There are about to be far fewer balks in baseball.





Joining the likes of David Ortiz, Prince Fielder, and Alex Rodriguez, four veteran umpires are filling their MLB retirement papers.

Per MLB release, these four MLB umpires have retired: Bob Davidson, John Hirschbeck, Jim Joyce and Tim Welke. — Robert Murray (@RobertMurrayFRS) February 22, 2017

Bob Davidson, John Hirschbeck, Jim Joyce, and Tim Welke will all hang 'em up prior to the 2017 season, making room for four new umpires to crack the professional landscape.

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​Typically when an umpire retires, the public doesn't bat an eye. But these four veterans have become household names, for better or for worse, because of their long-time service to the MLB.

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​Davidson, better known as "Balkin' Bob," started his big league career in 1982 and made quite a few enemies with his extremely tedious balk calls. He also played a major role in the 1999 umpire resignation that led to a four-year removal from the league.



real pros hirschbeck, joyce & welke will be missed. in other news, there are expected to be fewer balks this year. https://t.co/zjPHD66flw — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 22, 2017

​​Jim Joyce is extremely well-known in the MLB ranks, mainly because of his universally-lauded umpiring skills. However, it was Joyce's infamous botched call during the last out of Armando Galarraga's should-be perfect game in 2010 that landed his name among the rankings of worst sports blunders. He apologized to Galarraga in an emotional postgame interview.

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​Hirschbeck, who entered the bigs in 1984, ump'ed his final game during the Game 7 World Series thriller between the Cubs and Indians last season. Welke also joined the league in 1984 and has worked four World Series since.

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​While traditional baseball fans are always quick to remind you that fans don't tune in to watch umpires, the game will miss these four legends.

