NEW YORK – Major League Baseball umpire Alan Porter will be living the dream on Tuesday night. One will see the MLBbro as the crew chief and work behind the plate at Baseball’s 96th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. The game is going to be played at Citizens Bank Park in Porter’s hometown of Philadelphia.
This will be Porter’s second all-star game. The first came in 2015 when he was the right field umpire in a game that saw the American League defeat the National League, 6-3, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
“It’s an honor just being a part of it anyway, but the fact that it is in my hometown and being the crew chief is a triple honor. It’s amazing,” Porter told MLBbro.com. “(My) first All-Star Game was so new. I was on the staff for a couple of years. … I was the young guy on the crew. It was like just go there, do your job and try to enjoy every little thing. I told my kids at the time, ‘I never been to an all-star game.’”
Porter is considered one of the best umpires in baseball. He became a full-time umpire in 2013 after serving as a substitute from 2010-12. He has had his share of playoff action, working 19 postseason series, including the 2022 World Series between the Astros and Phillies, the second Fall Classic of his career. He also worked the 2019 World Series between the Nationals and Astros.
Porter is best remembered for his work behind the plate during Game 5 of the 2025 American League Division Series between the Tigers and Mariners. The game went 15 innings and lasted four hours and 58 minutes.
According to Umpire Scorecards, Porter had an accuracy rate of 96 percent during that game. That’s after looking at 447 pitches and before the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System took place this year. Porter didn’t know how he did during that game until afterwards when his friends were reading the praise he received on social media.
“It was a tough game,” Porter said. “It is a different game now with the ABS. … Now with the ABS, we can call up and find out where pitches were during the game. There isn’t as much jockeying with the teams over pitches. Last year, it was strictly, I’m calling the game, I call what I’m seeing and hoping that I’m seeing it right. You were hoping someone would come out and say, ‘That one was a little off or it just got the plate.’ You don’t have to do that any more.
“It was gratifying to know that I had a very good game in a very tough situation because that was Game 5. It definitely felt good after the game when people were telling me, ‘Dude, you were really good. Nobody noticed that you were back there.’ I said, ‘That’s awesome because I’m sitting back there saying, ‘God, I hope that pitch was on the plate. I hope that wasn’t off.’”
Porter couldn’t help but think about the mentors – current and former umpires – who helped him reach the pinnacle when it comes to umpiring big games. UmpBro, Adrian Johnson – currently a crew chief – looked out for Porter when he was in the Minor Leagues. Porter would always call Johnson for advice.
“(Johnson) was a few years ahead of me,” Porter said. “He had already seen the stuff that I was going through. So I talked to him a lot.”
Once he reached the big leagues, former umpire Joe West played a role in Porter’s development. Porter called him an amazing teacher.
“Even if it was just having a conversation about positioning and handling situations, he could just give you amazing advice,” Porter said.
As he was working towards becoming a crew chief, current umpire/crew chief Mark Wegner made it clear to Porter to always be himself on the field.
“Mark was very clear,” Porter remembered. “He said, ‘You are not me. You are not Joe (West). You are not any of the guys you worked with. You are going to be good because you are going to be yourself. You take things that you learn, but you are you. That’s what is going to make you good.’ Those were good things to try and remember for me.”
Porter is himself and he will show Tuesday night that he is one of the best in the game.
