Todd Tichenor has often found himself on baseball's biggest stages after reaching the pinnacle of his profession as a full-time Major League umpire in 2012.

Tichenor, a Garden City native and current Holcomb resident, has worked every level of the MLB playoffs, including the World Series. 

He added another highlight to his distinguished career earlier this month, serving as crew chief and home plate umpire for the MLB All-Star Game on July 11 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. 

It was an honor Tichenor didn’t take lightly, but the moment didn’t completely sink in until the final out was recorded in the National League's 3-2 win over the American League. 

“What sticks out the most is probably when it was over and knowing I wasn’t going to be the lead-in to SportsCenter,” Tichenor said with a laugh during a recent interview with KSHSAA Covered. “It’s my job and I take it very seriously. I was ready to work. So really, it wasn’t going to be anything special for me until it was over.”

After the last out, Tichenor looked up in the stands and found his family – his wife, Kelly, sons, Kaden and Kooper, and daughter, Teagan. 

“I tipped my hat to them,” Tichenor said. “ I don’t get to really wave at them, so when I touch my hat, they know I’m looking at them. And for all of them to wave back, it was a pretty special moment.”

Tichenor was tasked with keeping a consistent zone in the Midsummer Classic despite seeing 20 different pitchers, all throwing at different arm angles and velocities. 

“It wasn’t anything that was on my mind until afterwards,” Tichenor said. “I’m trained to see balls and strikes. Was I perfect? No. That’s the first thing I had to learn to become good at my job – know that I’m not going to be perfect. 

“Hopefully it went smooth.”

Indeed, Tichenor received positive marks for his performance, even drawing compliments from Hall of Famer John Smoltz on the Fox broadcast. 

Tichenor has been no stranger to the spotlight, most notably working the 2020 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays. 

His first postseason assignment was the 2014 AL Wild Card thriller between the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics. He also worked Wild Card games in 2020 and 2022, Divisional Series in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and League Championship series in 2017, 2021 and 2022. It was his second All-Star Game after serving as the left field umpire for the 2014 game. 

Tichenor was born in Lincoln, Neb., before moving to western Kansas at a young age after his father accepted a teaching and coaching job in Holcomb. His father worked as a recreation director in the summertime. 

“I would just go to work with him and I would ball shag and he would pay me at the end of the night, like a dollar,” Tichenor said. “I would just go work my tail off and watch him teach the umpires.”

After his father passed away from cancer when Tichenor was 7, Todd's mother moved the family to Garden City. Her secondary job was a supervisor at a ball field. 

Tichenor pogressed from working the concession stands to keeping score before starting to umpire games. 

“By 13 or 14, I’m doing competitive men’s softball," he said. 

Tichenor had his career goals laid out by the time he was a freshman at Garden City High School. 

“I’ve been married to Kelly 26 years now, and it was between my freshman and sophomore year in high school when I met her and we just started to talk about future goals," Tichenor said. “We laugh about it now: I told her that day I wanted to be a Major League umpire.”

Tichenor got his feet wet by working middle school and junior varsity games. He officiated his first varsity basketball game when he was a senior in high school and his first state tournament when he was a freshman in college at Garden City Community College. 

“I still have those medals and look fondly on those moments,” Tichenor said. “Back then, I thought I knew everything. What’s crazy is the learning experience you go through.”

The hardest part of the journey was when Tichenor was working his way up the ladder in the minor leagues. 

“I quit at least a thousand times,” he said. “I was packed and calling Kelly, ready to go home. We were married my first year, and that made it even harder. She was pregnant with Kaden, my oldest, during my first year traveling in the Pioneer League.”

Tichenor kept grinding and worked his way up the ranks, making his Major League debut in 2007. 

“It hasn’t been the easiest path,” Tichenor said. “But it’s been surreal and awesome.”

Tichenor was promoted to crew chief before the start of this season, which saw the implementation of sweeping MLB rule changes to increase the pace of play. 

Tichenor said enforcing the new rules has been an adjustment, but the benefits have been rewarding. 

“With the pitch clock, the regular-season game is down almost 30 minutes from the last couple years. The end result is unbelievable,” Tichenor said. “When you walk off the field almost 30 minutes earlier, seven days a week, that's a whole game a week where you're saving everybody's body.”

Back home in Kansas, Tichenor is concerned about the official shortage, a nationwide problem. 

Tichenor said he will look to help Scott Goodheart educate officials as Goodheart enters his first year as director of officials for the Kansas State High School Activities Association. 

“We’re going to teach these guys what to do, how to be in the right spot and how to be professional,” Tichenor said.  “What we need is help from the other side. We need the parents to lay off a little bit, let little Johnny just play and enjoy the game – that’s the hard part for them, and I’ve been there. I’ve coached my kids and I’ve been in the stands for my kids. It’s hard to do.

“There’s got to be give on both sides. We’ve got to do a better job of being in the right spot and doing the right thing, but we need help from the other side.”

Tichenor’s first piece of advice to young officials? Look the part. 

“We’ve got to walk into that ballpark with our shirts tucked in and our shoes shined and our hats on straight,” Tichenor said.

“And I make sure to tell them: We’re going to get yelled at. It’s not fun, and we have to go through that process of what we can do about it. What are the things in my toolbox that I can use to tell people not to yell at me? You have to assess the situation and know how to deal with it.”

Tichenor said his oldest son, Kaden, a kindergaten teacher in McPherson, is following in his father's footsteps as an official, working his first state tournament this year. 

“It was unbelivable to watch,” Todd said. “It was exciting for me. (Officiating) is something I never pushed on him.

“I think it's growing into a passion for him. He went to a one-day Major League camp a few weeks ago in Chicago, and they invited him to umpire school. He's going to go in January.”

Kooper Tichenor is gearing up for a promising senior football season at Holcomb High School while Teagan is entering the sixth grade. 

Because Tichenor worked the All-Star Game, he will receive three days off at another point this season. He'll use that opportunity to make a trip back to Holcomb and watch one of Kooper's football games. 

Tichenor takes immense pride in his western Kansas roots. 

“This is where we want to be,” Tichenor said. “This is what we want for our kids. We want them to be in this small town western Kansas environment to grow up. 

“Garden City and Holcomb have been nothing but a blessing for us. Growing up without my dad, there were so many men that came into my life and filled that void. I can call any of them today with anything that I need, and they will make it happen. It’s just how we do it out there.”