Hamilton - There and Back

Entering Hamilton, Ohio (photo by Karen Cooper)

As I previously noted, Karen and I traveled last Friday to Hamilton, Ohio so that I could umpire a few games in the state Majors Little League Baseball tournament.  Actually, we drove to Mason, Ohio first and stayed at the Hyatt Place - about 30 minutes away from Hamilton.  Why? Because I had enough Gold Passport points to get a free room for two nights.  I was too cheap to pay for a hotel closer to the fields.  Besides, we like that particular Hyatt Place.  We've stayed there several times while in the Cincinnati area.  The only problem we experienced during this stay was the literal hordes of people in the hotel who acted like barbarians when it came to the free breakfast.  You had only to take one look in the eyes of the Hyatt staff and you could sense their anxious desperation.  They had no control over the multitude of soccer/baseball moms, blow hard dads, and their mutant spawn terrorizing the other "regular" hotel patrons.  My inner thoughts were constantly being jarred by the cacophony of shrill young voices, moms shouting across the lobby, and dads bragging how well Junior did in yesterday's game.  What little food that was left consisted of drippings on the floor, splattered milk, torn remnants of bread, and that strange mixture of yogurt, cereal, and battered fruit laying in a bowl next to the toaster.  Worse of all - NO COFFEE!!!  The thermal containers were completely void of the elixir of life.  Damn animals!!!  Obviously, we were desperate ourselves.  Therefore, we narrowly avoided being trampled or worse and escaped the lobby to have coffee and scones like civilized people at the Starbucks down the street.

On Friday evening, we managed to find our way to Walt's Barbeque on Main Street in Hamilton.  We arrived early to have dinner before that evening's coaches meeting to be held in the restaurant.  I must say we were very pleased.  Literally, within two minutes of ordering, our food was delivered hot and tasty to our table.  I had delicious brisket - nearly as good as I have had back in our adopted hometown of Austin, Texas and its immediately environs.  Overall, an awesome meal and genuinely great service.

We finished our dinner early and headed over to Hobby Lobby for Karen to shop for trinkets.  We soon returned to Walt's and met up with Roger Fox, the District Administrator of Ohio District 9 [Facebook].  Others began to arrive including Shannon Walker, the District Administrator of Ohio District 8, and her husband Steve - himself a most excellent umpire and on his way to the Junior League Baseball World Series this August.  Joining us, too, was Jeff Stokoe - Little League World Series umpire in 2009.  Collectively, we had a wonderful conversation and sharing of information.  Both Jeff and Steve were particularly helpful with advice for my visit to Williamsport.  Unfortunately, I would not have the opportunity to work with these gents since neither would be available for the state games this weekend. Nonetheless, their advice and support were so truly appreciated.  To round out the evening, not only did I meet new folks, but Walt's provided spicy chicken wings to snack on.  Yummm!!!!!  Most definitely, I love Walt's!!!

Entrance to West Side Little League,
Hamilton, Ohio. (photo by Karen Cooper)

Saturday morning, after dodging the breakfast riot and slurping down some Starbucks, Karen and I made our way to West Side Little League in Hamilton.  While watching the opening ceremonies, my old umpire friend, Jay McNeely, came by to welcome me.  I had not known that he was going to be at the tournament.  Jay is on his way to the Central Regional next month.  It was great to see him and renew our friendship.  Jay, Bruce Cline, and Stu Hartenstein, all umpires in Ohio District 8, had joined me several years ago at the Field of Dreams in Boardman, Ohio, to umpire the Junior and Little League Baseball State Tournaments.  They still haven't forgiven me for the 500+ pitch Junior game - and I don't blame them!  Jay, Bruce, and Stu all crashed at our house that week.  To say we had a blast would be a woeful understatement.  And here was Jay, and with me knowing that Stu would be arriving soon, it was beginning to look like another wonderfully awesome weekend of umpiring, telling whoppers, and generally heckling the heck out of one another - you know, typical male bonding behavior.

Eventually, Stu arrived and soon began the razzing.  Stu had the plate in a Central Regional championship a couple of years ago.  He is truly a great umpire, though he does have his idiosyncrasies  that, of course, we all felt obliged to note!  Many, but not all, of the remarks focused on Stu's teenage-like appearance, his predilection for perfection, and his obsession with fashion in men's clothing, particularly shoes.  There were other things noted as well, but this blog is meant to be family-friendly.  I'll save those things for my memoirs.  Naturally, Stu gave as good, if not better, than he received.  I have a few emotional welts from his caustic, yet irreverently funny comments about my chiseled good looks, manhood (or lack thereof), and my svelte build.  And then there were the stories.  Some were about me, some about Jay, some about others, but many more about Stu.  My all time favorite Stu story is when he, serving as "ball boy" in the 2005 Central Regional, came onto the field between innings not only to deliver new balls to me, but also a popsicle.  That's a story for another posting.

Sunday's first game umpires (L-R): Jay, Lee, myself, Dan, Stu,
and Bruce (photo by Karen Cooper) 

Over the weekend,  I met some new umpire friends - Dan, Steve. Lee, Brady, and Tyler.  Tyler is Jeff Stokoe's son.  Bruce Cline joined us on Sunday having just returned from umpiring in the Central Region Senior Baseball Tournament.  Soon, Jay, Dan, and I joined up to umpire two games that day.  On Sunday, Jay, Lee, and I worked the first game, and the second was officiated by Brady, Lee, and myself.  I had a plate on both days, which were as hot and humid as I remember during my umpire days in League City, Texas.  Collectively, we worked very well as a team, and any mistakes we made in mechanics or coverages were only noted by us - and perhaps Roger watching from the score booth.  I don't recall any significant umpire errors being made, save one possible glitch that was readily resolved.  My plate games, at least in my thinking, were relatively solid.  Yes, I missed a couple of pitches, but who doesn't?  Overall, the managers/coaches were well behaved, though a couple of players did become slightly emotional at times - but nothing that was over the top or unexpected.  The parents treated the umpires very well, I thought.  At least, I didn't pick up on any surly remarks.  My spy in the stands, Karen, reported mostly gracious comments and only the occasional "ooh" or "ahh".  The only pointed remarks I heard occurred while I was holding down first base in my last game.  It seems that some of the dads standing along the fence in a miserable one-side game were loudly voicing their dissatisfaction with the manager's capabilities.  If I heard it, I know the manager and coaches did too - which was the point, obviously.  My only regret - I didn't get to work with Stu or Bruce.

Though my time there was brief, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Roger Fox and his folks in Hamilton did an outstanding job.  They took excellent care of Karen and me.  Their generosity and hospitality were genuine and limitless.  Of particular note was Saturday night's tournament dinner.  (The main meal was donated by Walt's with homemade desserts from the Hamilton parents.  I'll say it again - I love Walt's Barbeque!)  On the long drive home Sunday night, Karen and I constantly remarked to one another what a truly wonderful time we had in Hamilton.  We were able to fully relax, forget about our responsibilities at home, and enjoy each other's company - something that is far too uncommon these days.  Too bad I had to return to work on Monday morning.  Even better, upon turning into our driveway at home, the garbage had already been placed at the curb for Monday morning's pick-up.  Wow!  Our daughter took out the garbage!  (She said she really missed us, but being Dad, I suspect a yet to-be-revealed hidden agenda!).  

To date, that weekend in Hamilton was the best I had all summer.  If this was the state tournament, I can't imagine the fun that awaits in Williamsport.  Again, hat's off to Roger Fox and the Hamilton folks, and to my good buddies in blue - Stu, Jay, Bruce, Dan, Lee, Tyler, Jeff, Steve, and Brady.