Air Force service helps rookie umps aim high

When Nick Mahrley and Shane Livensparger take the field for their respective Opening Day assignments, the duo will share a personal connection that goes well beyond being members of the largest rookie class of MLB umpires since 1999.

Not only have Mahrley and Livensparger grinded through the Minor Leagues over the past decade, but each has served in the Air Force -- albeit along different paths.

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Mahrley knew from an early age that the military would be his next step after high school. As for Livensparger, despite a deep-rooted respect for the military that traced to his grandfather serving in the Army and his great uncle spending 20 years in the Marines, he didn't start his own military career until much more recently.

"They had an impact on me by giving me that drive and passion to serve my country, as well," Livensparger said. "I never really pursued it earlier in life, but then later in life, it kind of really hit home and sparked my interest about pursuing this journey to become an airman."

It's with that in mind that Livensparger swore in to the Georgia Air National Guard in January 2020.

It was just two months later that the COVID pandemic essentially shut down everything -- and delayed Livensparger's required training. After a lengthy wait, he was able to attend officer training school this past offseason and graduated in December to become a second lieutenant.

It was around that same time that he received a call he'd been waiting for even longer. While Christmas shopping with his wife, Haley, for their 14-month-old son, Livensparger was notified that he'd be one of 10 new full-time umpires for the 2023 MLB season.

"I'm just incredibly thankful and grateful for both MLB and the Georgia Air National Guard in letting me pursue these opportunities,” Livensparger said. "It's not going to be easy for either organization, but they've both fully supported me every step of the way."

The next step of his military career -- training to become an air battle manager -- will be on hold until after the ’23 season.

"They're two really unique career fields, and handling both of them at the same time is definitely going to be a challenge," said Livensparger, who will remain in a reserve position during the season. "But I'm excited for that. What's great is they both complement each other and have a lot of correlations. They're both high-pressure fields of work."

That feeling is part of what led Mahrley back to umpiring following his own stint in the Air Force, where he worked in survival systems on the components that go into ejection seats on F-16s.

After his service had ended, Mahrley was on a family trip to Spring Training in Arizona when he noticed he was the same age as many of the umpires working games on the back fields.

"That reignited my interest in umpiring, and I remember thinking to myself, 'Well, I've got one shot at this,'" said Mahrley, whose first job in high school was umpiring. "I wasn't married at the time, so I went to umpire school. And everything fell into place."

Though Mahrley is no longer an active member of the Air Force, he still has friends who are enlisted -- and it still holds a special place in his heart.

"I've often said this, and I'll say it again: I would not take my military service back for anything," Mahrley said. "It was extremely valuable, and it was an honor to serve the country."

Both Mahrley and Livensparger hope to use their new roles to give back to veterans. It's something Livensparger has done in the past through his own Officials Helping Warriors of War project, but both umpires expressed an interest in hosting future programs.

"I would love to put on an umpire clinic for people who are looking to transition to civilian life who might have an interest in, not necessarily professional umpiring, but just umpiring in general," Mahrley said. "That's a goal I've had in mind and something that would just be really special for me."

The journey already has included plenty of special moments for both.

There was Livensparger's MLB debut on June 10, 2017, in a doubleheader between the A's and Rays at Tropicana Field. Mahrley's big league debut followed less than two months later, in an Aug. 3 matchup between the Mets and Rockies at Coors Field.

Now, after another five years of going up and down between the Minors and Majors, both will finally toe the line for the national anthem on 2023 Opening Day as full-time MLB umpires.

"Whether it's Opening Day or a game in August, any time I hear the national anthem, it always holds a special place in my heart," Mahrley said. "But thinking about hearing it on Opening Day this year, I'm expecting it all to be a very surreal feeling. It's just going to be so special, and I'm really looking forward to it."