Day 3: First and Plate

Day 3:
First game was Idaho and Oregon.  Idaho came out big and won in 7, 12-4.  Both teams played well, had good attitudes and were a joy to work with.  I have been spending the last couple of days saying what I have been doing wrong and how it is going to affect me in the future but I wanted to spend today telling you about what I have enjoyed today.  Occasionally I get to connect with a kid playing for a moment or two and it makes it that much more enjoyable.  In this game I was on first base and outside the fence were two kids and their dad.  The older of the two, probably 3 years old, was calling out to me in between pitches and I'd turn and smile.  Between innings I did the major no-no and went and talked to him, asking about his trucks and talking about his shirt that had a firetruck on it.  It was a short 30 second talk but it was great to do.  The dad looked happy and I think the kid is going to have a positive outlook of umpires for a while.
One of the players from Idaho is the substitute (they have 10 players).  He pitched yesterday so I told him he did a good job out there.  Today there was a homerun hit over his head.  We talked in between innings and he mentioned that he wanted a ball hit to him but not one like that.  I told him that Oregon was making fun of their center fielder yesterday for not being able to jump 25 feet to catch those homeruns.  Nice moment.
One of the things they told us today was to take a moment to smile, to take a moment and turn around and enjoy the beauty.  Me, I am the type of guy to enjoy the moment as it is so this was something I do.  I have enjoyed working as an umpire in the biggest tournament of my life thus far but I think I have enjoyed most working with great umpires and working two games a day for a week which has been amazing.

The second game was one of the premier games of the tournament, Arizona and Hawaii.  I was on the plate for this one.  The game lived up to the hype as it started off 3-2 Arizona, then a one run shot to make it 3-3, then a 3 run shot by Hawaii to make it 6-3 and ending 7-3.  The game was extremely competitive and well played, high on emotions but also high on good sportsmanship.  I had good report with the catchers, talking with them, taking care of them as they took care of me.  The Arizona catcher asked me what I felt about the hotel as he has seen me there in the pool so we talked about that for a bit.  I enjoy talking with my catchers and calling them by name (it is on the lineup card usually) and treating them like young adults. 

So at one point today I had one of the coaches from a team come up to me and say that I was probably his favorite umpire that he has met all year and that it was great having games where he didn't have to worry about the umpires because they were doing their job.  I don't base my abilities off of what coaches say because those opinions change from call to call but it is really nice to hear we are appreciated. 

Overall, this was a day to appreciate the opportunity, look at the bright side and enjoy the moment.  I appreciate Dave for recommending me, Western Region for choosing me and Paul and John for hosting a great tournament.  I can't wait to start back up on Tuesday!

Tuesday schedule, I have 3rd base at 9 am, and 2nd base at 12:30.  On Wednesday, I have the plate at 9 and 1st base at 12:30. Thursday, I'm not sure what I will have since those are the semis and it will be determined after Wednesday.  It's coming too fast.