Up at 5:00, laundry again. Fixed a few problems at work.
The weather forecast is 100% chance of rain by 2:00 pm. That's unfortunate as we'll sacrifice the consolation game to ensure we get the championship game in. We'll have to wait and see. As of 7:30 am, it's cloudy but the sun is out.
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With donations from all, my crew went out and bought a minifridge for the crew that arrives next year. Our little contribution to the cause.
Wow. What a day.
The weather fully cooperated. We had overcast skys and a high of 97. Made for a rather pleasant day.
My plate for the Arizona-Nogales game went really well. No controversies, no negative chatter from the fans. Arizona came out on top 17-7 in 5 2/3 innings. Now, you have to understand that we were forewarned that the Nogales fans are a passionate bunch, mostly Spanish speaking supporters of the local teams. Not understanding much Spanish is actually a good thing for us, we have no Idea what's be shouted at us from the stands. We do know that "burro" is a not so endearing term used by said fans to lob insults at umpires making calls for which they don't quite agree. Burro translates to Donkey, which of course, is also known as a three letter word starting with "a" and ending with "s" and has another "s" thrown in. I was fortunate enough today to not hear that insult, so I think I called a fairly good game. At least the other umpires said so. It must be true.
The championship game between Hawaii and SoCal was an absolute gem. Hawaii scored first, to be tied by SoCal, and then SoCal gained a slight lead before Hawaii put it away 6-3 in 6 1/2 innings. Will "balk 'em" Rasanen (so called because he got at least one balk in every game, except those he officiated from the outfield lines) called a masterful game and even got the rare catcher's balk tonight, much to the thrill (sarcasm) of the SoCal team. Nicely done, sir.
The city of Nogales really gets it. The fans, the merchants, the restaurants all support the little league effort. Everywhere we went we were thanked for the volunteer work we did. It was a total celebrity experience. To top it off, as the 8 man team of umpires entered the field tonight for the championship game, marching in twos, wearing the black jerseys, they played the Darth Vader theme song (you know it ... dum dum dum, dum ta dum, dum ta dum...) We got a standing ovation as we passed by the fans. A truly magical experience.
That's it! We're finally done, after 8 straight days of baseball, 9 teams, 8 umpires, 26 games, it's over. I'm sorry to be leaving tomorrow.
