2011 Southeastern Regional Baseball
Tournament Umpire Crew
Our crew consists of eight Umpires selected by the Tournament Committee at the Southeastern Region Headquarters. We received our letters of selection in the first week of March. At that time it seemed that the Tournament dates of August 5 - 12 were so distant, but it sure did arrive quickly.
Besides myself, my teammates are:
Larry Clutter, West Virginia District 8
Dan Collins, South Carolina District 3
Rick Eanes, Virginia District 7
Jim Lenas, Florida District 5
Buddy Peyton, Georgia District 4
Guy Vilt, Florida District 26
Richard Zuckernick, Virginia District 4
Without a doubt, this crew was destined to have fun from the minute we had our first meeting at the Admin Building on Thursday, August 4. We met our Southeastern Regional Umpire Staff member, Marshall Casey, and the fun began. Marshall helped to squash the initial nervousness we all had to be feeling. Five of us had already met Marshall at the "Refresher Clinic" we had attended in the first weekend of June. We also were indoctrinated then in the heat we would experience during the Tournament.
But first we had to hear some of the things that we didn't want to hear, but knew coming in was part of reality. Some of us would or would not receive a recommendation for World Series. Also, it was a given that 2 of us would not be in the Championship game, as only 6 would be on the field. Aside from this, let the fun begin.
We jelled from the start. Pool play on Friday and Saturday started the process of really being a team even though we are all being evaluated individually on every aspect of the Tournament.
We had other highlights, but I have to keep these posts clean.
I was not a part of those that went to Steak 'n Shake on Thursday night, but I understand that the real fun began there. I'll just say that Rick is not as tall as the rest of us. Apparently, Rick took off to the men's room, and while gone, a booster seat was put in Rick's chair and the drink he ordered was served in a child's cup.
We had fun during the games on Friday and Saturday. Marshall gigged us almost immediately for talking to each other during games, suggesting instead that to go get water in the bull pens if we wanted to talk. That was good advice as the farther we go into the Tournament, the more we are noticed.
We continually had our laughs, poking fun at each other. It really helped ease the pressure to excel we all felt.
After the Consolation games on Tuesday, we went out to eat at a recommended restaurant, the El Bronco, a Mexican restaurant, but you already figured that out. It was outstanding, and we were able to really have fun. Marshall came with us, too, and I'm glad he did.
Thursday, being an off day, we took another suggestion from a member of our Grounds Crew and met Kevin at a local establishment called Owens Boarding House. I almost didn't recognize Kevin as his day job puts him in uniform at Robins AFB. Owens Boarding House is a unique place indeed, in business for over 40 years in a building that appears to have been used a lot longer than that. It has ceilings not much over 6 feet in some parts of the seating area. When you walk in you're asked how many are in your party and you're seated where ever there is room for you, sharing tables for 16 with other customers. The food on the menu for the day is already on your table for someone else or it is brought fresh for you if needed. There were 8 vegetables alone on the table, supplemented by fried chicken and for today, barbeque. One of my favorite vegetables was there, black eyed peas. The person next to you could be anyone or anybody. In our case, the person next to me was an Airman from Robins AFB, as well as the other 5 in her party.
I couldn't help but hear their conversation. The tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and other places by either them or their spouses, the TDY's, the Special Ops of each, or what aircraft they were new to was really eye opening. The community is very supportive of Robins AFB as is the AFB of the community. I thought my sacrifices and those of my family and coworkers were a lot to allow me to attend this Tournament. Mine were very pale in comparison.
Speaking of our Grounds Crew. Our grounds crew provided us with the best looking, well manicured field to umpire a game on in comparison to the other regions we've seen now in games that are being televised. These guys are to be commended. They are really regimented, each member knowing his responsibility. Kinda like our Umpire crew when on the field. The grounds crew spent long days during the Tournament, from early in the morning until the last game was over at night.