Tag: umpires

by Mike Pavlichko

Veteran umpire Gary Giackette among experienced crew calling GMC Tourney semis this weekend, but an even bigger stage awaits

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.

Veteran GMC umpire Gary Giackette makes a call on a play in the infield. (Submitted photo)

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

Highly-respected Bennett talks umpiring, a shortage, and the need for more to join the profession

If there’s a county baseball tournament title game on the schedule, chances are Warren Bennett will be on the field in blue, and behind the plate, vocally belting out the ball and strike calls.

He’ll be there for the Somerset County Tournament championship game Monday night between Ridge and Rutgers Prep at TD Bank Park. And he’ll calling balls and strikes for the GMC Tournament Championship game between St. Joseph-Metuchen and North Brunswick this coming Saturday as well.

And even when he wasn’t supposed to be working, just taking in the GMC Tournament semifinals, he was out on the field explaining to both coaches why there was a long delay: the heat had gotten to one of the umpires, and an alternate had to go and get his gear on to work the plate.

Click the logo above to learn more about how to be an umpire and join the NSJFU.

Bennett got involved as a baseball official when he was in high school, a way to make a few extra bucks. Now, his job is as vital as ever, for a variety of reasons. Fewer are going into the profession, and it’s created a shortage that’s at dangerous levels, sometimes forcing sub-varsity games to be postponed or cancelled due to a lack of officials.

Bennett is the president of the Mickey Sedlak Chapter of the New Jersey State Federation of Umpires, which includes baseball and softball officials mainly for Middlesex County. But, Bennett says the umpires in the group are so veteran and so well-respected, they’re often called upon to officiate games outside the area, even all the way up in Hudson County.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Warren Bennett talk about his experience as an umpire, the officials’ shortage, and how to get involved in being an umpire at the high school level or beyond:

by Mike Pavlichko

Top Middlesex ump shares love for the game, urges more to become officials

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He’s the President of the local chapter of the New Jersey State Federation of Umpires.

But he started out as a high schooler, looking to pick up a few extra bucks in his spare time.

Sunday, Warren Bennett will be an umpire at the GMC Tournament final, when South Brunswick and St. Joseph square off at Ray Cipperly Field (11:15 air time, noon first pitch on Central Jersey Sports Radio). And he’s hoping more people who love the game of baseball consider their potential to do the same.

Click above to learn more about how to be an umpire and join the NSJFU.

While there’s a shortage of officials at all levels of all sports, Bennett says it’s a bit better in the Mickey Sedlak Chapter of the NJSFU, which officiates both baseball and softball in Middlesex, Somerset and Union Counties. But they still need new blood, particularly at the sub-varsity level.

Click below to hear Warren Bennett talk about upiring, his love of baseball, his experiences, and how to become an umpire with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: