Little League® Baseball and Softball has announced the selection of 92 volunteer umpires for the seven Little League World Series tournaments in 2017. The events begin on July 29 with the Senior League Baseball World Series and concludes with the Little League Baseball® World Series championship game in South Williamsport, Pa., on Aug. 27.
Volunteer umpires are one of the most important aspects in the success of Little League programs around the world and in 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 LittleLeagueU.org, a bi-monthly Fairball Newsletter, access to the Little League Umpire Registry, and formal trainingthrough Umpire Clinics and Schools around the nation.
The selection process to become a World Series umpire is lengthy and rigorous. The process for selection to work a World Series begins with a recommendation from the District Administrator, within their district, to umpire in a Regional Tournament. Little League’s nine regional offices then consider all nominated umpires before selecting those who most closely meet the selection criteria.
The umpires volunteering at each Regional Tournament are then evaluated and can receive one of two recommendations: Recommend working another Regional Tournament or Recommend a World Series assignment. Once an umpire has earned a World Series recommendation, the umpire must indicate that they wish to be considered further. Individuals who are 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. For the third consecutive year, Little League International will support all volunteer umpires at the seven World Series events with a $400 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:
2017 Little League Baseball® World Series – August 17-27 (South Williamsport, Pa.)
(by name – place of residence – region)
• Edwin Carrasquillo Fernandez – Humacao, Puerto Rico – Latin America
• Robert Ciriello – East Brunswick, N.J. – East
• David J. Ducat, Jr. – Chicago, Ill. – Central
• Carlos Galarza-Cuevas – Juncos, Puerto Rico – Latin America
• Ricci Hall – Spencer, Mass. – East
• Raymond J. Hennessy – Ventura, Calif. – West
• Bruce Hicks – Sugar Land, Texas – Southwest
• Bryan Horne – Blountville, Tenn. – Southeast
• Brad Johnston – Calgary, Alberta – Canada
• Randall Kushner – Purcellville, Va. – Southeast
• Raul Martinez – Brownsville, Texas – Southwest
• Michael McCullough – St. Petersburg, Fla. – Southeast
• Austen Rigelman – Auburn, Ind. – Central
• Marc Roberts – Westleigh, New South Wales, Australia – Asia-Pacific
• Christopher Rutz – Oceanside, Calif. – West
• Jason D. Smith – Gresham, Ore. – West
2017 Little League Softball® World Series – August 9-16 (Portland, Ore.)
(by name – place of residence – region)
• Jose Casiano-Garcia – Guanica, Puerto Rico – Latin America
• John Cote – East Waterboro, Maine – East
• Patrick Fletcher – Victoria, British Columbia – Canada
• Sumner J. Hill, Jr. – LaGrande, Ore. – West
• Michelle Lafreniere – Westville, Ind. – Central
• Mark Lucas – Tallahassee, Fla. – Southeast
• Mark Pigg – Arvada, Colo. – Southwest
• Marc Richardson – San Antonio, Texas – Southwest
• Jean H. M. Rijksen – Soest, Netherlands – Europe and Africa
• Garth Sanders – Canyon Country, Calif. – West
• Jeff Schoettle – Lansing, Ill. – Central
• Vincent Yale – Colora, Md. – East
• Gary York – Lakemont, Ga. – Southeast
2017 Intermediate League (50/70) Baseball World Series – July 30-August 6 (Livermore, Calif.)
(by name – place of residence – region)
• Anthony Calcagno – Bolingbrook, Ill. – Central
• Robert K. Cass – Indianapolis, Ind. – Central
• Donald Escudero-Ocasio – Manati, Puerto Rico – Latin America
• Mark Garrison – Hondo, Texas – Southwest
• Jonathan Hagen – Tampa, Fla. – Southeast
• Timothy Hughes – Wurtsboro, N.Y. – East
• Tim McCullough – San Jose, Calif. – West
• Doug Pfaffenberger – Houston, Texas – Southwest
• Adam Smith – Calgary, Alberta – Canada
• Thomas Torrisi – Methuen, Mass. – East
• Nicky Trevino – Paradise, Calif. – West
• David Wooldridge – Tampa, Fla. – Southeast
2017 Junior League Baseball World Series – August 13-20 (Taylor, Mich.)
(by name – place of residence – region)
• Michael Barrow – Anthony, Fla. – Southeast
• Charles Bond – Centerville, Va. – Southeast
• Paul Carthy – Melbourne, Victoria, Australia – Asia-Pacific
• Wilfredo De la Cruz Vargas-Bracho – Maricaibo, Edo-Zulia, Venezuela – Latin America
• Duane Fox, Jr. – Milford, Del. – East
• Richard Gillenwaters – Colorado Springs, Colo. – Southwest
• Marty Ort – Old Forge, Pa. – East
• Matthew Ramsey – Rio Rancho, N.M. – Southwest
• Michael Roach – Brownstown, Mich. – Central
• Tom Saichek – Garden Valley, Calif. – West
• Kevin Swinhart – Placerville, Calif. – West
• Robert G. Thomas – Indianapolis, Ind. – Central
• Jamie Tiessen – Calgary, Alberta – Canada
2017 Junior League Softball World Series – July 30-August 5 (Kirkland, Wash.)
(by name – place of residence – region)
• Sharon Adams – Crestview, Fla. – Southeast
• Brian Chandler – Stratham, N.H. – East
• Richard Clark – Forest Grove, Ore. – West
• Alexander Hernandez – San Antonio, Texas – Southwest
• Anthony Lanzilotti – Bergenfield, N.J. – East
• Kenneth Martis – Willemstad, Curacao – Latin America
• John Scott Masloroff – Franklin, Wis. – Central
• Sammie D. McDonald – Moreno Valley, Calif. – West
• Tim Morace – Natchez, La. – Southwest
• Kevin Rielly – Sidney, British Columbia – Canada
• Edward Smith – Winter Garden, Fla. – Southeast
• Kevin Southall – South Point, Ohio – Central
2017 Senior League Baseball World Series – July 29 – August 5 (Easley, S.C.)
(by name – place of residence – region)
• Giovanni Alvarez – Bridgeport, Conn. – East
• Mark Bradley – Kanata, Ontario – Canada
• Michael Comeau – Glastonbury, Conn. – East
• Michael Haugsness – Keller, Texas – Southwest
• Dave Head – Melbourne, Fla. – Southeast
• Randy Jackson – Demorest, Ga. – Southeast
• Calvin Kidwell – White Hall, Ark. – Southwest
• Patrick J. King – San Jose, Calif. – West
• Alan Letourneau – Oaklawn, Ill. – Central
• Jose Melecio-Lopez – Maguayo Dorado, Puerto Rico – Latin America
• Tyrone Powell – Los Angeles, Calif. – West
• Jeffrey L. Stokoe – Kettering, Ohio – Central
• Matt Wagner – Appen, New South Wales, Australia – Asia-Pacific
2017 Senior League Softball World Series – July 31 – August 6 (Lower Sussex, Del.)
(by name – place of residence – region)
• Jim Gibson – Victoria, British Columbia – Canada
• James Gill – Mount Airy, Md. – East
• John Gleason – Jacksonville, Fla. – Southeast
• Jeffrey Lindhorst – Ingleside, Texas – Southwest
• Carlos Lugo-Soto – San Sebastian, Puerto Rico – Latin America
• Dan Magee – Cibolo, Texas – Southwest
• Michael McCarron – Benica, Calif. – West
• Jerome Perch – Blakeslee, Pa. – East
• James Rinehart – Fort Wayne, Ind. – Central
• John Rucinski – Grosse Point Farm, Mich. – Central
• Wout van der Horst – Wormer, Netherlands – Europe and Africa
• Robert Weiner – Cocoa, Fla. – Southeast
• Larry Young – Carson City, Nev. – West