State Championship

So last night was the State Championship game for the Southern California Major Softball tournament. The winner's bracket team was South El Monte and the loser's bracket was Westchester Del Mar. Having seen both teams on Tuesday, I thought Westchester was the better team and would probably force an if game.
So first 2 innings went real quick. 3rd inning South El Monte dropped 5 in the top of the inning. Westchester returned with 1 in the bottom. No score in the 4th. Top of the 5th, S.E.M. scores one more, making it 6-1. It looks at this point that they are going to pull off the not-upset and make sure an "If" game is not necessary. Bottom of the 5th, W.D.M. gets the bases loaded with no outs. Batter hits a ball to the second baseman who looks home for the force but doesn't do it, instead throwing to first to a first baseman who is not looking. Ball passes her, 3 runs score. Long story short, W.D.M. scores 6 in the bottom of the 5th, making it 7-6. Top of the 6th and S.E.M. goes down 1-2-3, meaning that there is an If game tonight for the whole ball of wax.
There were a couple of really close plays at the plate. Both could have been called obstruction which I probably missed but on the first, the runner hooked a leg around to the plate before the catcher tagged the tucked left leg. Safe at home. Parents start going crazy. This was in the 3rd inning.
In the bottom of 5, ball comes in from 1st, runner slides, catcher blocks plate completely, I rotate to look at the foot and the runner shuffles it after the tag to touch home. Out call at home. Of course, the call is against the same team that was on the defense on the first play. Coach comes out to talk. I tell him what I have. Not pacified but knowing he isn't going to get me to go talk to my partners because neither of them have any angle on a call I have 4 feet away with a shift, he huffs away.
So when W.D.M. wins, they are ecstatic that they forced an If game, especially coming back from 6-1. As umpires, you always go out the winning side because winning pacifies a lot of complaining. To hear good game from these parents who were yelling, screaming, and nigh cursing earlier in the game really rubs wrong. Empty platitudes.
I had one of the dads of Idaho post a picture on Facebook from 4 years ago when they were about to go to the Intermediate Regional, saying it was the start of the best week of their life. I replied that it was one of mine too and I was glad to share it with them. He turns around and says that I'm the best umpire ever. 4 years later and I made a positive influence on some kids from Idaho. That is a great memory. That is the type of memory I hope I make again next week in San Bernardino. Umpires, coaches, and players are not adversaries. We are all on the same team to get the best game out there and to teach players the tenants of Little League, Character, Courage, and Loyalty. I can do that by calling a good game but by also being a good guy, giving it my all, and doing it with a humble attitude.
The best game I ever worked behind the plate mechanically was Arizona/Hawaii at that regional. The best game I ever umpired behind the plate because the teams were such good sportsmen was the Hawaii/Idaho game. That Idaho team is my favorite team I ever worked with because they were a team of all heart, even when they were outclassed from the mound and the batting boxes. They stayed positive, never quit, and were so grateful just to be part of the whole experience. That's who I work to be every game. I'm glad I ran into them to remind myself that it is possible to live my core values even in the face of insurmountable odds.
Last night was my last game until next Friday. I don't know which games I will be working yet, but I'll let you know when I do. The schedule was released yesterday though and we will be having games at 9 am, 5 pm, and 7:30 pm on Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday are 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm. Friday, the championship, is at 6:00 pm. Since 3 states pulled out this week, they had to totally revamp the schedule and quite intelligently got rid of the 11 am and 2 pm games. Having the Alaska girls playing in 110 degree heat last year was ludicrous. This is a boon for me too as I won't have any 110 degree games behind the plate. Unfortunately, with 3 teams pulling out, we will have 17 games and 9 umpires, meaning one guy will only have 1 plate. If it is me, I will be ok with that because I got to be in San Bernardino umpiring with another chance to have one of the best weeks of my life. (I hope to make a good enough impression to get one of the semi or final plate though. Umpire dream.)
Next 5 days is family time though. I haven't had enough of that the last month and I'm so looking forward to it. Already turned down 3 request for this weekend. Being in a softball frame of mind is important going into next week.  I can't wait :)

Just a quick note

Just a quick note from my phone. Tonight I get to work with 2 other umpires who I'll be working with next week at regional for the Major Softball Southern California state championship game. The game is up in Hesperia at 7:00 pm, meaning I'll leave right after work to get there in case there are all kinds of traffic again. Tuesday, my crew who went up (Dave Burt, John Rodino, Ernie Hinojosa, and myself) was an hour late for game time because it took 2 and a half hours to get there.  Of course some of the girls were stuck in traffic too so we were ok. 

I'm pretty excited. This should be tons of fun tonight - Westchester Del Rey (losers bracket) against South El Monte. Saw both teams on Tuesday and they are both ready to play ball. 

I'll let you know how everything goes tomorrow. 

13 Days Until I Report

I haven't really had a chance to keep this up to date these past couple of weeks as games have been hot and heavy. I will say that I was actually happy that Independence Day happened this week because I was glad to have the day off to rest.
My family has taken their annual time away from the house trip this week, to Utah with the youth from the church. They are hiking all over Zion and Bryce Canyon and the streets of St. George so they are having fun. I am too, but mine is dressed in a uniform and patrolling between positions A, B and C.
This week I get to work with some of my favorite people ever, up in District 71 with Dave Burt. Tonight is the Junior Baseball final. I have heard of people who do a Regional or World Series who will only work in that division of play for the tournament but I'm not one of those guys. There are enough similarities between baseball and softball that doing games either behind the plate or on the field is going to enhance my muscle memory and actually get me in umpire shape so I can deal with the cruel, cruel heat of San Bernardino in late July. Besides, I would miss baseball terribly if I only did softball and I'm at the point now that I would miss softball if I only did baseball. Funny how that works.
Funny thing about umpiring. When I do games behind the plate, I introduce myself to the catcher and if he or she is up to it, we carry on a conversation throughout the game. I have gotten to talk to quite a few decent kids over the years. While I never skew my calls to favor these catchers or their teams, there is a part of me, once the game is done, that hopes to see them either later in the tournament or on TV somewhere. Sure, 99.999% of these teams never make it on ESPN but when one does, it's pretty cool to say, hey, I was part of their journey there.
A few years back, I had a Senior team from Lemon Grove who ended up losing to Puerto Rico in the Senior Division World Series finals and I was able to watch ESPN and say, "Hey, that was my catcher. What a great kid." I do think that is part of the draw for me to do so many different tournaments at so many different levels at so many different districts - to meet good kids and work with fine adults.
So for the rest of this week I have games on Thursday in 71, Friday in 71, maybe Saturday in 28, Monday in 21, Tuesday in 49 and Thursday in 49. After that, I will spend the next 5 days with my family, studying my rotations some more from the WR tourney director, and go for some walks with my son to keep limber for the week.

First Weekend

Temperatures in the Inland Empire have been intense! Probably those in Arizona can laugh and point and say that I should just deal with the cool temperatures, but after a spring of pretty mild temperatures, this weekend has been killer. Saturday, my first game started at 9 am and went 4 hours. I was the second base umpire so I didn't have the gear but I did go through a ton of water. Temperatures by 1 pm hovered around 105.

Saturday afternoon I went up to Grand Terrace to start helping with District 21's softball tournaments. Temperatures up there were around 95 at 5:00 pm, and then the humidity started. The 8 pm game wasn't bad temperature wise (high 80s) but the humidity kept rising.

So then I had 2 games behind the plate on Monday night. The 5:30 pm 8-10 yrs Softball ended up being 23-13 after 4 mercy rule. The second game, starting about 8 pm, was the Major Softball championship game. Grand Terrace had a fantastic pitcher. She was perfect in the bottom of the 4th with 2 outs. Batter #12 for the game was at the plate with a 2-2 count when the pitcher grooves one down the middle. The batter lifts the ball into centerfield, straight at the fielder. She lifts her glove and... the ball bounces out. A few throwing errors later, the batter rounds the bases for their first run of the game. Perfect game and shutout are gone in one error. No hitter is still possible.

The next batter comes up and hits a 1-2 fastball to the right side between the first baseman and second baseman, ending up with a double. No hitter is out the window. Next batter strikes out. Game over. 14-1. District championship to Grand Terrace.

I have been chugging water like crazy this weekend though. I need to keep up on my body temperature regulation. Even though the games are in the evening, I need to remember my towels to keep my core temperature down. While I love umpiring, I don't really want to die out on the field. I did have to pull out of a game a few weeks ago because I could feel myself fading. I don't like that feeling - first not physically, and then not mentally where I left my partners hanging. That isn't fair to them or the kids. Have to pay more attention to that. And it's only going to get harder as we head towards the end of July in San Bernardino.

Upcoming schedule:

Tonight: - District 21

5:30 pm - 8/10 Softball Semi-finals

8:00 pm - Junior Softball Finals

Tomorrow: District 21

5:30 pm - 8/10 Softball Finals

8:00 pm - Junior Softball (If Game)

Thursday: District 21

6:00 pm - 8/10 Softball (If Game)

Saturday: District 28

1:30 pm - 8/10 Baseball - Wildomar

Monday: District 71 - Section 8

5:00 Junior Softball Section

7:30 Junior Softball Section

Tuesday: District 71 - Section 8

5:00 Junior Softball Section

7:30 Junior Softball Section

Wednesday: District 71 - Section 8

Time? - Intermediate Baseball Sections

Thursday: District 71 - Section 8

6:00 pm - Junior Softball Section

Sunday, July 2 - District 49 - Section 8

6:00 pm - 9-11 Softball Section

July 5-7 - District 71 - Section 8

Various finals TBD

July 10 - District 21 - Section 8

5:30 Major Baseball Section

7:30 Major Baseball Section

July 13 - District 49 - Division 3

6:00 pm Major Softball Championship

July 19 - Report to San Bernardino

Pre-All Star Update

The regular season is now done.

With All-Stars on the horizon I thought it would be good to give an update before I am way too busy to even think about this blog for a few weeks.


1.  I got my pins last Friday. I am so happy with them. I haven't taken a good picture of them because my phone doesn't have a lens cover so everything comes out blurry. Here is the original artwork though and it does a good job of conveying what the actual pin looks like:

Here is a picture of it. 

 Here is a picture of it next to my 2013 Intermediate Regional pin. Yes, they are about the same size. Yes, they are both Doctor Who references. I figured that when I do baseball regionals or world series, I will do a Doctor Who bad guy. When I do a softball regional or series, I will do Doctor related things. I already have an idea of the next pin - a sonic indicator.

2. When you have friends all over the place and you are doing a Regional tournament, you get invites to do a lot of games. It was funny. Friday I was minding my own business at work when I got an email from a friend who is a DA in a local district. He was inviting me to help do some softball in his district. Cool. Not 5 minutes later, I get an email from another friend looking for help with his TOC he is hosting. Then a text 10 minutes later from my old district about the umpire meeting for All Stars happening on Saturday. Then an email from my new home district about my availability. Then a phone call from my league UIC's former district out in West LA to help with their softball TOC. This was all within an hour. I also got an invite to drive all the way up to Chico to help with the Northern California state championship tournament (which I cannot do. I can't miss that much work!) I was like, Trina, I love you but you're a widow for the months of June and July. (Not really. I had to turn down some of the invites.) 

I will be doing a lot of softball in the coming weeks, as well as tagging in some baseball here and there. I'm looking forward to next weekend and Monday-Thursday when I will be helping with District 21's entire softball tournaments (8/9/10, Major & Juniors.) The following week, I should be helping with District 71's softball tournaments, working with one of the smoothest and finest softball umpires I've ever watched. I think I can learn a lot from him so I am excited.

3. This past week I did 4 games, one Tuesday at Alta Loma, one Wednesday in Winchester, and 2 on Saturday in Alta Loma. All baseball. All four games were exciting.

Tuesday's game was a loser's bracket game between the A's and the Dodgers. The A's were the last place team during the regular season, going something like 3-15. They lost the first game of the tournament and had to take the long road if they were going to go anywhere. This was probably the finest game I have umpired in a couple of years, right near the Hawaii/Arizona game I did behind the plate at the Intermediate Regional. The final score was 1-0. The pitching was fantastic. Both catchers were amazing. There were 2 plays at the plate for the Dodgers where they got thrown out sliding, one on a passed ball where the catcher dove back to get the runner and one on a hit back to the pitcher where the ball barely beat the runner's foot for a great tag. So the A's won.
Wednesday was a minor division game, AAA, for District 28. Both teams battled so hard. After 6 innings, it was tied up 13-13. I was on third base on a four man crew. In the 7th, a runner was going home but got in a pickle and was tagged out for the third out. In the bottom of the 8th, the home team had bases loaded with no outs. One play at the plate for a force. Second out was a strike out. Third out was a 3-2 ball in the dirt swinging strike. Go to the ninth. Home team ran out of pitchers switching out pitchers early in the game after 20 pitches. Visitors score 6 in the 9th. Home team comes up to a new pitcher and score 3, have bases loaded, and ground out to the first baseman to end the game. Final score: 19-16 in 9 innings.
Saturday was the Moffitt Cup Championship game in Alta Loma. The winner's bracket team was the Cubs, undefeated during the regular season. The loser's bracket was the A's. The same A's from above who had won 3 games all season. They took the hard road to the finals and won more games to get there than they won all season. They had to win 2 to be the Moffitt Cup champions.

Game 1 I am behind the plate. Between Tuesday and Saturday, it was the best I felt behind the plate all season. These were games that make me think I will do OK in San Bernardino with my strike zone. 

So anyways, game 1 and the A's are up 4-3 in the bottom of the 6th. By this point, the Cubs are imploding, yelling at each other, throwing equipment, not listening to their manager but to a very vocal dad in the stands who once got kicked out of managing a few years ago. Somehow he has some really strange magnetism that everyone loves him unless you are in charge of anything.

So I had to eject a kid for throwing his bat in anger in the bottom of the 6th. I was really trying to keep everyone in but sometimes kids eject themselves. So lead-off batter is up with 2 outs and he grounds out the first. End of game one, A's win 4-3.

Game 2, we grab one of the umpires from the minor championship which just finished and we do a three man rotation. I'm at third again. I love being at the different bases because it means I'm not always behind the plate. That happens a lot at the local level. Top of 6, the Cubs, being the home team again on coin flip (The A's won and chose to be visitors again) are now up 5-3. The A's have their #11, 12, and #1 hitters coming up (continuous batting order.) #11 strikes out. #12 hits a double. #1 changes places with #11 with another double. #2 hits. #3 hits. By the middle of the 6th, the A's are now winning 6-5 and the wheels are coming off in the Cubs dugout. Cubs have #10, #11, and #1 coming up (one player not being in the line up as he was ejected last game.) #10 strikes out. #11 grounds out. #1 ends the game with a liner to the first baseman who catches it in the air and the A's go wild.

Trophy presentation and my partners and I are not watching but apparently some of the kids from the team which did not win took their trophies and threw them on the ground and were general poor sports about the whole thing. Not enough losing during the regular season so they didn't know how to handle it. Of course, these kids just having been named to the All Star team in between games are setting an extremely poor example of what the league is all about -- it's not about that I can tell you. I'm not sure what is going to happen but something is if I know the leadership there, a place where I was on the board for 3 years. Critical life lessons are on the way.

4. In all this, my daughter is heading to Panama at the end of this week for a mission trip. I am not umpiring this week at all so we can spend some time together before she takes off. It's an organization I worked with when I was a teenager so I am ok with it. Trina is too but she does have some motherly insecurities (don't tell her I do too. I just hide them better.) [Message redacted].

5.  Wait... that redaction was supposed to be in the parenthesis, not after! Stupid redactor.

6.  37 days to San Bernardino. But who's counting.

Long time, no talk

Hey. You remember this page? Apparently I didn't because I haven't really been giving updates too much. Really, the baseball and softball seasons are upon us and I have been real busy on the field. Additionally, all four kids have been playing baseball this season.
This has been the hardest season of my life. Not because the umpiring is hard or the crowds have been rowdier but because I have had to sit several times and watch other people umpire. Umpires I didn't know and really, really didn't like their methods. Umpires doing my kids games who don't work as hard as I do. It drives me crazy. I have had to sit in right field as not to pull the "I'm an umpire" card and then yell crazy at the ludicrous stuff they were doing or allowing to happen.
But then I umpired. Umpiring for me is therapy. One game, surrounded by tons of parents in the stands, two teams of Junior division girls, and coaches, I found it peaceful in an introverted kind of way. I could be the introvert, do the job, not have to interact with too many people, and help my community. Maybe that's why I have taken to umpiring the way I have over the years.
So anyways, what's happening on the road to San Bernardino?

1. I have been going to Bloomington Little League on Tuesdays for the last month and a half to do softball games. People really didn't appreciate me too much last year but this year they are fawning over the fact that I am back because they see how hard I work. I'm volunteering. Everyone else at the field is getting paid, many of the kids I trained last year are getting paid this year which I guess is good for them. Not necessarily for the league but I did my job last year to make them better umpires and I believe they are getting better games this year because of the groundwork I laid last year. That community needs people who care about the game and know the rules. I hope I helped give that to them last year.

2. I really need to do more games up in Rancho Cucamonga. I've done a couple for Jon at Alta Loma but I am going to the softball regional as a District 71 umpire. I have to get up there and thank them for believing in me. Especially as All Stars comes along.

3. I have been doing quite a few games for Menifee Valley. We have a really good group of umpires there who really care about the kids and really know the rules. We have an awesome group of junior umpires who are eager to learn more, improve, and work games. It is a good place to be.

4. Today I was invited to a softball invitational at the Western Region complex in San Bernardino hosted by District 49, the High Desert. Martin Hoover, the DA for 49, hosted the tournament and he does a great job. He is a great man and a good friend. The games were fantastic. Today I got to work 3rd base on one game and 2nd base on a second game. You may say, "Oh, it's only 3rd and 2nd..." I say, "IT WAS A CHANCE FOR ME TO WORK SOMEWHERE ELSE BESIDES THE PLATE! THANK YOU LORD!"
It was good to get out there with guys who are going to work this regional with me, guys who have worked the regional before me, and guys who have done World Series and fine tune my mechanics. There are an amazing group of volunteer Little League umpires out there who are more than happy to help any umpire improve. I feel I learned a lot today that will help me in July.
As I mentioned to someone else, when discussing our Junior Umpires, I love working with kids who are eager to learn and take any constructive criticism to heart and improve immediately. I hope me, as a 42 year old Junior Umpire, still have the heart to improve when given feedback.

5. I finally ordered my trading pin. IT IS AWESOME! I'll post pictures when I get them in June. Just remember that my baseball regional pin was a dalek umpire. I wonder what my softball regional pin could be?

That's enough for right now. It was a long day and I can feel the sun still shining on my face. Perhaps I should have used sunscreen....

Mid January Update

I said the biggest challenge for me on the road to San Bernardino is losing weight. The day I got the letter, I was at the highest weight I had ever reached, 350 lbs. I have been doing some stepping but mainly, I have been watching what I eat. I have cut down portion size tremendously. I have cut out snacking, or if I do grab a snack, it's something like a Fiber One bar or a 100 calorie pack of almonds.
This morning, the scale read 325.4. That's 25 pounds in a month. I know 25 pounds a month won't continue as the beginning is the easy part but it's a good start.

Upcoming events:
January 28-29: Level 2 Rules Clinic in San Bernardino
Februay 3-4: Umpire training for District 28
February 11: 5k with the family at Lake Perris

That's all I really wanted to get out there. Weight update.