Kenneth John Kaiser (born July 26, 1945 in Rochester, New York) is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1977 to 1999. He spent 13 years in the minor leagues and 23 years in the major leagues, a total of 36 years in professional baseball. July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Nickname: The Flour City, The Flower City, The Worlds Image Center Motto: Rochester: Made for Living Official website: www. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in the world. ... American League The American League (or formally the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States of America and Canada. ... A Class A California League game in San Jose, California (1994) Minor baseball leagues are North American professional baseball leagues that compete at a level below that of Major League Baseball. ...

Kaiser officiated in the World Series in 1987 and 1997, as well as the All-Star Game in 1991. He also umpired in the American League Championship Series in 1980, 1988, 1993 and 1995 (Game 6), and in the American League Division Series in 1981, 1996 and 1997. He also worked the single-game playoff to decide the AL West champion in 1995. For other events named World Series, see World Series (disambiguation). ... 1987 World Series Logo The 1987 World Series was played from October 17 to October 25, 1987 between the Minnesota Twins and the St. ... The 1997 World Series was widely regarded as one of the most exciting Series in recent memory. ... The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the Midsummer Classic or Midsummer Night Classic, is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by fan vote for the starting position players and by the manager for pitchers and... In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series (ALCS), played in October, is a playoff round that determines the winner of the American League pennant. ... The 97-65 Kansas City Royals faced the team that defeated them three straight years in the ALCS from 1976-1978, the 103-59 New York Yankees. ... The 1988 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series that pitted the Eastern Division Champion Boston Red Sox against the Western Division Champion Oakland Athletics. ... The 1993 American League Championship Series was played between the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox from October 5 to October 12, 1993. ... The 1995 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the 1995 American League playoffs, matched the Central Division champion Cleveland Indians against the Western Division champion Seattle Mariners. ... In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. ... The 1981 American League Division Series matched the Oakland Athletics against the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees against the Milwaukee Brewers to determine the winners of the two divisions. ... Cleveland Indians vs. ... Baltimore Orioles vs. ... Events July-December 1995 World Series: The Atlanta Braves win 4 games to 2 over the Cleveland Indians. ...

During a period in which many umpires were criticized for their weight, Kaiser was the heaviest in the AL; he was listed at 288 pounds from 1983 through 1998. Apart from the unlikelihood that he maintained that precise weight for fifteen years, there are ample reasons to believe that his weight topped 300 pounds for much of that time – although he noted in his 2003 autobiography that he already weighed 260 pounds in high school, the AL listed his weight at 220 pounds from 1977-79 and at 200 from 1980-82 before revising the figure to 288 in 1983. Also, the heaviest umpires during that era in the National League – John McSherry (listed at 328 pounds from 1992-96) and Eric Gregg (listed at 325) – were both later noted as actually exceeding those figures significantly; McSherry, who died on the field of a heart attack in 1996, was believed to have approached 400 pounds [1], and Gregg also conceded that his weight approached that level. After McSherry's death, Gregg took a two-month leave of absence in which he lost 60 pounds, but was still listed at 305 the following year. The major leagues strongly encouraged other umpires to reduce their weight during that period, though Kaiser's was still listed at 288 for two more years before dropping to 270 in his final season. In a June 2004 column for ESPN's MLB Insider, pitcher Tom Candiotti recalled that Kaiser "wouldn't move three steps to call a play." [2] This article refers to the American baseball league. ... John Patrick McSherry (September 11, 1944 - April 1, 1996) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1971 until his death. ... Eric Eugene Gregg (born May 18, 1951) is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1975 to 1999 and was known for his wide strike zone and weight problems. ... Thomas Caesar Candiotti (born August 31, 1957 in Walnut Creek, California) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was known for his knuckleball. ...

Before reaching the major leagues, Kaiser worked as a professional wrestler, wearing a black hood and being known as "The Hatchet Man." In his brief stint as a professional wrestler, he wrestled such famous opponents as William Calhoun. Professional wrestling is generally any form of wrestling in which the wrestlers receive payment for participating. ... William Dee Calhoun (b. ...

He was voted the worst umpire in the AL in a poll of players during 1999 spring training. Later that year, he was among the umpires who submitted their resignations in a failed gambit by the Major League Umpires Association, and he was not among those later re-hired following union negotiations and litigation.

Kaiser's 2003 autobiography, written with the help of author David Fisher, is entitled Planet of the Umps: A Baseball Life From Behind the Plate.

External links

• BaseballLibrary - brief profile, list of articles

References

• Kaiser, K., & D. Fisher (2003). Planet of The Umps. New York: St. Martin's Press.