Saturday, March 28: Peninsula Association – East Jefferson @ North Mason
Today was going to be one of those days that I looked forward to. A nice leisurely Saturday, rolling into a nice little ball park on the Olympic Peninsula for what should be a fun day with a partner I’ve wanted to work with but never had the chance.
The drive to Belfair was nice and relaxed, and I rolled into the parking lot well in time for a lengthy pre-game. My partners were Jay Sainz, a guy I’d never met before, and Joe Spencer.
Joe had pretty much been my right-hand man over the past several years. When the time came for details on meetings, cleaning up mechanics manuals, putting together exams – Joe was always there. My chat messages with Joe go back many years and cover more baseball topics than one can imagine. Joe is very well connected around the state and has helped guide me into some non-school opportunities. In turn, I turned to him when I needed to bring on a new state tournament UIC at one of our three state venues. He has become a fixture in Bellingham for our 1A, 2A tournament, which tends to be very competitive. I was looking forward to sharing the rails with him.
Joe is a retired Navy guy and shared with us his excitement at being selected for a Wounded Warriors Umpire Camp. I first found out about Wounded Warriors Officiating through Mike Pereira. If that name rings a bell it is probably because he is one of the football officiating experts for Fox Sports and is the current head of officiating for UFL. I got to meet him at an officiating conference where we talked of our respective experiences in the Alaska Baseball League, he as a player and me as an umpire (though not at the same time). The Wounded Warriors project is an initiative to give returning service-people an opportunity to transition into another worthy venture, this through officiating. It’s a fantastic idea, and I’m so happy that Jay gets this opportunity.
With Joe and me taking the lead, we breezed through our pregame. As we made the long trek from the parking lot to the field, I felt the grim reminder as to why I am feeling the need to step aside from the game I love. Over the past couple of years I have experienced sharp, out of the blue pains as I take jab steps. These pains come and go quickly, but occasionally they knock we out of step. Two years ago it was my knees, last year it was my left hip.
This year it has been a little of both. And today both flaired up with a vengeance.
I was thankful that we were working three-man, and especially that I was on first base. We had blessedly few rotations so I was able to nurse myself along pretty well. But I definitely was feeling it today, which made me pretty disappointed. Joe has seen me work before when I am fresh, so he knows what I am capable of. Still, I was hoping to be more athletic on the field.
It ended up being a pretty fun, relaxed game. East Jefferson knew they were outmatched but seemed to be having fun. Their first base coach chatted with me a bit and I kept it just professional enough but enjoyed the discourse.
After the game the three of us headed down to a nearby sports pub to grab lunch before I headed home. I love the games but this is easily my favorite part, as I think I said in an earlier post. Swapping stories, having laughs, and sharing this crazy avocation we’ve chosen all makes for great memories.
