Middlesex County baseball, along with the surrounding areas, is where longtime umpire Gary Giackette has made his name.

Getting started later in life than many – he’d already been out of school for years and it had been ages since he played – he first got involved just as a way to pick up some extra cash, helping to squirrel some money away for his son’s college tuition.

Of course, Giackette always had a love for the game – you have to, he says, to do this as long as he has – but he also probably never imagined he’d be doing this at 75 years old either.

Yet, he’ll be one of the four umpires calling Game Two of the Greater Middlesex Conference Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament Semifinals this afternoon at East Brunswick Magnet School.

And, there are even bigger games on the horizon.  No, we’re not even talking next week’s title game – which was just announced this week is moving to Rutgers – or even the state tournament.

No, he, Warren Bennett, Chris Parkhill, and the recently-retired Bill Killduff, all will be headed to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on August 8th to call the Old Timer’s Day game, a dream come true for someone who grew up a huge Mickey Mantle fan.

We got a chance to catch up with Gary on Friday afternoon, on the eve of the GMCT semifinals, and talked about how he got started, what keeps him going, the challenges umpires face, and how anyone can get involved in being an umpire – baseball or softball, at any level – with classes and training provided by the New Jersey State Federation of Umpires’ Mickey Sedlak Chapter.

Click below to hear the interview:

To find out more about how to become an umpire – whether it be baseball or softball, little league or higher – click the New Jersey State Federation of Umpires logo above.