Editor's Message

Greetings and salutations true, blue believers,

Welcome back to another edition of The Blue Crew News! As a reminder, there will be no November edition next month and we will return in December with our wrap up of the year as well as a report from the annual MAC/NVBUA Awards Banquet. I hope to see you all there.

Association President Dave Maher is here with his final address of 2026.

Our special interest writer, Collin Agee, drops in this month with a fitness piece, updating us on his progress in his ongoing program at The Fitness Coach. And don’t miss Collin’s link at the bottom of his piece with a nice introductory offer to that service.

Bob Nasser, association rules interpreter, is back this month with a really interesting review of what appears to be a common interference play. (Perhaps you will find this play not so common after all!) Oftentimes in baseball, people around the game experience a play and think…there’s only one outcome. And as umpires, we are trained, and we know that just one small detail that is different on two seemingly similar plays should, by rule, result in different outcomes. Will you get this play correct? That is the question…don’t worry, Bob walks you through it! Check in with Bob here.

Our good friend and editor emeritus, Norm Gordon also graces us this month. For those who don’t know, when Norm is not dazzling State College, Pennsylvania and the surrounding baseball landscape with his umpiring brilliance, Norm continues to serve the MAC/NVBUA Commissioner’s Office as the association’s situation management coordinator. To turn a phrase, Norm has seen some things. Norm…has done some things (All of it correct! All of it professional!). Providing a written documentation of a situation on or perhaps slightly off a baseball field is a vital skill that every umpire at every level of the game simply needs to have. Norm, John Porter and others involved with association leadership who process these situations have to get accurate information in a timely fashion. Conveniently, Norm is here this month to tell you exactly how to do that.

And in closing this month, Marcus May is the subject of The Gary Reals Profile. In his interview, Marcus references “The Home Run Derby” and Hank Aaron. Initially, I thought that Marcus was referring to MLB’s Home Run Derby, which takes place during the All-Star Game. Well, that would be incorrect since the Home Run Derby began in 1985 and Aaron retired in 1976. No…I had to dig a little deeper to a time before my time! From January 1960 to July 1960, there was a television show called “Home Run Derby” which pitted MLB players against each other in a power-hitting competition. How did Hammerin’ Hank do? Well, Hank was on the show 7 times and won 6 times. His only loss was to Wally Post of the Cincinnati Reds.

As for Marcus May, the umpire…the first time I worked with him was during the October weekend tournament in Arlington a few years ago. This tournament has become a bit of a touchstone for me in my time as an umpire as it was one of the first tournaments I worked my rookie season and the assignors always get me on these games whenever it comes around. It never fails to reinvigorate me about youth baseball and umpiring. So there were Marcus and I at Gunston Rec Center off of South Glebe Road on a beautiful fall evening. We worked our games and the thing that impressed me most about Marcus is the same thing that continues to impress me about him today. The moment is never too big for him and he is an extremely flexible and versatile person which makes him an extremely flexible and versatile umpire. If the game is slow and calm, Marcus remains on the alert and remains calm. If things get hairy and the game has to be managed…well, Marcus handles his business and always looks after his partner. When we got done and returned to our cars and started packing up, I just looked at him and I said, “Marcus, you are the future of this association…” His approach to umpiring is the right approach and we need more of that around this game. As always, do not miss Gary’s profile this month.

So, we come to a close for this edition. Thank you for stopping by this month. The Blue Crew News will return in December!

Excelsior,
~Robert Fobian
Editor, Blue Crew News