The Official Newsletter of the British Columbia Baseball Umpires Association Hey Blue! Fall 2014 Volume 6 Issue 2 From The Chief's Desk -By Provincial Supervisor, Steve Boutang Doug Hudlin 1922-‐2014 “Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name” I use these words cautiously at the risk of offending many. But to know the place of Doug Hudlin within the BCBUA and Victoria’s baseball community would be to understand how this exert of the Lord’s Prayer relate to a man who dedicated decades of his life to the game of baseball and the art of Umpiring. It is in his death that we remember the many, many wonderful things about Doug. He was elected to not less than 4 separate Hall of Fames for his contributions to Victoria Minor Baseball, Little League, Victoria Sportsman’s, and of course the BCBUA. The Hudlin family name is synonymous with sport in Victoria, and in the community in itself. One of the first African American families to settle in the area nearly a century ago, Doug took on active roles in Black History and promoted equality for those less fortunate in BC. A pioneer to be sure. He was President of several organizations, including the BCBUA. In 1974, he, along with a dozen other umpires and Volume 6 Issue 2 baseball people in BC, met with the executive of BC Amateur Baseball. They decided that it was important that umpires have an association to belong to. A group that could work towards better education, better organization, and a better future. Our association started with Doug Hudlin as our first President some 40 years ago, and the other 4 founding members who are still alive today were at his funeral to honour him. It speaks to what he represented. You only need to mention the name Doug Hudlin to those remaining Founding members Howard Chapman, Richard Christie, Bill Murphy, and Chuck Blaikie and you will see the level of respect in the way they revere him. Murphy eulogized the man so perfectly, telling stories of his days in the boardroom and on the field, both when he was a player and then a fellow umpire. And any recollection of Doug Hudlin would not be complete if we didn’t remember his outstanding career as an umpire. After quitting as a player, Doug volunteered his time umpiring Little League. Eventually he went on to umpire at 2 Little League World Series in Williamsport PA, a Big League Series, including the Canadian Championships in Victoria. So well-‐regarded and respected by anyone who went onto the diamond while he was the arbiter, he was always referred to as “the Gentleman Umpire”. High praise indeed. Mostly we thank Doug for being a role model to so many, and an example of what dignity is supposed to look like. And so I repeat, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name” Mr. Doug Hudlin, our Patriarch, our original member, Our (founding) Father. His spirit -‐ clearly in Heaven after the many good deeds and good-‐will he shared during his time on Earth. Hallowed be thy name, indeed. www.bcbua.ca From the Editor "It was another exciting year for the BCBUA with many of our members finding success on the Provincial, National, and International Stage. I am excited to be able to help celebrate our accomplishments and share the stories of our association. If you would like to contribute please feel free to send me an email." -Matt Lowndes [email protected] Inside This Issue President's Report page 2 A Day in the Life... page 5 Tournament 12 page 8 Area Reports And More! Hey Blue! 1 President's Report -‐ John Berry I’m delighted to welcome our new Hey Blue editor, Matt Lowndes, to his first edition. He’s following an illustrious line of past editors of this august publication. I’m sure he will add some fresh approaches, and continue some of the ideas and traditions that have made Hey Blue the great communications vehicle that it is. Your association has had a very busy year, and we’ve really ramped up our efforts in umpire development. Kudos Chloe Elston and Don Violette between innings to our partners in leagues and Baseball BC, who have been very supportive of our efforts in umpire education and new baseball year. development. Our increased emphasis on mentorship, on non-‐working supervisors at tournaments, at doing more on-‐ Finally, congratulations to Steve Boutang. Steve, our provincial umpires supervisor, has just completed a three year field evaluations, improving our approach to clinics; all these term following his initial appointment in 2011. His things have meant a busy and rewarding year for your reappointment to a new three year term was recommended association. And we’ve surely learned from what we’ve done by the BCBUA board, and approved by the Baseball BC board – we had a board meeting in September where we reviewed in September. Steve has accomplished a great deal in three our progress this year, and will apply some “lessons learned” years, and we look forward to working with him for the next as we develop our plans for 2015. three. We’re having our AGM on November 22, in Richmond. That’s a Saturday, which allows us to meet with the current board that morning, and then with the new board the next day. We hope to see many of you at the AGM. Congratulations to our umpires who worked so many tournaments this summer. Our members umpired at Ron Boutang Umpire Scholarship provincial tournaments in various leagues, and we again sent a very strong group of umpires to national tournaments across the country. And as you’ll have seen elsewhere in this issue, our own Vice-‐President Rhonda Pauls represented Canada and BC at the Women’s World Cup in Japan, a terrific achievement. Watch for the plans for the 2015 clinic season; we will have clinics at all levels, and every one of us benefits from attending a clinic, refreshing and adding to our knowledge and ability, and enjoying the chance to interact with other umpires as we get ready to work together on the field in the Volume 6 Issue 2 Umpire School is a tremendous opportunity to learn more about umpiring, the game of baseball, and yourself. If you have a desire to improve, and take your game to the next level. Or want to pursue a job in Professional Baseball, our umpire scholarship can help you reach your goals. Application form can be found at www.BCBUA.ca For more information contact Steve Boutang by email: [email protected] Hey Blue! 2 LC3 Triolgy Book 7 SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT IN SUMMER OF 2014 by EAGER BEAVER As summer draws to a close , I have been assigned to travel to the wilds of Southern Manitoba to observe and report back on the intrepid group of umpires trekking to Altona for the Olympics....sorry, the Pee Wee Westerns, almost the same thing. the on field performances at Shaw Field, "peas at the knees" yelled Stevie, a sexy young Tomato plucked...yes plucked Tremor Surfer Dude and Matt from Saskapoon from the crowd to participate in the World Famous Burrito Race betwixt innings. This group, travelling by Caravan and those new fangled flying machines consisted of yours truly, the Level 3 Coordinator (L3C), Beel Keebler (the elf), Tremor Surfer Dude (TSD) and Stevie Boats. L3C, The Elf and TSD were travelling to put on a display of Western Umpiring for the local yokels and Stevie Boats was travelling to be the Lead Stupidviser. Everyone was on the edge of their seats in anticipation of this Titanic struggle. At first TSD's longer legs gave him the advantage as they gathered their cheese, lettuce and meat. TSD had a substantial lead as they rounded the plate enroute to the tortillas. Both runners stopped, dropped and rolled in their tortillas, popped up and started their hop to the finish line. Matt from Saskapoon was considerably shorter and this vertical challengement was to his benefit as he didn't have to hop as high and could get more horizontal distance. Chalupa, the god of Burritos, saw this and promptly tripped Matt from Saskapoon so TSD had an easy hop from there to the finish line. The crowd went wild!!!! All the spectaters, players and other umps were agog...agog, I say at what they saw on the field from the 3 BC umps. I have never seen such a display of sartorial splendour, amazing zoominess and being in chargeness in all my years of reporting Baseball. The stupidvisers were almost speechless, having never seen a display such as that in all their years and were proud to award all the BC umps their highest rating of Horse Sh.....ah Poop minus. In celebration of their amazing tournament our intrepid group travelled up to Winterpeg to watch the Goldeyes play The New Joisey Jackals. While Stevie Boats and the L3C were analyzing The evening concluded when Chris Kissock, from Fruitvale, BC, came in for the save, struck out the Pancake Batter and the Goldeyes won the day! The next day Winterpeg flooded and nobody got to eat pancakes after all. This the intrepid reporter Eager Beaver signing off from the pretty little town of Altona, MB. Congratulations to a Canadian Big Leaguer Congratulations to Regina's Stu Scheurwater who became the first Canadian to umpire in the Major Leagues this past summer since Victioria's Ian Lamplugh and Quebec's Jim McKean. Scheurwater worked his first series at Dodger Stadium in late April, and has since been called up again. Scheurwater attended the Harry Wendelstedt School of Umpires in 2006 later made his professional umpiring debut working the Arizona Rookie League in 2007. He progressed Volume 6 Issue 2 2014 Baseball Canada National Assignments Congratulations to these BCBUA Members that represented our Association at a Baseball Canada National Championship Rob Allan - Sr Men Matt Lowndes - Jr Men Don Violette - Canada Cup Kelly Hunter - Midget Dan Rogers - Bantam Sean Sullivan - Peewee National Phil Bourgeois - Peewee Atlantic Bill MacMillan - Peewee West Bill Keegan - Peewee West Trevor Sharpe - Peewee West Mike Green - Sr Women Gary Webber - Sr Women Corey Klein - Sr Women Jerry Tregaskis - Sr Women Andre Jean - Sr Women Sean Weatherill - Sr Women Chloe Elston - Bantam Girls Rob Allan, Mark Bodwell, Kris HartleyTournament 12 Supervisors: Rob Allan - Lead Supervisor Sr Women Steve Boutang - Lead Supervisor Peewee through the different levels of minor league baseball with stops in the Northwest League and South Atlantic League (2008), Carolina League (2009), Texas League (2010 & 2011), while he’s spent the last three seasons including the early part of 2014 working the triple-‐A Pacific Coast League. Prior to his professional career, Scheuwater was a member of Baseball Canada's National Program. Source credit: www.baseball.ca Hey Blue! 3 Next years Baseball Canada National Championships Sr – Moncton, New Brunswick Jr – Regina, SK Canada Cup – Saskatoon, SK Midget – Quebec (city tba) Bantam – Vaughan, ON Peewee National – Ontario (city tba) Peewee Atlantic – Nova Scotia (city tba) Peewee West – BC (city tba) Sr Woman – tba Bantam Girls – tba Area 3 Annual Report MLB # 85 Stu Scheurwater with Steve Boutang and Rhonda Pauls over 100 coaches attending and over 250 players. Everyone received outstanding development instruction and had a great time in doing so. We had 4 Area 3 Umpires at Nationals this year, 3 first Time National umpires and All Advanced to become level 4A Umpire. Congratulations go out to Poco UIC Trevor I would like to welcome Pat Casico the New Sharp, Abbotsford umpires Mike Green, UIC of Coquitlam-‐Moody and look forward Gary Webber of Pitt Meadows and Rob to working with him next year. Allen of Maple Ridge. We also had one International assignment this year for I want to thank Rhonda Pauls for her hard Rhonda Pauls to the Woman’s International We started the year with 12 very work in getting the mentorship program upin Japan. Successful level 1 and 2 umpire clinics with and running in Associations across the 104 Level 1’s Attending and 114 level 2 Province and to Mike Pratt UIC in To end the year, Chilliwack hosted a very Attending for a total of 222 of 243 umpires Abbotsford for his continued work on the successful Midget AAA Western registered in Area 3. We had 87 of the 243 mentorship program. I had nothing other championship. I would like to thank the umpires take the on line Level 2 and 3 tests than great reports about the umpiring Chilliwack Association for a great time and from the BCBUA web site for the first time there at every level. Jerry Tregaskis for supervising the and had the only Level 3 in the Province to umpires. archive 100 %. Great job Ted Williams of On a little bit of a down note we had 78 Coquitlam-‐Moody. I would like to thank ejection reports sent in from Area 3 this See you all next year, George Smith, the BCBUA Secertary for all year with just under 30 of them being from the hard work in getting the Tests set up on BC Minor level teams. Gary Webber line. The Midget AA Provincials were held the Area 3 Director Lower-‐Mainland East The BC Minor Road show was held the first weekend of August with 4 of the 9 weekend of April 12 and 13 in Aldergrove umpires being from Area 3. Abbotsford, Poco and Ridge Meadows with First of all I would like to Welcome our Provincial Supervisor of umpires, Steve Boutang to Area 3 and look forward to seeing him on the field next year. Volume 6 Issue 2 Hey Blue! 4 A day in the life….Miyazaki Japan…WCWB 2014 -‐Rhonda Pauls Most mornings started out grey…overcast… and some mornings it rained… a lot. I tried not to assume what the day would hold looking out my window each morning at the Pacific Ocean coastline, because the weather changed in an instant. The one constant was the humidity. Miyazaki was more like a rural fishing and surfing community that was alive during the tourist season but had shut down when we got there. There were two baseball stadiums in Miyazaki: Sun Marine and Ivy Stadium. Sun Marine was their premium facility (holds 30,000) and is where the Japanese pro league plays during spring training. I was most fortunate to work every game at that stadium. It was beautiful and well-‐manicured. Every evening when I looked at the schedule to check my crew and assignment for the next day, I was amazed and felt very blessed. My first game was a plate for the 7pm televised game where Japan played Australia. You can think you are prepared all you want – but you never can be. You can draw rotations on a white board with your non English speaking crew, and get nods of agreement, but when the game begins things are just not that straight forward. I learned very quickly to watch what everyone else did before I decided where to go…rotations are NOT the same in other countries. “Pause, Read and React” became “Paaaaauuuuuse, Read, Anticipate the next move, and React”!!! There is the TV crew, and the “guy” who will cue you when the commercials are over that you can start the next inning. Warm up pitches??? Don’t worry how many they throw – starting the next inning before the break is over is not ok. Translators are the “in thing”…everyone has one. An umpire should play Charades a lot leading up to an international assignment, as that will serve you as well as studying a manual – or maybe even better! I would say adaptability and flexibility are the two most necessary skills at such an event. To summarize my assignments is easy: Plate, 1st base, Plate, 1st base, Plate. I worked all USA and Japan games, many of which were televised, and did the plate for the cross-‐over between USA and Japan – both of which were undefeated at that point. That game turned out to be the show-‐down of the tournament. The weather was perfect. Both teams were hungry. Pitching was stellar. Both teams had seen me on the plate before so they knew what to expect. I took a page out of Mariano Rivera’s philosophy on pitching in high pressure situations…extreme focus on the pitch – like I was in a tunnel with the battery. Shut out everything else. Consistency was my goal. Both sides played championship defense and neither gave up an error in the entire game. There were 6 hits between them… but only 1 run scored. The final for the game was 1-‐0 for Japan. Thankfully my focus was good despite my nerves. These teams deserved my best. (Continued on Page 6) Volume 6 Issue 2 Hey Blue! 5 (A Day in the Life...Continued from Page 5) As it turned out the Gold medal match-‐up was the same teams as my cross over game, with Japan earning the right to be home team. I worked 3rd base and was the back-‐up plate. It poured rain all that day. The start time was delayed significantly, and the game was disrupted during play. It was a good game with Japan winning 3-‐0 against the USA despite the playing conditions. However, I will have to say…the cross-‐over game will always be my favorite assignment of the tournament. There was a recorded attendance of 14,000 fans – the highest of the tournament. The quality of that game and the intensity of the players…how everything happened in slow motion for me…how I could hear my own heart-‐beat in my ears the whole game…will stay with me for a long time. This crew of officials was like nothing I have ever experienced before with a group of strangers. There were umpires from Japan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Australia, Venezuela, Canada, USA, Taiwan, and Nederlands. Within a day or two it was like we had known each other forever. The Japanese umpires did such an outstanding job of acting as hosts to us, with such genuine enthusiasm, it was truly one of the best experiences I have ever had off-‐field. We went sight-‐seeing together. We shared many meals – where we had to learn HOW to eat things that we didn’t even know what they were. We gathered at night for “Sochu parties” where we learned about how the Japanese love their distilled rice, wheat and potatoes . I simply can’t convey how amazing it was to thoroughly enjoy the company of people that (most of which) I really couldn’t even have a conversation with. Baseball truly is a universal language that draws the best of people from all walks of life. Obviously this opportunity came to me as a result of all the years of support, teaching, training, mentoring and advice given to me by our senior umpires, our quality programs, and the confidence of Baseball Canada. Having Steve come to Japan with me to encourage me when I was frustrated, calm me when I was rattled and advise me when I needed help, was something most people don’t get at such an event. From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU to all those who helped make this possible for me -‐ and for us as BC Umpires to be represented internationally. From what I have seen being at a World Cup 3 years in a row now (the first 2 as a spectator), Canada has the highest quality of officials. We have much to be proud of and much to look forward to. GOOD LUCK KRIS HARTLEY One of our top umpires in the province has flown the coop and landed in Cochrane Alberta. Kris Hartley has taken employment as an elementary school teacher there after completing his degree this past spring. Alberta’s gain is our loss. Kris was a tireless worker as an Area Rep, local UIC in Kamloops, assignor for Thompson Rivers University, and one of the best umpires in our province. Not to mention being all around great guy. Good luck in Alberta Kris, and we’ll see you when you come home to visit! Volume 6 Issue 2 Hey Blue! 6 National Clinic Provincial Umpire Supervisor Steve Boutang reports the Annual National clinic are April 2-‐5 in Kamloops has been confirmed. All National umpires Must attend as per usual. Any umpire not attending will forfeit their eligibility to receive a National assignment in 2015. Further, there will be a number of Special Invites made to qualified level 3 umpires. Once Superclinic is completed and the level 3 list is finalized for spring, any umpire interested in being considered must apply in writing to Steve. Area 5-‐2014 Lower Mainland South Report -‐Rick Antoniak Similar to 2013, the start to the 2014 season in Area 5 was a cold and wet one. Snow had an impact on our clinic schedule, however things went smoothly and 232 members received training in our 11 Level 1 and 2 clinics. Many thanks to the UICs and Clinic Instructors who spent time making that happen. Ladner and Tsawwassen hosted the 2014 John Main Peewee AA tournament. 26 BCBUA umpires from all over the Lower Mainland participated in the 16 team, 4 field tournament. Several of our National Program umpires volunteered their time to come out and mentor umpires both on and off the field. A new Peewee umpire prospect was identified when Provincial Supervisor Steve Boutang took to the field to work his first Peewee game in 25 years as an injury replacement. Allocators in the Lower Mainland wishing to book Steve for their Peewee games should contact him directly. Our area hosted four Provincial Championships this summer: • 11U (Mosquito) AA – Newton – July 30th – August 4th • 13U (Peewee) A – North Delta – August 7th – August 11th • 13U (Peewee) AAA – Cloverdale – July 30th – August 4th • BC Premier Baseball League – Whalley – July 30th – August 4th Later in the summer, August 14th – 18th, Whalley also hosted the 2014 Senior Women Invitational Championships.Congratulations to umpires from Area 5 who are assigned to a National Championship in 2014: • Bill Keegan – 13U (Peewee) Western – Altona, Manitoba • Sean Sullivan – 13U (Peewee) – London, Ontario • Phil Bourgeois – 13U (Peewee) Atlantic – Charlottetown, PEI • Jerry Tregaskis – Senior Women Invitational – Surrey, BC It was a terrific summer to be involved in baseball, whether you were umpiring, playing, or taking in the games. Thanks to the umpires of all levels who participated in the various Provincial Championships and other BCBUA assigned tournaments. It takes commitment and hard work from a lot of people to successfully staff these events. Good luck with the rest of your year, see you in 2015! Volume 6 Issue 2 Hey Blue! 7 Tournament 12 Mark Bodwell, Rob Allan, and Kris Hartley represented the BCBUA at Tournament 12 this summer. Below is a summary written by Rob Allan. Tournament 12 is a tournament that is sponsored by Roberto Alomar and the Toronto Blue Jays to showcase the best Canadian amateur players with college eligibility. This tournament had 8 teams and was played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. There were 6 games a day starting at 8 AM, but the games had a couple modified rules than normal, which I liked. First off all batters started with a 1-‐1 count and secondly all games right on the were on a 2 hour field as we could really look at positioning and angles for time limit. We only had 1 game of 23 games played that plays much actually hit the 2 better that you can on a white board. hour time limit. Most games were in the 1:20 to 1:30 Baseball Canada and the Toronto Blue Jays took time frame. I had the very good care of us and were first class all the way. semi-‐final game on the plate on the final day and my From the beginning being picked up from the game was 1:10, but then airport by Toronto Blue Jays staff, to being put up in a Mark had the next semi-‐final game and he had to beat fancy hotel only me with the shortest walking distance from Rogers Centre, to being given a game of the tourney at 1:09. tour of the Blue Jays We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and went right clubhouse and having Roberto Alomar waiting to give into classroom work on the 4-‐umpire system as all each of us an games were umpired in the 4-‐umpire system. You would autographed bat. He personally thanked us for the tough think that the 4-‐umpire system would be easy but it job that we do. actually is more It was also neat to see some of the Blue Jays complicated than a 2 or 3 man system. After the Alumni and friends like Lloyd Mosbey, Devon White, classroom work we went out George Bell, Dwayne Ward, Sandy Alomar Sr, and others onto the field at the Rogers Centre and did a warm-‐up as celebrity coaches for the teams. They and Roberto and then did some Alomar were there from the first pitch of the day to the simulated plays working on positioning and rotations. last pitch. The tournament started the next morning with Tournament 12 was a very good experience with each of us working 2 games a day working with different where I learned more about the 4 umpire system then I umpires each day. We had a total of 14 umpires ever thought possible, and it was great to see that of the from coast to coast which included 3 working 14 umpires there were 3 umpires from BC who supervisors Andrews Higgins, represented us well. Trevor Grieve, and Ron Shewchuk. We had at least 1 -‐Rob Allan supervisor watching each game and then after the game we would go onto the field and do our post-‐game debrief right on the field. It was great to do the debrief Volume 6 Issue 2 Hey Blue! 8 I was fortunate enough to be asked to umpire Tournament 12 in Toronto at the Rogers Centre in mid-‐September along with two other BC umpires (Mark Bodwell and Rob Allan). It by Kris Hartley was an amazing learning experience as all of the umpires selected to umpire are all on the International Umpiring This past year saw some change as I was out of my Area for pathway. Games were umpired using the MLB 4 umpire most of the season due to umpiring and work commitments. system and a large emphasis was placed on development Chris Connelly, Mark Wright and Joe Mallinson stepped up to and analyzing umpiring as a collective group rather than the sometimes stressful evaluation process that occurs at most look after the area with my guidance in the background. National Championships AREA 6 REPORT Mentorship: Good Luck This was the year that Kamloops Minor Ball was hoping to Good luck to Mark Wright and Joe Mallinson who have both get the mentorship program off the ground and while there applied for the Ron Boutang Umpire Scholarship, provided was some mentorship started at the Peewee and below level through the BCBUA, as they both are interested in pursuing through Chris Connelly (who took over as KMBA’s UIC) as the opportunity to go to Professional umpiring school in Florida this off-‐season to better their skills and pursue a well as the partnering of some of our up and comers/ national members with some of the bantam level umpires – career as an umpire. I look forward to hearing which one of the 4 candidates is selected by the committee. this program is still limited due to the lack of umpires capable of doing those Bantam and Above games as well as Moving Forward: assisting Kelowna to fill their games on a regular basis. With my departure to the “SNOWY” Calgary area, Asst. Area Rep, Chris Connelly has agreed to step into the role on a Provincials: interim basis. Mark Wright who has been taking more and Kamloops hosted the Mosquito Provincials and under the more of a role in Area 6 as a Asst. Instructor, mentor, ,etc. guidance of Chris Connelly (Asst. Area Rep) this proved to be will play a more dominant role as well as Joe Mallinson. a very successful and rewarding experience for all umpires involved. The 10 umpire crew consisted of Mark Wright, Richard Connelly, Matt Hicketts, Brody LaFrance, Rob Irving, Shyla Fryer, Joe Mallinson, Chris Penner, Jarrett Mirtle, and Michael Fryer. For 6 of the crew this was their first provincial championship, and everyone proved that they deserved to be there. The weekend served as a great learning experience for our younger officials, and as an opportunity for our senior officials to develop their mentoring skills. The gold medal crew, Brody LaFrance on the plate and Matt Hicketts on bases, called a fantastic game and ended the weekend on a very positive note. Jr. Umpire of the Year 2014 Jr. Umpire of the Year for Area 6 will be: Matt Hicketts of Kamloops. Matt stepped up this year and was one of the key contributors to Area 6 umpiring. He was always willing to take whatever games his association asked him to do regardless of level and strived to improve his skills every game. He assisted Kelowna a couple of times throughout the season and will be an umpire to keep our eyes on for years to come. Tournament 12 Volume 6 Issue 2 Andre Jean of Terrace BC, Selling the Out Call Hey Blue! 6 Area 4 Report -Don Hass Area 4 had the most clinics it has seen in a number of years. Richmond and Burnaby continue to be solid with both hosting level 1 & 2 clinics this year. Vancouver has seen a resurgence and looks to be a good partner in the future. For the first time in a long while Powell River came on board. With a new President running that association they are very interested on improving their umpire base and should be on our radar every year. Longest Game in Trail Baseball History The Sr Men’s Provincials Finals went became an all-‐day affair in Trail, BC over the August long weekend. Langley had to beat Kamloops twice to defend their title from 2013 but came up just short. The Defending Champion Blaze beat Kamloops 2-‐1 in the first final but because of the double knockout had to win game 2, just half-‐hour later. Game 2 was a back and forth affair which began at 2pm and finished at 7:05 pm. Finally Kamloops won 4-‐3 with a base hit in the bottom of the 15th inning. Statistician Brad Elliott who has been living and umpiring in Trail for nearly 50 years indicated that it was the longest game in the history of Butler Park! Some fans who left midway through (Bill MacMillan being one of them) came back for the end of the game (after they had gone grocery shopping, made dinner, watched the Jays game, consumed a few drinks, took a shower, and realized that the game at Butler Park was still ongoing!) In total, the clubs played 22 innings of baseball in 7 and-‐a-‐half hours and scored just 5 times each. The game time temperatures were in the high 30’s to top it off! Congratulations to the very tired crew from the final: Steve Boutang, Plate Kris Hartley – 1st Base Rob Allan – 2nd Base Phil Bourgeois – 3rd Base On the Road to Recovery Former Provincial Umpire Supervisor (1974-‐2008) Howard Chapman is on the mend following heart surgery this summer. While it knocked the 74 year old out of action for the remainder of the season, Chapman indicates that he is feeling much better and is considering a return to the field for next season. Most importantly we wish Howard all the best from a health perspective as he recovers. Annual General Meeting 1:00PM November 22, 2014 Holiday Inn, 10720 Cambie Rd. Richmond, BC www.bcbua.ca
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