GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As millions of viewers tune into the first game of the 2023 World Series, a former Flying Dutchman will help keep order.  

D.J. Reyburn spent his undergraduate years as a center fielder for Hope College. After graduating in 1999 he pursued a career as an umpire.  

Reyburn’s MLB career started in 2014, and nine years later, he’s getting his first chance working the Fall Classic.  

He’ll have a friendly face in the crowd of over 40,000 fans, and his former coach Stu Fritz will be in Texas to support him. 

“It’ll be nerve-wracking for sure,” Fritz told News 8 ahead of the first game. “As a competitor, when he played for me (he was) just an overall really good human being. He’s been doing it a long long time… He’s done some (conference series, divisional series) and a wildcard. He’s here.”

Reyburn’s first World Series game will start around 8 p.m.