Major League Baseball has assigned some of its most experienced umpires to the 105th World Series. All six have World Series experience.

Over the last couple of decades, MLB has tried to assign at least one umpire who had never worked a World Series to the sport's signature event. That practice was halted after a flurry of blown calls in the first two rounds of this postseason.

The crew that will work the series between the Phillies and New York Yankees includes Gerry Davis, Joe West, and Dana DeMuth. They have 84 years of big-league experience and nine World Series combined.

The rest of the crew is Brian Gorman, Mike Everitt, and Jeff Nelson.

MLB employs 68 full-time umpires. It chooses postseason officials based on merit. Twenty-four umpires work the first round of the playoffs. The six World Series umpires are chosen from that pool. Umpires cannot work consecutive postseason levels, which means that those who worked in the League Championship Series cannot work in the World Series.

An umpire who does his job well is seldom noticed. This postseason, umpires have stood out almost as much as the players, in effect, becoming the newest players in the postseason. With that, one longtime major-league coach offered a scouting report on the World Series umpiring crew.

"Overall, that's a good crew," said the coach, who spoke on a condition of anonymity. "Davis, Nelson, Everitt, DeMuth . . . Joe West is a good ump - you just hope he pays attention.''

The coach has high regard for Davis, who is scheduled to work home plate tonight and in Game 7, if necessary.

"I like him a lot," the coach said. "He's a good ball-strike man. He'll admit when he makes a mistake. You always get the impression he's trying to work hard out there."

Davis and DeMuth are both in their 26th seasons and have worked three World Series each. Gorman, Everitt, and Nelson are working their second World Series.

"I'm not big on Gorman's balls and strikes, but he's really good on the bases," the coach said. "Behind the dish, he'll make a mistake, then he'll try to make up for it and go too far the other way. But he's a good guy with a good demeanor.

"Everitt is a very good umpire. He's gotten good in a short time. He's a good worker. He works hard to get in position.

"DeMuth is another really good ump. His demeanor is good. He's much better on the bases than he is behind the plate. If he's bad behind the plate, he's bad both ways not because he's trying to make up; he just had a bad day.

"I like Nelson. He's very conscientious. When he came up 10 or so years ago, he had a chip on his shoulder. He's still got a quick temper, but he's conscientious."

Shouldn't all umpires be conscientious?

The coach laughed.

"Some guys get caught out of position," he said. "When you're conscientious, you're never caught out of position. These guys have a tough job. For the most part, they work their tails off, but a few take things for granted and think they don't have to get into position to make the call."

The coach saved West for last in his scouting report. Cowboy Joe, as he is known around the game, is in his 32d season. He is regarded as a highly competent umpire, but his thirst for attention sometimes rubs players and managers the wrong way. West has a long memory, and he's not patient with a young player who doesn't agree with him.

"Don't [tick] him off," one player said.

"Joe wants to have control,'' the coach said. "That's not all bad. It's just that sometimes he's tough to deal with because sometimes he's more concerned with the beach ball on the field. He wants everyone to know he's in charge. He likes the camera and he has an ego. He has issues with young players. But when he bears down, he's a pretty good ball-strike guy. Overall, I'd say he's a very good umpire.''

These are the men who will officiate the 105th World Series.

Major League Baseball hopes this is the last you hear of them.