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He had brain bleeding that medical personnel could not stop
because Froemming was on blood thinners, leading to his death.
Froemming was a semipro baseball player and started his umpiring
career in the minor leagues in 1958 at age 18. He worked his way
up and joined the National League staff in 1971. He shifted to
the unified major league staff in 2000 and retired in 2007
having worked 5,163 games, second at the time to Bill Klem's
5,373. They were both surpassed by Joe West, who worked 5,460
games before retiring in 2021.
Froemming started his umpiring career at a minor league game in
Waterloo, Iowa.
“I thought I was in heaven — on the ballfield, professional
athletes, I was starting my professional career,” he told The
Associated Press days before his retirement. “But never did you
dream at the time, ever even think of going to a big league
ballpark, because you had so far to go through the minor leagues
to even get a chance.”
He concluded that being a good umpire required “probably being
patient with yourself. ... You’re going to make mistakes early
on.”
Among the most famous of the no-hitters he worked was on Sept.
2, 1972. Milt Pappas of the Chicago Cubs retired his first 26
batters and went to a 1-2 count on pinch-hitter Larry Stahl
before walking him. Pappas then retired Garry Jestadt on a
popup.
Froemming was behind the plate for three other no-hitters, by Ed
Halicki (1975), Nolan Ryan (1981) and José Jiménez (1999). He
worked five World Series.
When he retired, Froemming became a special assistant to MLB's
vice president on umpiring,
He is survived by his wife, the former Rosemarie Loch, whom he
married in 1957; two sons, Steven and Kevin; sister Cathy
Seizer; half-brother Johnny Froemming; and two grandchildren.
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