Two Kentuckians Work Behind Home Plate In Clayton Kershaw's Historic No-Hitter
By Jamie H. Vaught
A memorable Kentucky sports history was made on Wednesday night,June 18 in Los Angeles.
In case you didn't notice, two men who were behind the home plate during Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter against Colorado have Kentucky connections. Working behind the home plate that night were Los Angeles catcher A.J. Ellis (pictured) and umpire Greg Gibson.
Ellis, who played at Lexington's Paul Dunbar High School in Lexington and Austin Peay State University, is in his 7th season with the Dodgers. The 33-year-old is batting .217 as of Friday morning, June 20 in limited action this season. He had been on a 15-day disabled list.
Gibson, 45, is a former UK student who began his MLB umpiring career in 1999. He has worked many post-season games, including three National League Championship Series events and the 2011 World Series.
Gibson, who born in Ohio but now lives in Kentucky, also was the home plate umpire during Randy Johnson’s perfect game at Atlanta in 2004. In addition to UK, he attended Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio.
In dominating the Rockies 8-0, Kershaw nearly had a perfect game with 15 strikeouts and no walks with his teammate committing a fielding error.
(Photo credit: Los Angeles Dodgers)
