Off to Little League Baseball Eastern Regional

I was lucky enough to get selected to umpire at the Little League Baseball Eastern Regional this year (2012).  This is the tournament for 12-year-olds – the team that wins goes to Williamsport for the Little League World Series.  (I say “the” because there are actually 8 different Little League World Series – Majors, Juniors, Seniors and Big League in both Baseball and Softball.  I umpired at the 2007 Big League Softball World Series, but the one for baseball in Williamsport is the “biggie” that everyone thinks of.)

Those who know me know that I lived and umpired in Florida (Southern Region) for many years.  Down there, there are 8 teams that come to the Regional.  In this neck of the woods, things are done slightly differently – the “Eastern Regional” is actually organized in two parts:

  • The “New England Regional Tournament,” in which Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island play.
  • The “Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament,” in which New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Washington DC play.

Each of those groups of six play separately down to a champion, with the winners of both “halves” going to the Little League World Series, as opposed to a single team coming out of the whole shootin’ match.  I’m told that this is also the case in a number of other regions. (Thanks for that info, Mark!)

You can see the schedules and teams involved at http://www.littleleague.org/series/2012divisions/llbb/qualify/newengland.htm and http://www.littleleague.org/series/2012divisions/llbb/qualify/midatlantic.htm.

The festivities kick off tomorrow (August 2nd) with an umpire meeting at 1:00, manager meeting at 4:00 and then dinner, etc.  I’ll be trying to relay my experiences here as I can, so stay tuned.

 

Well, back to packing!

About uic

I've spent more than 25 years as a Little League umpire. Where has the time gone? I've been part of the Little League community in Connecticut, Long Island and Florida and am currently a proud member of New Jersey District 10.

Comments are closed.