MLB umpires

Major League Baseball has announced the umpire crew chiefs assigned to the postseason Wild Card Series. The assignments set the officiating crews for the opening round of the playoffs, when every game carries elimination stakes and umpiring decisions draw heightened scrutiny. Full crew rosters for later playoff rounds are typically named as the postseason progresses.

Major League Baseball is seeing average game times increase following the introduction of its automated ball-strike system, in which electronic umpires call balls and strikes. The rise runs counter to the league's recent push to speed up games through the pitch clock and other rule changes, prompting debate among fans, players and analysts about whether the technology is slowing play or altering pitcher behaviour.