John Francis Hirschbeck (born September 7, 1954 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an umpire in Major League Baseball. He worked in the American League from 1984 to 1999 and has worked throughout both major leagues since 2000. He is currently a crew chief. On February 28, 2000, Hirschbeck was elected as the first president of the newly certified World Umpires Association. He wears uniform number 17, which was also his number when the leagues maintained separate umpiring staffs.

Hirschbeck has umpired in the All-Star Game twice (1989, 2004), in the Division Series 8 times (AL: 1995, 1998, 1999, 2005; NL: 2001, 2003, 2006, 2010), the American League Championship Series 4 times (1990, 1997, 2000 and 2004), and the World Series three times (1995, 2006, 2010.)

For the 2011 season, Hirschbeck was the crew chief of Crew A. The other members of the crew were Wally Bell, Laz Diaz, and Scott Barry.

Although most umpires stay out of the public eye, Hirschbeck came to be widely known for an on-field incident on September 27, 1996 in Toronto when Baltimore Oriole Roberto Alomar got into a heated, two-way argument with Hirschbeck over a called third strike. Hirschbeck then ejected Alomar from the game, and Alomar spat in Hirschbeck's face, claiming that the umpire had used a degrading ethnic slur against him. Lip readers contend that Hirschbeck called Alomar "a faggot" as Alomar was walking away. Alomar, and other players, claimed that Hirschbeck's personality had been extremely bitter since one son had died from adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and another son had been diagnosed with it. Having heard Alomar's remarks, Hirschbeck charged into the Orioles' clubhouse the next day and he had to be restrained by a fellow umpire. Alomar was suspended for five games and required to donate $50,000 to ALD research. By October 5, Hirschbeck said he had forgiven Alomar for the incident.

The Cure are an English alternative rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member. The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s with its debut album Three Imaginary Boys (1979); this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part of the post-punk and New Wave movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock revolution in the United Kingdom. During the early 1980s, the band's increasingly dark and tormented music helped form the gothic rock genre.

After the release of Pornography (1982), the band's future was uncertain and Smith was keen to move past the gloomy reputation his band had acquired. With the 1982 single "Let's Go to Bed" Smith began to place a pop sensibility into the band's music (as well as a unique stage look). The Cure's popularity increased as the decade wore on, especially in the United States where the songs "Just Like Heaven", "Lovesong" and "Friday I'm in Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By the start of the 1990s, The Cure were one of the most popular alternative rock bands in the world. The band is estimated to have sold 27 million albums as of 2004. The Cure have released thirteen studio albums, 10 EPs and over thirty singles during the course of their career. Since 2010, they have been working on a fourteenth studio album.

Jonathan Tyler Lester (born January 7, 1984, in Tacoma, Washington) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. Lester was 7-2 with a 4.76 ERA before and after being diagnosed with lymphoma. Less than two years after being diagnosed with lymphoma, Lester started and won the final game of the 2007 World Series, and in May 2008, pitched a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals.

Lester attended Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Washington, where he was a three-time MVP and three-time All-Area selection. In addition, he was named Gatorade State Player of the Year for Washington in 2000.

The Red Sox drafted Lester in the second round (No. 57 overall) of the 2002 draft and gave him the highest signing bonus of any second-rounder that year, $1 million.

Lester quickly moved through the Red Sox organization, posting an 11–6 record, a league-leading 2.61 ERA and a league-best 163 strikeouts for the AA Portland Sea Dogs in 2005. He was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year and Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year and was selected as the left-handed pitcher on the Eastern League's year-end All-Star team and on the year-end Topps AA All-Star squad.

Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez (/ˈæləmɑr/; Spanish pronunciation: [aloˈmar]; born February 5, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball player (1988–2004), regarded by many as one of the best second basemen in MLB history. During his career he won more Gold Gloves (10) than any other second baseman in history, and also won the second-most Silver Slugger Awards (4) for a second baseman. On January 5, 2011, Alomar was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, in his second year of eligibility.

Alomar was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He is the son of Sandy Alomar, Sr., a former All-Star second baseman with a 15-year MLB career. His older brother, Sandy Alomar, Jr., was a Major League All-Star catcher and currently serves as bench coach for the Cleveland Indians.

Alomar was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and was raised in Salinas, Puerto Rico.

In 1985, Alomar signed with the San Diego Padres at age 17, and joined the team's Class-A affiliate in Charleston. The following year, playing in Reno, he won the California League batting championship with a .346 average.

Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951 in Zeist, Netherlands) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1970 to 1992, and was best known for his curveball. Blyleven was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. He is currently the color commentator for the Minnesota Twins on Fox Sports North.

Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, but raised in Garden Grove, California. His father moved the family to Canada when he was 2, and then to Southern California when he was 5. He became interested in baseball as a young boy watching Sandy Koufax pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers and listening to Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett announce the Dodgers' radio broadcasts. Blyleven was quoted as saying, “My dad built me a mound in the backyard with a canvas backdrop over our horseshoe pits, and I would go back there and just throw and throw and throw until I developed it, and it became my curveball. And I could throw it over at any time, any count.”

Blyleven starred on the Santiago High School baseball team, also running cross country to build up his stamina and leg strength. He was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the third round in 1969, where after only 21 minor league starts he found himself called up to the Majors at age 19 on June 2, 1970. In his first season, his sharp curveball helped him to ten victories and he was named AL Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. In 1973 he pitched the most shutouts of any AL pitcher, with 9.