Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Little League International, under the direction of its Board of Directors, made the difficult decision to cancel the Little League World Series and Region Tournaments at all divisions for the 2020 season. Those dedicated volunteer umpires who have been selected to participate in the 2020 Region tournaments and World Series events will have their invitations extended to the 2021 season, should choose to accept this opportunity. More information can be found at LittleLeague.org/Coronavirus.
Each year, the holiday season becomes just a bit more special for 90 dedicated Little League® volunteers who receive their official notifications with their official umpire assignments for the Little League World Series tournaments.
Volunteer umpires are one of the most important aspects in the success of local Little League programs around the world and play a pivotal role in the experience of all of our players throughout the Little League International Tournament. As a way to continually develop these volunteer umpires throughout the year, Little League International offers a variety of digital training and educational resources available on LittleLeague.org/Umpires, a bi-monthly Fair Ball Newsletter, access to the free Little League Umpire Registry, and formal training through Umpire Clinics and Schools around the nation.
The selection process to become a World Series umpire is lengthy and rigorous. In order to be eligible to volunteer in a Little League World Series event, an umpire must first have competed in a regional tournament event. After that experience is completed, the process for selection to work a World Series begins with an application submitted by each volunteer umpire through the Umpire Registry. Once received, the District Administrator may also provide comments to the regional office for review. Little League’s nine regional offices then consider all nominated umpires before selecting those who most closely meet the selection criteria.
Individuals who meet those qualifications are then screened annually by Little League International and regional staffs for selection to umpire in a Little League World Series tournament.
Appointment as a member of the umpiring crew for a World Series is the highest honor that Little League can bestow on a volunteer umpire. An individual can be selected for a World Series assignment once every four years, but being chosen to work the Little League Baseball® World Series is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Little League International will support all volunteer umpires at the seven World Series events with a travel stipend to help offset the costs for the men and women to attend their respective World Series events.
The list of volunteer umpires at each of the seven Little League World Series tournaments is as follows:
Little League Baseball World Series (South Williamsport, Pa.)
(by name – place of residence – region represented)
- Wayne Beaumier – Cypress, Texas – Southwest
- Kenton Bottoms – Lawrenceburg, Kentucky – Central
- David Brown – Calgary, Alberta – Canada
- Andrea Galiano – Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Southeast
- Henry Garnett – Ramona, California – West
- Mark Gilmour – Kahibah, New South Wales, Australia – Asia-Pacific
- James Hinojosa – Romulus, Michigan – Central
- Philip Levesque – Nashua, New Hampshire – East
- Rigobert Obispo – Willemstad, Curaçao – Latin America
- Michael Orlando Jr. – Peabody, Massachusetts – East
- Richard Ranalli Sr. – Jersey City, New Jersey – East
- Scott Strache – Chicago Ridge, Illinois – Central
- Blake Taylor – Nuneaton, United Kingdom – Europe and Africa
- William Vikara – Pace, Florida – Southeast
- Brett Wagner – Odessa, Texas – Southwest
- Dennis Williams – SeaTac, Washington – West
Little League Softball World Series (Greenville, N.C.)
(by name – place of residence – region represented)
- Mitchell Lemponen – Ashtabula, Ohio – Central
- John Cheesbrew – Fredericksburg, Virginia – Southeast
- Douglas Durling – Davenport, Florida – Southeast
- Walter Gross – Rio Rancho, New Mexico – Southwest
- Greg Hodges – Needville, Texas – Southwest
- David Mancari – Poughkeepsie, New York – East
- Joseph Muriente – Camuy, Puerto Rico – Latin America
- Mark Oda – Pinole, California – West
- Chester Rice – West Des Moines, Iowa – Central
- Jamie Sims – Beaverton, Oregon – West
- Joseph Ungrady – Oxford, Connecticut – East
Intermediate (50/70) Baseball World Series (Livermore, Calif.)
(by name – place of residence – region represented)
- Terrance Bean – Clarion, Pennsylvania – East
- Sean Belfry – Gansevoort, New York – East
- Jim Catania – North Vancouver, British Columbia – Canada
- John Cleary – Moorpark, California – West
- Mark Dieringer – Port Lavaca, Texas – Southwest
- Seddrick Dixon – Fort Pierce, Florida – Southeast
- Chris Ekstrom – Davenport, Iowa – Central
- Filip Havlik – Prague, Czech Republic – Europe and Africa
- Josh Koenig – International Falls, Minnesota – Central
- Todd Marr – Arlington, Texas – Southwest
- Ucal Palmer Jr. – Austell, Georgia – Southeast
- Rafael Ruiz – Mayaguiz, Puerto Rico – Latin America
- Don Tsukamoto – San Jose, California – West
Junior League Baseball World Series (Taylor, Mich.)
(by name – place of residence – region represented)
- Carl Anable – Westworth Village, Texas – Southwest
- Felton Brown – Houston, Texas – Southwest
- Toby Colon – Havertown, Pennsylvania – East
- Sal Gambino – Fallbrook, California – West
- Mike Goicoechea – Tampa, Florida – Southeast
- Patrick Griffin – Galesburg, Michigan – Central
- Rob Macdonald – London, Ontario – Canada
- Jules Martina – The Hague, Holland – Europe and Africa
- Michael Phinazee – Tallahassee, Florida – Southeast
- Gaspar Santos-Gonzalez – Cidra, Puerto Rico – Latin America
- Owen Sprague – Cornish, Maine – East
- Tomoyuki Tada – Jakarta, Indonesia – Asia-Pacific
- Roderick Williams – Indianapolis, Indiana – Central
Junior League Softball World Series (Kirkland, Wash.)
(by name – place of residence – region represented)
- Rex Fogle – Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin – Central
- Michael Foltz – Luray, Virginia – Southeast
- Juan Galarza – Villalba, Puerto Rico – Latin America
- Scott Goodwin – Phoenix, Arizona – West
- David Jones – Red Cliff, Alberta – Canada
- Jeffrey Lindhorst – Ingleside, Texas – Southwest
- Ross Pease – Vernon, Connecticut – East
- Milton Pitt – Forest Heights, Maryland – East
- Jeffrey Pratt – San Jose, California – West
- Richard Randall – Youngstown, Ohio – Central
- Ian Tyra – Sterling, Virginia – Southeast
- Brandi Watson – Elgin, Texas – Southwest
Senior League Baseball World Series (Easley, S.C.)
(by name – place of residence – region represented)
- Bill Bailey – Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania – East
- Robert Curtis II – Bangor, Maine – East
- Hector Figueroa-Rodriguez – San Juan, Puerto Rico – Latin America
- David Frye – Fort Pierce, Florida – Southeast
- Brian Hollowell – Goshen, Indiana – Central
- Philip King – Lancaster, Ohio – Central
- Rich LeMieux – Lake Stevens, Washington – West
- Thomas McDonald – New Braunfels, Texas – Southwest
- Rodger Moss – Brazoria, Texas – Southwest
- Guy Vilt – Bradenton, Florida – Southeast
- Marc Reyes – Maple Ridge, British Columbia – Canada
- John Yots Jr. – Foothill Ranch, California – West
Senior League Softball World Series (Lower Sussex, Del.)
(by name – place of residence – region represented)
- Robert Cain II – Taylor, Michigan – Central
- Paul Eaton – Redmond, Oregon – West
- Stephen Gaither – King George, Virginia – Southeast
- Adrian Gaudet – Calgary, Alberta – Canada
- John Hill – Portland, Maine – East
- Kyle Hughes – Ballinger, Texas – Southwest
- Keith Ludwig – Trappe, Maryland – East
- Rumini Modestro Thode – Willemstad, Curaçao – Latin America
- Thomas Peckham – Seattle, Washington – West
- Vincente Piscitello – Seminole, Florida – Southeast
- Mark Saurer – Louisville, Kentucky – Central
- Ronald Thompson – Rio Rancho, New Mexico – Southwest