Major League Baseball umpire Wally Bell died from a heart attack on Monday just days after the experienced official had worked in a post-season series.
The 48-year-old Bell had been an umpire since 1993 and was a part of the crew in the National League Division Series in which the St Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a Game 5 decider last week.
Baseball made the shocking announcement on the same day the Los Angeles Dodgers battled the Cardinals in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, adding a somber mood to the contest for the officiating crew.
"I give these guys a lot of credit because there was a ton of emotion in that umpire's room," MLB executive vice president Joe Torre told reporters following the contest.
"It hits you right between the eyes."
Bell, who is survived by a teenage son and daughter, was on the World Series umpiring crew in 2006 and he worked the 1997, 2000 and 2013 All-Star Games.
In 11 other seasons, including 2013, he worked in a league championship series or a division series.
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