The rains finally stopped somewhere about 80 miles north of Vancouver, much to my relief. I pulled into the parking lot at Ridgefield’s Outdoor Rec Complex, a multiple sport thing of beauty, a good hour ahead of game time. My partner for tonight, Dave Valli, worked the state tournament in Everett a few years back, so I knew I was in for a good time.
Baseballism is a full-blown high school baseball extravaganza put on by the good folks in Clark County and features some of the best teams from around the state at all levels. I was delighted to be placed on the 2A batch – some of the best ball in the state – at Ridgefield. It was great to see many folks show up who I had come to know over the years as we did our pre-game.
The forecast called for rains to hit the area in a couple of hours so we were ready to hit the field a little early. As we wandered toward the ballpark, a nice gentleman by the name of Paul introduced himself as a writer for Clark County Today and asked if he could chat with me about my excursion. We spent a good 10-15 minutes chatting, and then I stepped onto the beautiful field for a fun, if very routine game. the rains came light toward the end of the game but never were a real threat, thank goodness.
I was met after the game by Mark Allen, my dear friend and ultimate replacement as the state UIC for Washington. Mark led me to his place where I got to hang out overnight and see his impressive collection of WWE memorabilia.
Friday was double header day, with me starting on the plate working with Mark and finishing working with Dave Ratliff, another state championship level umpire. I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty special working with Mark. For the dozens of years we have known each other as umpires, this was the one and only game we ever had the opportunity to work together. Before the game yet another writer, this one for the Columbian (Vancouver’s main newspaper), game to visit with me and Mark about our experience and my passing the torch to him. Both games passed quickly, and before I knew it was time to head home.
I felt great to finally get some games in without sweating the weather. I got to work with some great guys, and had a real opportunity to pass the torch. In the end, both articles got printed. I thought both writers captured the spirit of the tour, and the sentiment of this stop, very well.
I may just have to sneak back unofficially in the future…
