Nov. 17
November 17, 2009
Mr. Heath Adam Perkins
November 19, 2009
During his 18 years as an umpire in the Tri-parish area, Houma native Jerome Babin, 56, has made a lot of calls, some better than others, he’ll admit. He’s seen hundreds of games, has watched thousands of players and has been in numerous conversations with coaches from his spot on the field.
What started out as an experiment has become his passion.
Babin’s contemplated retiring from baseball many times over the last three years. But February arrives, and he gets the call to umpire.
His love for sports is evident at his Bayou Black Electric office. He has team pictures, autographed baseballs and other memorabilia scattered throughout his workplace.
Babin started coaching baseball at age 19 and, eventually, it spread to softball in 1984 when his oldest daughter Heather joined the parish’s summer softball league.
After that, in 1991, a good friend, J.C. Dusenberry, invited Babin to umpire a few local games.
The rest, as they say, is history.
After 18 years in the sport, Babin has experienced a lot of memorable moments, but none compare to having the opportunity to do what he loves in one of the most prestigious baseball towns in America. For seven weeks during the summer, Cooperstown Dreams Park in famous Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, holds baseball tournaments for children ages 11 and 12. For 13 weeks, 102 new teams are invited for four days to play a series of games on the 23 200-foot fields at the facility.
Championship games are played at the end of each week, with a new champion being crowned each time.
The park is only open during the three months the games are played. Teams are required to supply at least one umpire.
When Houma’s Bayou Tigers learned they were accepted to play the week of June 13-16, coaches Craig Bollinger and Gene Gueniot asked Babin to make the trek with the team as their umpire.
“I first heard about it from other guys who went,” Babin said. “They were all talking about how much fun and what a great experience it was. I was invited by the team and, I must admit, I really enjoyed myself.”
Turns out Babin wasn’t just an umpire. When he arrived in Cooperstown, he was shocked to learn he’d been named crew chief.
Responsible for a nine-man crew, Babin’s job was to ready the schedules and fields.
“What was so amazing about it was throughout the week, you saw people hanging out and talking despite never seeing each other before,” he said. “It’s kind of fun to see that. Other than umpiring, we had not much else in common. We had doctors, lawyers, judges, a little bit of everything.”
The opportunity provided more of a learning experience for Babin, who managed 2- to 6-man crews in the championship games.
It also gave the 56-year-old the opportunity to see sights he had never viewed before.
Looking out from the field, the area was surrounded by hills and mountains, which had wildlife grazing. The landscape was worth the trip in itself, according to Babin.
“It’s so great to see the deer, turkey and things up on the hillside,” he said. “For a guy like me from the swampland to see that is interesting. I’ve never been able to umpire, look out and see mountains. It was just so beautiful.”
Even though he wasn’t able to umpire any of the Houma Tigers games, he was able to watch when he had a break between his games. Although the Tigers didn’t win many games, they remained competitive with some of the state’s top teams.
“They played two of the teams that were in the semis,” he said. “The two kids who threw against them pitched in the championship game. One of the teams won the whole thing. They were playing teams who play 70 to 80 games over the course of a summer – real die-hard baseball teams.”
Babin was also able to take in the Baseball Hall of Fame during one of his off mornings.
As for umpiring, Babin said he got joy out of watching young people play competitive baseball without having to worry about complaints from coaches or parents.
Unlike baseball in this area, there are no bleachers behind home plate. The audience sits down the baselines and behind the outfield. Cooperstown Dreams has strict guidelines. There is no arguing after the umpire makes a call, according to Babin. Coaches or parents who go overboard with a call are escorted out of the facility and the fence is locked behind them.
The rule is respected. Babin said he had to invite coaches to call a timeout to discuss calls with him or other umpires.
“You’re in the boondocks, about 25 miles from town, so no one wanted to risk getting tossed out,” he said. “It was my second day there and I hadn’t heard anything. I told the coaches, ‘If you have a question, feel free to call timeout and come talk to us because we can make mistakes. We can talk it over and keep this thing right.’
“Then they started feeling a little more comfortable,” he added.
When his week ended and Babin left the barrack-style sleeping quarters for the last time, he returned home with countless stories to tell.
For a man who makes his living making calls, he’ll never forget his call of a lifetime.
“There’s no way anything can compare to this,” he said. “It was an experience for those kids. Craig (Bollinger), Gene (Guenoit) and the other coaches do a great job with the kids. They bring them up to be outstanding young men. his was the experience of a lifetime.”
Jerome Babin
