After fighting through a blinding snowstorm coming home from Okanogan on Tuesday that had me sliding around a bit at Stevens Pass, I was relieved to find that the drive to Wenatchee was pleasantly dry. As I pulled into the Recreation Field parking lot both of my partners were there, eagerly awaiting me.
Today’s tilt would be a conference double header between the visiting Moses Lake Mavericks and the home Wenatchee Panthers. Both teams are very competitive so I knew it would be a fun day. It turned out to be more interesting than I thought.
I was assigned plate for the first game and 3rd base for the second. My partners, Jeff and John, were eagerly looking forward to the opportunity to brush up on 3-man mechanics. Last year I did a session on how to pregame three umpire mechanics, and I shared it with them. Having dutifully watched it, they both breezed through our pregame conference.
The view from home plate was stunning. Outside the outfield fence was the legendary Apple Bowl stadium, where the high school was holding a soccer match. In the distance were hills that alternated between sharp and rolling. As we stood for the national anthem I snuck peeks at the surrounding countryside.
It didn’t take long for things to get interesting. In the top of the third inning Moses Lake’s head coach Donny tried to score a runner. The throw was right on line and the catcher barely brushed the runner. Following proper timing protocol, I replayed the tag in my head, looked for the ball, and then banged the runner out for the third out of the inning. Moses Lake’s coach went apoplectic. As he headed toward the dugout he first said something about the catcher not making the tag, then threw this gem at me:
“What took you so long to make the call? Were you indecisive or just showboating?”
Discretion being the better part of valor, I issued a warning. I had no history with this coach, but could tell he was about to be a handful. It didn’t take long to find out how much.
In the bottom of the inning we had the exact same play – same close call, same timing on the out. I figured being consistent in my approach would be the end of the issue. Unfortunately, my partner on third (John) called a balk, so instead of having an out at the plate, Wenatchee scored a run. Donny came out and asked what we had. I told him it was the third base umpire who made the call. He got a disgusted look on his face and turned around. “Of course. Wenatchee umpire.” He stormed back to the dugout without another word.
After one or two batters he called for a defensive conference to talk to his defense. As he headed to the mound he focused straight on John. Hitting the top of the mound he yelled out, “You’re a joke!” John responded in order with an immediate ejection. The two had some choice words for each other as I documented the incident on my lineup card. Things finally settled down and we resumed the game.
As the next batter entered the box I peered over at the Moses Lake dugout. There was Donny, standing right behind it. “Oh boy, here we go,” I thought. At Rec Park, being out of sight and sound meant getting completely out of the stadium, and I knew I was in for a battle. Until B.J. stepped in.
B.J. Kuntz is the athletic director for Wenatchee, and nobody’s fool. She and I go way back – in fact, it was she that notified me back in 2022 of my induction into the WIAA Hall of Fame. I was looking forward to seeing her at some point, but didn’t know how much until just now. B.J. walked up to Donny and informed him of the rule. When he resisted she picked up the phone, dialed the Moses Lake AD, and handled the situation deftly. I breathed a sigh of relief, making a mental note to thank her afterward.
An inning or so later I caught her eye and she strolled up to the fence. I was delighted to see her and thanked her for her assistance. She laughed and told me she was not having any of his shenanigans. We kept it brief – we both had jobs to do.
Wenatchee pulled away later in the game, and it finished without any more incidents. The three of us strolled off the field toward the shed where we dressed, swapping perspectives on the game’s proceedings. As I started to take off my gear I had a young man introduce himself to me. I had almost forgotten about Kade.
Kade Calvin had reached out to me earlier in the week about having a chat about my tour. as a reporter for North Central Washington Life media outlet he wanted to do a story on me. I told my partners to prepare for the second game as I went out to the field to get interviewed on camera. It was a surreal experience, getting interviewed between games of a double header in front of a crowd of curious onlookers. Kade did an excellent job and I had a great time. As we were chatting I heard a familiar voice – B.J. came out to greet me again! After the interview we got an “ussie” (for those familiar with Ted Lasso), and I went back to get ready for game two. See my interview here.
Washington high school rules require that anyone ejected must sit the next game, so we were going to enjoy game two without the volatile Mr. Donny. That did not, however, eliminate any further fireworks. In the bottom of the second, with runners on first and third, a ground ball went straight to the shortstop. As I set up for the routine play at second I tossed out my typical, “Come in clean at second.” The runner did not abide. The second baseman took the pivot, and as we went to throw the ball to first the base runner threw his hands up to block the throw. On the attempted throw the second baseman hit his hand on the follow-through. Hard. Very hard. I immediately called interference, calling out both the runner and batter-runner and sending the other runner back to third. Once again, things exploded. Moses Lake wanted me to eject the base runner for “malicious contact.” For a moment we had three coaches and three umpires out trying to restore order, as the Moses Lake players were indignant at their teammate being injured by the action. It took several minutes, cool heads, and not a few direct references from the rule book to bring the game back in order.
The remaining Moses Lake coaches were not nearly as incendiary as their head coach, but they were certainly argumentative. Not a few of their understanding of the rules book were inaccurate, and I felt at times that I was giving a rules clinic. Thankfully, after the collision incident cooled, the Moses Lake players settled down and focused on playing ball. I had some good conversations with a couple of them and found them to be delightful. They mounted a comeback but fell short, getting swept in the double header.
I thoroughly enjoyed having some spice mixed in for a change. Up to this point things had been fairly routine – this one reminded me that game management is a critical skill. I congratulated both my partners on how they managed the situations.
I’ll be interested to see how things play out, however. My Columbia Basin game is coming up in a couple of weeks, and it’s schedule to be at Moses Lake High School. We will see how long memories are then.
