Tyler Minor calls a young tee-ball player safe. This is Minor's first year as an umpire.

When walking into a baseball stadium, the sounds of America’s pastime can overwhelm. The crack of the bat, the music of the organ and the screams of fans are as synonymous with baseball as bunting or beer.

But there’s one sound that plays a part in so many games that people forget to add to the list. That’s the sound of a standard baseball fan tearing into an umpire.

It happens at every level in every city, but how many people stop to think about that umpire? Like the fan in the stands, the umpire’s journey to the field began with an interest in baseball.

Getting started

Tyler Minor walked into the room of people just like him. Most of them young, all looking for a little extra money.

That was step one toward becoming an umpire for Minor, a 16-year-old Free State High student.

But if 16 seems young, compare it to MLB umpire supervisor and former major league umpire Steve Palermo, who began umpiring at the tender age of 13.

“I had just graduated from Little League baseball, and I had two younger brothers; one was 11 years old and one was just going to be starting at 9 years old,” Palermo said. “They were both playing on the same team, and I said, ‘You know what? It’d be nice to umpire those games.'”

Like Palermo, Minor received little instruction on being an umpire before his first game. Lawrence Parks and Recreation youth sports supervisor Lee Ice attempted to teach his young umpires all they needed to know about positioning, making calls and dealing with coaches and parents during orientation, a tough assignment in only a few hours.

Every year, Ice stands inside Holcom and holds orientation for umpires of youth baseball. Many times, the faces he stares at are brand new.

Part of his job is also to educate coaches and fans. In an effort to protect young umpires from unruly fans, Ice holds meetings for parents and coaches on how to behave at the ballpark.

“They’re role models for their kids,” Ice said. “If they yell and scream at the umpires, the kids are going to yell and scream at the umpires.

“I’ll have that informative meeting for parents, but normally the ones that really need it are the ones that don’t show up … they don’t understand that this is a recreational program.”

After a few hours of instruction and a standing order to have fun with their new jobs, Ice released his young umpires.

The first game

Minor sat in his house unsure of whether his first game would even happen. The sky outside was a wall of gray, and the forecast called for rain.

After hearing nothing about canceling the game, Minor got dressed, and he and his family hopped in the car headed for Y.S.I.

He got to the ball field early as Ice had instructed, met his partner for the night and began talking to the coaches.

After coaches positioned the players, the game was under way.

“It was kind of funny,” Minor said. “I wasn’t going to go out and make serious calls because they were learning and stuff. So, it was just kind of fun.”

Minor may not have made many calls, but being a strict umpire wasn’t exactly his job. At the tee-ball level, which Minor faced first, umpires are more like administrators directing players and making the games move smoothly. Such a position is necessary when kids often run toward the wrong base or spend their time playing in the dirt.

“They got to just have an understanding that the kids have no idea what they’re doing at this age and not to sweat the little things,” tee-ball coach Lance Flachsbarth said. “They’re young guys, and they get a kick out of watching these kids as much as we do.”

After the game

When time had run out, Minor called a stop to the game. Score isn’t kept at that level, but the outcome was seemingly a tie.

The players had already moved on, talking mostly about what fast-food they might eat after the game.

Minor prepared for his second of three games after taking a few compliments from coaches.

But handshakes and thank yous aren’t always what young umpires receive after games. Palermo remembers getting much harsher treatment after games his first year.

“I use to ride my bike from home up to the Little League field and then back, and I’d have parents chasing me down the street in their cars yelling at me as I rode my bike home,” Palermo said. “I came home one day and said, ‘You know what? I don’t know if this is the right thing that I’m doing,’ and my dad said, ‘Well, you started it. You’re going to finish it.'”

Palermo stuck with it and eventually reached the highest level of his profession. He umpired thousands of games during his more than 15 years in the majors. Minor will probably never reach the majors, but he said he’ll be back next year, so, who knows?

“Kids don’t grow up saying, ‘You know what? When I’m 16, 18, I’m going to be an umpire,’ or when I’m 12 or 10. ‘I’m going to be an umpire,'” Palermo said. “No, they want to play ball. Then, at some point in time for whatever reason they get involved in baseball on the umpiring side of it and say, ‘Oh, you know, I like this.'”