Living my dream - Umpiring in the Championship Game at the World Series

I look back over the 24 years that I have been umpiring Little League, and realize that when I first started, I don't even think I knew that it would be possible for me to umpire in the World Series.  That was for those other guys - the guys who had umpired for years, and 'knew' everything.  I started umpiring because my son's Little League manager didn't want to do it - and since I was a coach on the team, it was easy for him to assign the task to me (in our league, every team has to provide umpires for other games).  So, I went out on the field, with little more than the basic knowledge of the game that I had played and followed for so many years.

Well, that first game turned into a few more that year, and then a few more the following year, and before I knew it, I was doing several games a year - long after my son had outgrown Little League.  I did it because I loved the game; I liked the people in my league; and I loved being around kids who loved the game.  It was a way for me to continue to support Little League on a schedule that worked for me.

Over the years, I saw other fellow umpires progress to District All Stars, and then Section, Division and even Regional tournaments.  At first, I again thought that those games were out of reach for me.  But I was around a great group of umpires from CA District 12 who mentored me, trained me, supported me, and 'promoted' me to those upper level tournaments.  I went to the weeklong regional training held in San Bernadino, and the dream of Regional tournaments and World Series started to take hold.  As I became a more experienced umpire, I started taking on the training and mentoring role of those newer umpires who wanted to learn more.  

When I was chosen to work the 2009 Junior Western Regionals, I realized that the World Series was in sight...it took 8 years of continued work, continued training, and continued commitment to reach the pinnacle of Little League umpiring.

Now, with the World Series over, and my life starting to return to my ‘old’ routine, I can reflect on the incredible 10 days I spent in Taylor MI.  The folks at the Junior League World Series take great care of the games that have been entrusted to them.  I met a great group of 12 very talented umpires and became friends with them over the 10 days.  I would be honored to work games with any of them, any time!

I met many folks from Taylor who have been volunteering to keep the Junior League World Series a very successful tournament – most for more than 10 years; many for over 30 years.  The core group who started the JLWS have been at this for 37 years:  Greg Bzura, Sam Pizzo, George Glick and Orland King.  They have kept the dream alive for thousands of kids, and hundreds of umpires.

As for me, when I went out on the field to start the championship game, I was a little misty-eyed.  I knew that this would probably be the only time I would umpire a World Series, and I wanted to capture all the feelings, all the emotions, all the wonderfulness of the moment – it was AWESOME!  And, I can always say that I played a small part in the greatest catch ever made in Little League history – amazing! 


There are many people I need to thank who have helped me over the years.  From District 12, it starts at the top with our incredible District Administrator, Jenice Condie, who has been my friend for almost as long as I have been an umpire.  We have enjoyed many good times over the years, at Willow Glen LL and at D12.  There are the Chief Umpire(s) at D12 – Ralph Gianini, Dan Campagnolo and Larry Gomez – as well as the many members of the D12 crews that have supported me and critiqued me over the years – helping me become a better umpire.  In D54, where I have umpired many games in recent years, I want to especially thank Bob Fogle (D54 DA) and Jeffrey Davis who has umpired many games with me, and also helped me improve my game.

And of course, my wife Marilyn, who has supported me in so many ways – it is hard to count.  When we met, I was already on this path – she just didn’t know the extent of work it would take for me to get here.  She was the first to know of my selection this year to the World Series, and the first in line to tell me that whatever I needed from her – to just ask.  She encouraged me to do my best; to be the best umpire I could be.  I could not have done this without her.

So, as the World Series fades into the past, I will treasure the memories and the feelings.  I will always be able to say "I'm a World Series ump"...and that memory will never fade away.

The GREATEST Catch in Little League History - I was there! - it was ALWAYS an OUT!

In case you missed it, here is the Greatest Catch in Little League history - maybe in the history of the game:  Greatest catch ever.  Some people are calling this the greatest catch ever - and I was there...First base umpire, watching the whole incident unfold.  

It should have been an easy call (it was), and there should have been no controversy (there was)...here's the complete story.

It was the 4th inning of what was still a tight game (it would unravel in the 5th) between Chinese Taipei and US East (from Pennsylvania).  With one out, there was a long fly ball to deep center field.  Jack Regenye caught the ball as he barreled over the center field fence.  He jumped up - ball still in glove, and the 2nd base umpire correctly called an out - see picture below

 

At that point, things started to go downhill.  The Chinese Taipei coach came out to argue the call, saying that Jack was out of bounds when he caught the ball.  As is correct protocol, the umpires got together to review the play.  If you watched the full game, not just the highlights, you got an opportunity to watch us discuss the catch.  My son said he was trying to read my lips, hoping I was calling it a catch.  In fact, we all agreed it WAS a catch, and the batter was out.  What happened next is just not explainable.  As we broke the conference, the home plate umpire mistakenly signaled Home Run - and then the controversy started.

As I ran back to my position, not realizing what call had been made, I saw the batter round the bases - and I almost ran after him to stop him.  I then looked to home plate to see what was going on.  As the US East coach came out to complain, the umpires quickly gathered together to get the call correct.  We circled again, reiterated our decision, and the call was correctly changed to a CATCH.  

And, of course, the Chinese Taipei coach then came out to argue - through his interpreter - and try to understand what had happened.  We never changed our call - but unfortunately, to the world, it looked like we did.  We had to explain to the Chinese that the call had always been a Catch...and then explain at least 2 or 3 times why that was the correct decision. 

The controversy made the story a bigger one than it was - and it was a BIG story - the catch was phenomenal (in truth, I just saw the last part of it, because my primary job was to make sure the batter touched first base, after which I looked up to see where I needed to be next).  

For us at the park, it was too bad that the mistaken call took away from the achievement, but later that day, everyone at the hotel was sitting in the lobby or the bar watching and rewatching the catch on ESPN or on Sports Central, or on the local news.  Jack was interviewed by ESPN - and we all got to watch him watching the interview play on TV.  A couple of us on the crew went up to him and told him the whole story - so now he has a little more of the background on the controversy - for a day i am sure he will never forget.

I'll add another post as a wrap up to my incredible week at the Series - this story deserved to stand alone.