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Veteran umpires Davidson, Hirschbeck, Joyce, Welke retire

Hannah Foslien / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Major League Baseball's umpiring crew will look quite a bit younger in 2017, as the league announced Tuesday that veterans Bob Davidson, John Hirschbeck, Jim Joyce, and Tim Welke have retired.

Davidson, the longest tenured of the bunch, navigated a turbulent umpiring career that began back in 1982, when the now-64-year-old first started calling National League games. In 1999, Davidson - known derisively as "Balkin' Bob" - was among the nearly two dozen umpires that resigned as part of a union bargaining tactic, sparking an eight-year absence from the major leagues. He returned to the bigs in 2007, and ends his career with more than 3,900 games umpired.

Hirschbeck, 62, made his MLB debut in 1984, and ended up calling five World Series, five League Championship Series, 10 League Division Series, one Wild Card Game, and three All-Star Games throughout his career. Elected in 2000 as the first president of the World Umpires Association, Hirschbeck served as union head until 2009.

Another umpire with extensive postseason experience, Joyce, 61, called three World Series, four League Championship Series, 10 League Division Series, and three All-Star Games, but is best known for his incorrect call that cost Detroit Tigers right-hander Armando Galarraga a perfect game on June 2, 2010.

Welke, 59, first started umpiring games in the American League in 1984, and finished his career with four World Series, seven League Championship Series, eight League Division Series, and three All-Star Games on his resume.

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