Brian Runge

Brian Runge
Brian Runge June 2011 at Dodger Stadium.
Born	(1970-01-05) January 5, 1970 (age 47) San Diego, California
Occupation	Former MLB umpire
Height	6' 1"
Weight	225 lb (102 kg).

Brian Edward Runge (born January 5, 1970) is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League in 1999 and throughout both major leagues from 2000 to 2012; he wore uniform number 18.

Runge worked three Division Series (2004, 2007, 2008) as well as the 2012 MLB All-Star Game. His father, Paul (NL, 1973–97), and grandfather, Ed (American League, 1954–70), also were major league umpires, which makes the Runges the first three-generation umpiring family in major league history.

Runge went on a hiatus from umpiring from the middle of July 2009 until September 20, 2009, for an undisclosed reason. He returned to the field on September 21, 2009, in Milwaukee to work home plate in a game between the Brewers and the Chicago Cubs.

In a July 28, 2010, game between the Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners, Runge exited prior to the start of the third inning, after taking a foul tip off his mask during a Paul Konerko at-bat against Jason Vargas in the first inning. After over a month of not umpiring due to this injury, Runge returned to the field on September 2, 2010.

Runge was on an extended hiatus from umpiring, from August 30, 2012 to July 2, 2013. He missed the last month of the 2012 season because of a knee injury. Although he did umpire 2013 MLB Spring Training games, he did not appear in the regular season. The cause of this extended absence was unknown until it was reported on July 2, 2013 that Runge had been fired for multiple failed drug tests.

In September 2007, Runge was part of an incident involving then Padres outfielder Milton Bradley and first base umpire Mike Winters. Winters had apparently told Runge that Bradley "flipped his bat in [his] direction" after being called out on strikes earlier in the game. Runge denied that Winters had told him this, but when Bradley came to the plate in the 8th inning, Runge did ask Bradley about the bat flip. After reaching first base, Bradley raised the issue with Winters. Bradley claimed that Winters told him he had thrown his bat in Runge's direction and Bradley reacted incredulously to this. Shortly afterward, the argument got ugly as Winters reportedly shouted profanity at Bradley. When he attempted to approach the umpire, Bradley was restrained by his manager, Bud Black, and Bradley sustained a torn ACL in the process. He was also ejected from the game by Winters, who was given a suspension through the rest of the regular season.