6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY OCTOBER 10-16, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com 831 Three teams showed up at Monterey Peninsula College for a scrimmage between the Lobos and Skyline College baseball squads on a clear Saturday in Monterey. Two were composed of junior college ballplayers, many of them fighting for a spot on the final rosters. The other might be considered by many to be a necessary evil. But Kate Hart puts the emphasis entirely on the former. “Some of my closest friends are umpires,” she observes. The fact may not be appreciated by fans, coaches or players, but the third team on the field—the umpire crew— may be the most important part of the game. Hart is one of them, a veteran of 23 years officiating youth, high school and college games, a vocation the Monterey native took up after struggling to just watch her son’s games from the stands. “I’m not a person who sits,” she explains. “I tried [umpiring] and it was surprisingly fun. It requires athleticism. It’s a mental challenge, too.” Hart was one of more than 50 arbiters who gathered at MPC on Sept. 28 for a mandatory fall clinic under the auspices of the Central Coast Collegiate Baseball Umpires Association. Most were there to learn about new rules and keep their skills sharp. Unless they are one of the few who make it to the top—there are just 76 umpires for major league baseball—the pay is modest, the work seasonal and each call potentially subject to scorn. Such is the burden of the position that, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, over 20,000 umpires left scholastic baseball between 2018 and 2022. “It’s not a glamorous position,” Hart points out. “It takes a thick skin.” Yet as umpires rotated onto the field to officiate the scrimmage or honed their ball and strike skills against an electronic tracking system under the watchful eyes of CCCBUA instructors, it was evident that the men and women in black don’t take their responsibility lightly. According to Darryl Johnson of Marina—32 years an umpire, 18 on the college level—one of the most fundamental demands of an umpire is to get into the proper position to make a call. “When we teach, it’s situational awareness,” he says. Johnson explains that skilled umpiring provides definition for players through high school. From clear decisions, they learn the strike zone and the rules. The importance of the position ramps up at the junior college level. “The players only have two years to get recognized [by a Division 1 school],” he says. “It’s crucial to call balls and strikes as intended—that pitcher’s record is on the line.” A love of baseball brought Johnson to umpiring. Being on the field—taking part in the game—keeps him involved. “There’s a nice intensity to it,” Hart agrees. “The best umpires—you don’t know they are there. The rules control the game.” Some rules are amended every year, and their application varies from high school to the professional level. So part of the fall clinic is spent in the classroom. And there are drills in the nuances that escape the notice of fans, players and coaches. One involves a baseball attached to the end of a golf club. Its purpose is to train officials to keep their heads fixed—“Keep your nose straight,” one instructor put it—while tracking the ball. As Johnson points out, it’s about being in the right position. “If there’s an appeal, you need to be able to defend it,” he adds. When a player or manager disputes a call, officials are taught to keep the situation under control, first by ignoring the remark then by acknowledging it with a firm “I understand, but we are not going to discuss balls and strikes.” If it continues, the next steps are a warning and, finally, ejection from the game. At the CCCBUA clinic, umpires were evaluated on such aspects as knowledge of rules, positioning, hustle and judgment. But their demeanor on the field and professionalism both on and off were measured, as well. Umpires will make mistakes, of course. But unseen by fans, umpires evaluate their performance after each game. “There’s a lot that goes on in learning how to umpire,” Hart says. “I’m always trying to get better.” Making the Call An umpire clinic illustrates the important work of—and critical need for—the oft-maligned officials. By Dave Faries A common theme at the recent collegiate umpires clinic was the severe shortage of officials at all levels. As Darryl Johnson puts it, “Each game deserves a capable umpire.” “The best umpires— you don’t know they are there.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS LOCAL PEOPLE n LOCAL BANK
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