. Garcia played the first base umpire in the 1999 movie For Love of the Game, starring Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston. Garcia currently resides in Clearwater. He and his wife Sheryl have four children and ten grandchildren. He is the father-in-law of current MLB umpire Vic Carapazza. See also List of Major League Baseball umpires References External links Rich Garcia (umpiring record) – Retrosheet. 1942 births Living people United States Marines People from Key West, Florida Major League Baseball umpires