Semi-final games

Jim Lenas, one of our 2 Florida Umpires was awarded the plate for the 1 PM game.  We now will utilize a 6 man crew for the remainder of the tournament.  There are no rotations for any position.

I was Joe's assistant, helping tend to Jim between innings.  Now that ESPN is covering the games, in between innings things have changed.  Jim now has to hurry over to get his water, wet towel, baseballs, etc.  We now have a "red hat" that gives the Umpires at 1B, 3B and the plate to first release the defensive team, then to direct the throw down pitch and then the release of the batter and base coaches.  Not a second wasted is the object here.  Being able to watch this game benefited me later in my plate game as I was able to stand behind the "red hat" while his cue's were being made.  The "red hat" was actually our Assistant Regional Director, Peter Frikker, rather than someone from ESPN.  You bet I followed Peter's every request during my game.

The heat was really oppressive for this game and I especially felt sorry for the base Umpires, as they had no time during the game to hydrate.  (I've become really tired of hearing the word hydrate after  being stressed so much during state and regional tournament play.)

Warner Robins won this game and moves on the the Championship game Friday night.  Expect a huge crowd.

For the 7 PM game, I had the plate, a true honor considering the quality of our crew.  The lighting at the stadium was already remarkable, but ESPN brought an additional bank of lighting on the first and third base sides of the field.  One thing it made even better, especially after the sun set, was that the baseball coming out of the pitcher's hand appeared as though it was glowing.  Perhaps the batters could see it better, too, hence the home runs.

I thought I had a good zone and called a good game.  I did point on 2 swinging strikes, which I should not have done.  Also, in an effort to really belt out the ball calls, I was giving a little nod.  I wish I could have the throw back that I threw at the pitcher's feet.   Other than that, I had fun.  Surprisingly, I was not nervous at all, even with all the added distractions.  The red light on the center field camera was perhaps the one thing I could not ignore, standing out even more as the skies grew darker.

Today, Thursday is an off day.  Tomorrow midday, we meet with Marshall to receive our game assignments for the Championship game at 8 PM.  We also will meet with him individually and receive our evaluations, which will determine if we receive a recommendation for World Series.  Regardless, the experience of this tournament is something that can not be taken away.