The Little League World Series Is the Pinnacle for the Umpires, Too

The players dream of nationally televised glory. But for the nervous and excited volunteer umpires, the goal is to go unnoticed.

Every game at the Little League World Series starts the same way — nine players on the field, another holding a bat, and an umpire behind the plate, as anxious as anyone else, pointing toward the mound and shouting, “Play ball!” That, the umpire hopes, is the last anyone really notices of the adults on the field. “If someone says they’re not nervous when they go there, they’re probably fibbing a little bit,” said Joe Smith, part of the 2016 umpiring crew.