Dan Merzel
{{Short description|American baseball umpire (born 1987)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name = Dan Merzel
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1987|7|20|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Hopkinton, Massachusetts, US
| death_date =
| death_place =
| image =
| width =
| caption =
| team = MLB
| number = 3
| position = Umpire
| debutleague = MLB
| debutdate = August 29
| debutyear = 2020
| umpirecrew = E
| crewchief = #6 Mark Carlson
| crew2 = #71 Jordan Baker
| crew3 = #85 Stu Scheurwater
| crew4 = #3 Dan Merzel
| highlights = Special assignments
|}}
Daniel Benjamin Merzel (born July 20, 1987) is an American professional baseball umpire. He has been an umpire in Major League Baseball since 2020, and wears uniform number 3.{{Cite web|title=MLB Umpire Bios |url=https://www.mlb.com/official-information/umpires/bios |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Dan Merzel|url= https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmerzd901.htm |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=Retrosheet.org}}
Career
Merzel graduated from umpire school in 2010, and was assigned to the New York–Penn League in 2011. He then worked in the Arizona Instructional, South Atlantic, Carolina and Eastern leagues before making it to the Triple A International League. He earned assignment to the Arizona Fall League as well as the 2015 All-Star Futures Game, the 2018 Triple-A All-Star Game and was crew chief for the 2019 Triple-A National Championship Game.{{Cite web |last=Imber |first=Lindsay |date=2020-08-29 |title=MLB Debut of Umpire Dan Merzel |url=https://www.closecallsports.com/2020/08/mlb-debut-of-umpire-dan-merzel.html?m=1 |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Close Call Sports |language=en}}
Merzel made his major league debut on August 29, 2020 at the Great American Ball Park. He worked at third base for the first game of a doubleheader between the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds alongside Will Little, Dan Bellino and crew chief Angel Hernandez.{{Cite web |title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago Cubs 3, Cincinnati Reds 0 (1) |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2020/B08291CIN2020.htm |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Retrosheet.org}} He was hired to MLB’s full time umpiring staff for the 2025 season after officiating 452 games as a minor league call up.{{Cite web |title=Five umpires receive promotions to the Major League staff |url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-five-umpires-receive-promotions-to-the-major-league-staff |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}
Personal life
Merzel lives in North Carolina with his wife. He grew up in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and attended Hopkinton High School where he played and officiated baseball and ice hockey.
He graduated with a mathematics degree from Johns Hopkins University, where he also played college baseball. He was a second baseman and played in the 2008 NCAA Division III World Series.
See also
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
References
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Category:Major League Baseball umpires
Category:People from Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Category:Baseball people from Massachusetts