The Build-Up

The four days between receiving my marching orders and taking the field for my first time as an umpire were very busy.  I had job stuff, family drama, Scrabble Club, Kiera was heading out of town for the weekend, Mother's Day was looming.  I somehow still had plenty of time to fret over the details of this umpiring gig, though.

The day after I initially reached out to the Bowdoinham Recreation Department, I emailed the head honcho there again to see if I could swing by to pick up that rule book she had for me.  I had managed a team in a co-ed softball league for six seasons, so I wasn't going into this completely blind, but I really wanted to review the rules before stepping behind the catcher for the first time.  Unfortunately, the umpiring crew being short-staffed wasn't the only challenge that Bowdoinham Rec was facing.  Lisa was stuck filling in at their snack shack and didn't see my email until the next morning.

While I was waiting for my response, I decided that I needed some gear.  Lisa's introductory email had informed me that they had a mask and a clicker that I could use.  I didn't necessarily want to wear a "community" ump's mask, and I figured I needed some outfit that was befitting of an umpire.  Off to Dick's Sporting Goods I went, trying to remind myself that I shouldn't spend too much money on gear for a volunteer job.  I wandered around the store, somewhat aimlessly, before picking up a $15 "umpiring kit" and a cup that came with compression shorts.  The cup, I figured, was a must-have if I was going to be behind the plate.  Overall, umpiring gear was in short supply.  Aside from the aforementioned kit (containing a clicker to keep track of balls and strikes, a brush to clean home plate, and an umpire bag), there wasn't much that seemed suitable for umpiring.  No umpire shirts, no chest guards to go under a shirt, no special ump shoes, nothing.  In the end, I bought the cup and decided against the umpiring kit.

When I got home, I went out to the shed and dug out an old catcher's mask and some shin guards that I had purchased more than a decade ago at a Play It Again Sports.  Sure, the mask said "Ages 5-12" on it and the shin guards were for kids, too, but they seemed to fit all right.  Better than nothing.

The next day was Wednesday and Lisa called me first thing in the morning.  After deflecting the request to umpire a game that night (I was already committed to Scrabble Club), we had a nice conversation about the job.  There wouldn't be anybody seasoned umpire behind the plate.  I wasn't going to just man the base calls.  It would just be me, and it would be Saturday.  (I also learned in my first conversation with Lisa that they pay the umpires in Topsham, the town I live in, and that she "wouldn't want to be an umpire," which is a pretty iffy way to recruit someone who has never umpired before to be a volunteer.)

I picked up the rule book later that morning.  I had some reading to do.

The Beginning

UMPIRES NEEDED!

Those were the first words of the Bowdoinham Recreation Department's Facebook plea for volunteers to umpire girls' softball games.  My fiancée, Kiera, had sent me a link to the post.  I'd been hemming and hawing since moving back to Maine about wanting to play softball or coach Little League.  She'd been eager to see me get out of the house more; a brilliant idea for the man who hasn't left the house for work since last March.  Maybe umpiring would fit the bill.

"First things first, though," I said to myself.  Recon.  So, I fired off an email to the head of the Bowdoinham Rec, Lisa.  I had a laundry list of questions:

• Do I need to have some kind of umpiring credentials?
• Do I need a uniform?
• Do I supply my own equipment?
• What rule book is being used?
• Are there any special league-specific rules?
• How many umpires work each game?

Once I had the answers to those questions, then, and only then, I would decide whether or not umpiring would be for me.  Or so I thought.  I might as well have sent an email that simply read "I'm hired!  When do I start?"  A little less than two hours later, Lisa had sent a reply.  Despite my attempt to make only a cautious inquiry, the second line of Lisa's email set me on my path to umpirehood: "I have a rule book for 2016 to give you as well as a copy of our schedule."  I was in.