It was vintage Lew on Saturday afternoon at the Bitterroot Bucs field – telling family-friendly jokes to the crowd, calling strikes and balls, and interacting with the players. Lew Barnett was the man behind the plate for the Bucs’ first game of a double header against valley rival Bitterroot Red Sox. The only thing different was that this was Lew’s last two games as the umpire. From now on, he’ll get to enjoy baseball like everyone else does – from the stands.

Lew’s faithful companion, a sweet golden Lab named Molly, lay in the shade of the grandstands, sniffing out food, taking pats and occasionally looking out into the field to make sure her ‘dad’ was still there. Lew says that although she is silent now, when she first began coming to the games, she would voice her opinion on the balls and strikes he called. Most of the time they concurred but occasionally Molly was the only one right.

When asked why he was retiring, Lew replied “25 and 65 has a nice ring to it,” referring to the time he had spent as a baseball official and his age.

Lew began when the Bucs were just beginning their run as the only Bitterroot American Legion team and were based in Hamilton. He said that a friend, John Barnes, came to him and asked him to officiate. Like now, there was a shortage of umpires and Barnes was looking for people to take on the sometimes-contentious job.

At that time, Barnes was not only lining up umpires but also scheduling games and as Lew put it, taking all the grief. So Lew, and a couple of fellows from Missoula, Hal Karl and Brian Larsen, began their tenure as umpires. Karl and Larsen are still active umpires.

“I thought I knew the rules,” said Lew. “I’d played the game for a long time but when I got out there, things were different.”

Because there was no one to go to with questions and really learn how to become an official, Barnes and Lew put together a manual. They sent it to the National Referee Magazine for a peer-type review and then used it to help newcomers to the officiating field. The two also put on clinics for many years and many of their students are still umpping.

Throughout his career, Lew has been behind the plate and on the field for Legion ball, Babe Ruth Ball, high school softball and ASA (American Softball Association). He’s seen a multitude of players grow up and even a few come back to coach in the upper levels.

He says the players have changed and are more apt to act out these days than when he first started. Some of it is lack of discipline by the coaches but a lot, he says, comes from watching the athletes on television and their antics.

“But there are a lot of remarkable kids out there, and I have some great memories of them.” He adds that he always tried to be nice but that sometimes “they just wouldn’t let me (be nice).”

As a 30-year veteran of law enforcement – 21 years and seven months at the Stevensville Police Department – Lew has had plenty of experience with the more unsavory side of life. Despite that, he still exudes a love of life and people and his love of communication with people.

Never one to be silent, Lew has always interacted with the players and the crowd. He tells of an ongoing conversation with a catcher and batter during an American Legion game in Missoula. One of the players had noticed a young lady sitting in the stands and each time he came up to bat, Lew was after him to ask her out. Finally, Lew calls time out and walks over to the young lady and asked her if she would go out with the batter so he could then concentrate on the game. (She said yes but that it would cost more than a burger and movie.)

There are some baseball venues that really don’t like the umpires to talk to the players or the crowd. Missoula is one such field and Lew has always complied with their requests (although I suspect it wasn’t easy.)

There was one time, however, the normally talkative umpire clammed up. Channel 8 TV put a mic on him for a game. He said he couldn’t think of anything to say for the entire segment. However, another time, Channel 8 did catch him ejecting a coach and in his words “it was three hopper,” meaning he skipped three times while uttering “you’re out of here.”

He admits there are days when an umpire is ‘on’ and then there are days when it’s difficult to see the ball. When that happened, he had a tendency to try harder which made everything even more difficult. “You don’t want to think, just see.”

“Baseball is a judgment game. The catcher has to decide what pitch to signal the pitcher. The pitcher has to decide if that is the pitch he wants. The manager has to decide how he wants the batter to bat and the batter has to decide which pitch to take. The final judgment is the umpire’s who decides if the pitch is a ball or a strike.”

He goes on to say he started every game the same way, explaining to the coaches what can be disputed – check swings, pulled foot, dropped ball, a swipe tag and the second umpire making a different call. “Everything else is a rule and those don’t change and can’t be challenged.”

Born in Texas, Lew moved to Los Angeles and then went into the Air Force where he was a policeman. After the Air Force, he drove an armored car for 10 years before coming to Montana in 1974. Elk hunting brought him to Montana where he has been ever since.

In addition to baseball, he also officiated basketball and volleyball throughout the valley. He said he didn’t play football and had no desire to try and officiate on that field.

Now Lew plans on learning how to use his two fly fishing poles. He and Molly will check out the geese in a few fields around the state and maybe he’ll even catch a game or two around the area as well. One thing you can count on however, he will have a few jokes to tell the crowd.

Bucs and Red Sox split

The Bucs and the Red Sox split their doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. In the first game, the Red Sox came out strong and knocked in three runs in the first inning. They continued the onslaught with six runs in the second and finished their scoring barrage with six more runs in the sixth inning. The Red Sox won, 15-7.

Ryan Weigle was on the mound for the Sox and took the win. Mike Stanford had a grand slam home run and a double and was 3-for-4 with five RBIs. Rodee Anderson had a two run homer in the first as well. Mike Hamlin went 3-for4 with two RBIs and a double.

The Bucs made a run in the bottom of the fifth when Matthew Perez hit a long single. Next up was Dominic Goble who hit a double. The three run rally was cut short when Weigle struck out Shane Taylor and then catcher Brady Anderson caught a pop fly.

The Bucs shook off the loss of the first game and came right back. Although the Red Sox scored first when Rodee Anderson hit a stand up double on a full count, the Bucs were ready to score. With a full count, Billy Hanna turned a pitch into a base hit. Next was Johnson who hit another single. After the Red Sox pitcher was called for a balk, Max Burns stepped to the plate and belted a single that scored both Johnson and Hanna. When the dust had settled, the Bucs were up by three.

The Red Sox were not to be outdone however. They came right back when Andrew Shook hit a double and then scored on Brady Anderson’s bunt. Hamilin, who had been walked, stole home and it was a tie game.

Perez got the Bucs going in the bottom of the third inning with a single. The Bucs batted the lineup and was just about to start over when the Red Sox finally got the third out. But the damage was done, four runs, five hits, and one Red Sox error.

The Bucs continued to hit the ball well and cruised to a 15-8 win.

“It’s good to get the momentum going,” said Bucs manager Dustin Bahm. “Jeremy Johnson really played well in the second game. He pitched well, hit well and scattered the ball around. He got out of some jams.”

The Bucs finished their season on the road against the Mariners in Polson. The Bucs were in Polson for a doubleheader against the Mariners. The Polson team won the first game 14-1 and the second game 12-2.

The Red Sox were in Missoula, playing against the Missoula A Mavs. The teams split the day with the Mavs winning the first game, 4-3. Jordan Schafer took the win for Missoula in the first game of a doubleheader against the Red Sox. Mike Stanford and Drew Brown pitched for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox picked it up in the second game and came back to win, 9-2. Andrew Shook was 2-for-3 and had an RBI double. Paul Donaldson had a triple that scored a run. Rodee Anderson was on the mound and notched eight K’s in the win.

Both the Bucs and the Red Sox will play in the District tournament which begins on Thursday at the ball field in Florence. The Bucs finished their season with a conference record of 6 wins and 10 losses. They will meet the Kootenai Rangers from the north at 6 pm on Thursday, July 24. The Rangers are 7-5 in conference play.

The Red Sox will play the Glacier Twins at 9 am Thurday morning at Florence. Glacier brings a 6-6 record to the game while the Red Sox, who finished second in the southern district, have a record of 10-6.

The other two games on Thursday are Libby vs. Missoula Mavs at noon and Mission Valley Mariners and the Kalispell Lakers at 3 pm. Come and support these American Legion teams. It’s a beautiful field and a great way to cheer on the old ball team.

Stevensville Fighting Yellowjacket Football Camps

The Stevensville Fighting Yellowjacket Football camp will be held July 28-31, 2008. This camp is designed to get a jump on the 2008 football season and will cover the fundamentals involved in developing a championship caliber football team. Both offense and defensive plays will be taught.

The Junior and Little Yellowjacket camps are designed to introduce the campers to techniques inovled in the Fighting Yellowjacket football program. The emphasis is on fun and fundamentals.

Equipment will be checked out on Sunday, July 27 from 6 p.m. to 7 pm for high school players. Players will wear helmets and shoulder pads for safety. It’s recommended that players wear their football shoes at this time to break them in as well. Junior high players may check their gear out between 7 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 27.

Cost is $35 for K-6, and Junior High. High school fees are $60. There is a break for two or more campers as well. Little Yellowjacket camp will run for 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Junior high camp is from 4 p.m. to 5:45 and high school will run from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Stevensville All Stars head to Regionals

The Cal Ripken 11 and 12 year old state baseball tournament was held from July 10-13 in Plentywood. The Stevensville All Stars took the number 1 seed from their district by defeating Hamilton in a best-of-three game series, 2-0. Stevensville outscored their state opponents 66-17 en route to a perfect record and state championship.

Stevi took on the Clark Fork Valley All Stars, a group that includes players from Plains and its surrounding area, in their first game. Although Stevensville did not play their best baseball, they managed to escape with a 3-1 victory. In their second game, the bats came alive as they knocked off Glendive 16-2. The Border All Stars, a team from Scobey and its surrounding area, proved to be no match as Stevi picked up a 19-3 win.

Once elimination games started, the competition figured to get tougher. However, that was not the case as Stevi rolled Polson 12-2 and held off a pesky North Jefferson team 7-1 in the semi finals. Stevensville faced Livingston in the state final and jumped out to a 9-4 lead. Livingston came roaring back, but Stevi held on for a 9-8 victory. The win provided sweet revenge, as Livingston had knocked off Stevi in the previous year’s semi final.

The team now heads to the regional tournament (July 24-27) in Kennewick, WA, where they will face teams from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming and British Columbia. This talented group has also participated in tournaments in Kalispell and Salmon, Idaho. Their only loss this summer has come at the hands of a team from Boise, in the Salmon tournament championship.

The team consists of nine 12-year-olds Noah Baney, Kadin Beller, Spencer Grooms, Coleman Katen, Dylan Reed, Jared Schultz, Blake SerVoss, Michael Tummarello, and Trevor Zeiler, and one 11-year-old, Dylan Gavlak. The team is coached by Duane Baney, Ray Gavlak, and Pat Reed.

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