My Journey to Williamsport 2018

Well, we had a great final day in Williamsport. I had the pleasure of working home plate for the 3rd place game, between Japan and Georgia. Was a good game and we went along without any problems. Japan pulled out the win. Congrats to Hawaii, for winning the 2018 Little League World Series.

A bunch of us went out to dinner, and we had a final night together. I'm going to miss these guys! It was an incredible group to hang out with for 10 days.

I have many pictures to post, but they are in 3 different place. I will get them up this week.

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Well, worked 3B today in the International Championship. Great game, that Korea pulled out over Japan. Got to work with the Japanese team at their dugout, letting them know when to take the field. They are great kids and coaches!

We went out to dinner tonight (most of the group) and got to unwind a little. This has been a great group of guys.

On Sunday I get the pleasure to work home plate for the 3rd place game. That is cool that out of all these guys, I get to work that game on the plate. It will be Japan and Georgia. That should be a really good game.

This entire trip and experience have been amazing! Great baseball, some new life-long friends and memories that I will never forget.

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Well, we had the day off today. It was sunny and great weather. A few of us took a trip and went to Gettysburg for the day. We had a great day of friendship and learning LOL.

The schedule for tomorrow is posted above. We will all work the challenger game, then change up for our game around 11:30. Should be a good game (Last time they met, Korea won 10-0), but Japan is hungry.

The weather for the weekend looks like sun and 80's. Great baseball weather ahead.

We should know our schedule for Championship Sunday tomorrow night. 

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Well, we woke up this morning to sunshine! A first for everything. Rumor is thunder showers later (maybe). but it wouldn't be a day in Williamsport without a little rain :).

Another record that has been set this year, is the number of times the tarp has been put on and off by the grounds crew (30+). They do an incredible job with these fields and grounds of the LL complex.

This morning, we were all invited to the Little League World Series Umpire Alumni breakfast. We listened to a few speakers and enjoyed some fellowship.

Easy day until later - my game is at 7:30. Looks like a great match-up between Hawaii and New York. I have a great seat to watch, and will be at first base.

More later~~

Well, another day done. Korea moves to International Championship game on Saturday and Hawaii headed to US championship. Worked 1B and Hawaii won 10-0 in 5. All routine calls at 1B, so easy night. Yes - they pulled the tarp for our game for a short rain delay.

Schedule for tomorrow is posted above.

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All games today have been postponed because of rain.

Looks like 4 games tomorrow. 2 at each field at 3 and 7:30

More when I hear - OK we just got the update.

We will be holding 4 games tomorrow. Both US games will be held on Lamade and both International games will be held on Volunteer. The US games will be on ESPN and International will be on ESPN3 (no replay). Start times are 3:00 and 7:30 (on both fields). The consolation game, that was scheduled for today, will be held on Thursday morning at 11:30.

Tomorrow morning we will be at a breakfast hosted by the LLWS Alumni in a hotel down the street. Festivities start at 10:00.

The crew all went out to Bull Frogs for eats and fun. First night we have had off since last week. A great time was had by all! Congrats to Colin for becoming a new Grampa today.

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Great day! Worked 2 great games, that both came down to the final outs.

We worked 9 innings to close out the night. That makes 4 games I have been involved with that have gone over.

Tuesday's schedule is posted - I put some new pics on.

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Good day today. Worked a couple of GREAT games in the international part of the tournament - Korea defeated Mexico and Japan beat Panama. Had a few calls at my bases, but nothing too difficult.

I have been very lucky during this tournament so far, in that every game has been close and very good baseball. Man, can these kids play! I have been very impressed with their skills and sportsmanship.

Today, we also got to hang out with Gerry Davis' MLB Umpiring crew. Very cool guys and very supportive of us. Took some pictures and listened to stories. Go their autographs on my LL red flag.

Tonight, we all got passes to go to the MLB/LL challenge. Outstanding show fans of all ages. The Phillies were down 7-2 when we left in the 8th.

Tomorrow, I will be calling in to Dale Duff's radio show at 7:30 for an interview. It will be on 92.9 (The Ticket).

Tomorrow's schedule is posted - I have a late start tomorrow, so I will do my best to get some pictures up.

Time for sleep now

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Well, it was a very late night last night. Not out until after midnight. The word is that this tied a record for innings. We went 11 with a walk-off HR by Hawaii.

We started at 4:00 and basically went 8 hours of baseball. The first game was rain delayed for 1:39, and we were able to get it finished in time for the 8:00 game to only be slightly delayed. Two very good games yesterday, with Michigan winning in the bottom of the sixth and Hawaii with the walk-off shot.

Today I am working 1st Base on Volunteer. It is a losers bracket game I believe. I am also assigned to the 6:00 game as the alternate. This means, that I am ready to go in case of injury/illness to one of the umpires. Each game has someone assigned.

More later~~~

Well another late night. The crew I was the alternate on went 10 innings in the Canada vs Spain game. Great game. My game today (Australia vs Puerto Rico) went well. Only a couple of close calls, basically an easy day. The Aussies lost, but they kept their chins up. Great kids and I will post some pics of that game later. Tomorrow's schedule is posted above.

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Well it is 8:00 - raining outside right now. Games are not until later, so we will see what happens.

More later~~~

Very late tonight - we ended the marathon at 11:57pm. Hawaii hit a walk-off in the 11th. This is listed as a tie for the most innings in history. I am sensing a pattern here. Outstanding game!

The first game was incredible as well. Michigan won with a hit in the bottom of the 6th. Great play by their 3B - he made #3 on the ESPN highlight reel.

Overall - great day with rain delays in the first game.

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Well, game 1 is in the books. Apparently we set a record - longest game in 17 years.

It was very hot and muggy out there, and water and cold towels were my friend.

Korea defeated Puerto Rico 4-2. It was a great game and we went 9 innings. The pitching was outstanding and fun to call. I took a couple of shots - 1 in the front of my elbow and 1 under my chest protector - got bruises to prove it.

It was nice to have friendly faces in the crowd. Linda, Jay & Jayne Swope, Paul Sammon and the Lally boys from Bangor. Thanks for coming everyone it means the world to me!

I will post some pics tomorrow. Had some great texts from the Bangor boys and lots of cool screen shots. I will put them all on here. Really wiped out and exhausted, but wanted to get some lines up.

Tomorrow, I am on Lamade at 4 (2B) and 8 (RF Line). More later ~~~

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Well, we got all of our equipment into the locker room last night. It was cool to be back at the stadiums. We also had a meeting with the Staff of Little League, Pat Wilson, President Steve Keener and the rest of the tournament staff. All of the managers and coaches were there too. ESPN producers were in the house. Basically the meeting was to express the hopes of the tournament and guidelines for the week.

Today looks busy, as we need to be at Headquarters for a meeting at 9:00. We will also be getting our credentials, meeting with security, photos will be taken and that is before noon. We will be getting our schedules today for the first 8 games. I will post them when I can.

This afternoon, we will be back to change for the parade. The parade will be through downtown and features the kids and we are told over 100 parade units.

More later ~~

Update at 1:30 - Got my schedule - I have the opening game (1:00) on Home Plate. We will be at Volunteer Stadium. No pressure or anything :). Should be a great game as it is Korea vs Puerto Rico. I have also posted Friday's games above.

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Well, we finally got here. We spent the last week driving here, stopping in Connecticut, New Jersey and Philadelphia along the way to see friends and family. We had a great time at each stop and got to see some amazing people along the way.

We are all checked in, and most of the umpires are in and we have already been hanging out together. It has been great to see the guys again. Tonight around 5:00, we are all being loaded up with our gear to go to the stadiums and set up our lockers for the tournament. After that, we are meeting with Little League management, the coaches and others for details and instructions.

So the week has just begun, and we are all ready to have fun. More to come~~~ keep checking in.

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Yesterday I spent the day in Bristol hanging out at the East Regional games. It was great to see some faces I hadn't seen in a while and to meet some new people. I had the chance to hang with the umpires in between games, got to see Owen and Steve from Maine work and even watched Maine in a game. Sorry to say, Saco lost their second game and are now out of the run. Cody Lally was in the house as well. He is doing an internship for college and he was scoring games for the week.

Thanks to Doc, Frank, Cory and Jack for welcoming me and another LLWS umpire for the day. Tim Hughes was in from New York. We had fun hangin, and can't wait for next week. It was a pleasure to meet all of the umpires and I hope that they all have fun.

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Well, the baseball bag is packed with gear, the suitcases are being packed and we will be heading out tomorrow. Gonna take our time getting there, and visit some relatives and friends along the way, A couple of stops in CT, one in North Jersey, one in South Jersey then on to Williamsport.

My next posts will be from Williamsport ~ until then :)

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I worked a few games at the State tournament in Machias. The folks there did an outstanding job hosting the 6 teams from around the state.

1. Machias LL
2. Waldo County LL
3. Old Town LL
4. Saco LL
5. Lewiston LL
6. Scarborough LL

The winner of this tournament (Saco) is advancing to the New England Regional to be held in Bristol CT. Thanks for the great games!

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Well, we are just a little over 30 days to go until we hit the field. The district tournaments are coming to a close in Maine, and soon the States begin.

This spring has gone by quickly. Everything that we (umpires) have had from Little League has been a great experience, as far as I am concerned. The staff that will be our bosses in August are very helpful and very willing to answer any questions that I have had. They want us to be ready for the tournament, have no surprises and to have fun while we are there.

The crew (umpires) gelled right away, and this trip is going to be a blast!

So. I will be leaving for Williamsport in a few short weeks. I will post my game schedule in my schedule section, I will add some personal experiences outside of the games and write about my overall experience in my blog. I will also be adding pictures from the trip.

My next post will probably be from Williamsport. Until then, Call 'em like you see 'em.

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We all got an e-mail today from Tom at Little League.

Our uniforms are being sent to us and are being sent out today. They are sending our pants, shirts, t-shirts and jacket. We need to have our pants hemmed, and this also gives us a chance to make sure everything fits.

Getting closer every day now. The district tournament starts next week for D3, that means the 'International Tournament' begins for the kids in Maine. I saw that there is already 1 team in the LLWS - Australia's rep is in. Other International tournaments are starting very soon as well.

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Today, Little League has updated their website to include information about this year's tournament. On the page, you can see the game schedules, the TV schedule, events going on throughout the tournament (off the field), ticket information, complex information and even the ability to order 2018 LLWS merchandise. Use the link in my links section to visit the site.

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Only 65 days to go!

Today I updated a few pictures, and also added all of the umpire's pictures. Just click on their picture to see their number and home state/country.

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I had the pleasure of working with Alan McCullough at Bangor East. Alan is from Sacramento, California, and his goal is to work a Little League game in all 50 states. Well, this was state #48. Alan worked the plate, and I did the bases. We had a great time out there, and thanks for coming to Maine. Enjoy your vacation.

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