Seventh Inning Stretch

"It could only happen in Little League".

Relax – it's just a game.

Welcome to the Seventh Inning Stretch – fun, sometimes bizarre (but true) stories about Little League, kids, umpiring and more from the guys and gals in the trenches - Little League Umpires!

Check back to this page throughout the season for the latest stretch.

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Painful Recovery

The veteran umpire worked tirelessly to recover from a hip replacement, hoping to return in time for the spring season.  He decided to ease back slowly from surgery by umpiring the 7 and 8 year olds in Minors.  It’d been a long time since he called a Minors game.  Accepting that the play would be slow and error-prone, he was just grateful to be back at the ballpark walking again.

After catching up with fellow umpires, he made his way to the field, plate equipment at the ready.

Later that evening, as dusk was settling in, I caught him on his return to the parking lot.

“How did your game go?” I asked.

“Painful!” he exclaimed.

“Oh, sorry to hear that”, I responded.“All that getting up and down at the plate?”

“No”, he replied, “the pitching”!

Lennyb, Kirkland American Little League, WA

posted March, 2016

Let ‘em By
The first inning had just begun, when the young catcher pulled his mitt away at the last moment, allowing the ball to bounce off the plate umpire’s knee.  Inexplicably, he pulled his mitt away on the next pitch with the same result.

After the third pitch bounced off his chest protector, the umpire called time and took the catcher aside.

“Young man, if you’re having trouble catching the ball, at least knock it down so that it doesn’t hit me”.  And if I can’t see the pitch, there’s no way I can call it a strike.  Do you understand what I’m saying?”, the umpire stated to the attentive catcher.

At just 4’ 2”, the catcher pulled himself up to his full height and tried to look the umpire in the eye.  “Sir”, he said in a confident voice, “this is my first year of playing baseball and my coach told me that in the early innings, I should let a few good ones go by”.

Thanks to Steve Johnson, Little League Umpire

posted May, 2015

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