Venezuela has long been a great source of baseball talent. Current Major League Baseball stars include Felix Hernandez, Miguel Cabrera, Francisco Rodriguez and Victor Martinez to name a few. Despite the large talent pool from Venezuela, there has never been an umpire from the country to call a Big League game – until Monday night.

Manuel Gonzalez, 30, of Venezuela made his Major League debut at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL.

Gonzalez was filling in for crew chief John Hirschbeck for Monday and Tuesday and will return to Triple-A on Wednesday. He was umpiring at third base for Monday’s game and will be at second base for Tuesday’s game.

“It’s a special occasion to be in Miami for this,” said Gonzalez. “When I came here today, I knew I was opening some doors for Venezuelan umpires.”