Day 5: Plate and 1st Base
Today was the last day of pool play. What a great day for baseball in Irvine. The weather was perfect with a warm sun and a
chilly sea breeze. The games were quick
but not at the same time. I couldn’t
believe the clock when we walked off because the first game seemed so much
longer. Let me get into the games.
First game: Idaho vs. Hawaii, Plate
Hawaii is a very solid team.
When they played against the host team, the manager said that they lost
the game during warm ups. Not only are
they the most disciplined team out here both offensively and defensively, they
are one of the best teams out here based off of sportsmanship and
attitude. They played Idaho today, a
team I have talked about before. As part
of my pre-game, I started off that I have really appreciated both teams and
their attitudes, both being some of the best out here. Of course, I have done 2 plates for Hawaii
and 2 plates for Idaho so I have seen both of them.
The game was out of hand in the first inning. Hawaii scored 8 in the first. Idaho didn’t have a runner through 3
innings. It was 13-0 after 3 and a half
(Hawaii is the visiting team.) In the bottom of the 4th, the first
batter got on and then the catcher, Brady got a hit. They ended up scoring 4 in the 4th. Great heart.
Hawaii ended up scoring more and the final score ended up being 22-4 but
Brady Batemon went 2 for 3. I told him
if Hawaii ends up winning the World Series, he can say he went 2 for 3 against
the best team in the world. Of course,
Hawaii has to win Regionals first and then get past everyone else to get there
so we’ll see. The game ended up going 5
innings mercy in 2:15 minutes but it sure seemed like a 3 hour game.
Things worked on: I
spent more time down before standing up after calling a ball, working on my
timing. My strike zone is good from
everything I see. My timing has been my
downfall and I think I made major steps today.
What I need to work on more is working from point-of-plate and moving
from where the ball comes from. I was
grossly out of position on one call at the plate today. I got it right but it could have been an
easier sell if I was in the right position.
Second game: Host
team, Northwood LL, District 55 vs. Oregon, first base.
Mike (Northwood manager) and Phil (Oregon manager) were two
of the most personable managers out here for this tournament. The game was well played but ended up being
lopsided. Northwood won 7-0 but Oregon had a great attitude today. I had a good time on first base though.
Things worked on: I
spent more time waiting to call out and safe calls at first, double-checking
the catch to verify it isn’t off in right field. I did take major steps on that today. I also spent more time going through
situations in my head as to where I would move if the ball is hit here, here or
there.
I received my evaluation today and I got very good
marks. I received 2 2’s (1’s are best, 5’s
are worst, nobody really gets ones or fives) – one in something I forgot and
the other in attitude. They said I was I
took constructive criticism well. Best part is that I did well enough to qualify for a World Series tournament when I apply for it. They told us all today that usually you can say there are the top 2 or 3 umpires, the middle ground, and then the bottom 2 or 3 umpires. With our crew, the difference between us was minimal (although in my opinion Cliff is the gold standard). I could really tell though that we have a great crew and it has truly been a pleasure to be part of this inaugural crew.
Tonight, Dave, his wife and his grandson took me out to
dinner to a place called Gulliver’s.
Talk about absolutely amazing food.
Holy cow! It must have been
because that was some of the best prime rib I have ever tasted. I went to umpire school with Dave and his
grandson David and I have really liked working with him. I have been taking him
back and forth from the hotel each day so it was his way of saying thank
you. It was more than I ever expected. Thank you Dave for dinner. I am still in awe of the meal.
So tomorrow, I am at 1st base for the Hawaii/Northern
California game. The game is at 10:00
am. The 1:00 game is Southern California
and Arizona and I will be behind the gate in umpire evaluations. I have been joking about announcing but I’d
really like to – I’ll have to bribe Danny to let me do it some.
Tomorrow and Friday.
That’s it. I think I blinked too
many times.
