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Sunday
March 21, 2010 Since 1922 |
Ump's road to CWS started in Little League
By Mike Finley
Baytown Sun Published June 3, 2005 Danny Mascorro remembers it like it was yesterday. Only now he can laugh about it. But 29 years ago it was anything but a laughing matter.
And, to be sure, he has grown from the incident into a college baseball umpire that everyone respects. So much so he has received his third invitation to call in the College World Series later this month in Omaha, Neb.
It doesn’t get any better than that.
Danny Mascorro would have never dreamed in 1975 that his umpiring career could have reached this level. It was then he probably never thought it would get off the ground.
Ronnie Kluch’s Sterling Rangers were playing Texas City that day in 1975 at what is now “Ronnie Kluch Field.” There were no lights at the stadium, it was the top of the seventh, the Rangers ahead, 6-4. Texas City rallied to take a 9-6 lead and by the time the Stingarees did it, darkness had arrived.
Mascorro, calling behind the plate, rethought his position after the Stings finished batting and called the game. The score reverted back to the bottom of the sixth when the Rangers were ahead, 6-4, and that’s how it ended.
Mascorro took some heat from a young buck sportswriter that day, but he learned from his ways and look where he is today. In the middle of college baseball’s elite.
“I’ll never forget that day as long as I live,” Mascorro said earlier this week. “My wife (Kathleen) still has the newspaper article. We started the game at 4, it got dark real quick. You get so involved in that. But somewhere along the line I should have stopped the game.”
It’s 2005 now and Danny Mascorro lives in Friendswood. He’s 51 years old, works for Equistar Chemical in Channelview — he has for 28 years — and has two grown daughters.
Life is good for Danny Mascorro.
He got his regional assignment - he will work a regional in Long Beach - and currently calls games in the Pacific 10 Conference on the weekends and splits time in the Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA during the week.
And, yes, while working his real job at Equistar in Channelview on a regular basis.
He will be a crew chief at the 2005 College World Series later this month and he’s just as proud to work it now as he was the first time in 1997 and again in 2000.
“When I got selected the first time I was thrilled,” Mascorro said. “The second time it felt the same. This time it’s the same feeling. It’s not about the money (although he says the pay he receives for calling games is nice). You are selected to the thing by your peers. It’s an honor.”
It’s different now than it was in 1975. “Back then all I wanted to do was get selected for a high school playoff game,” Moscorro said, giggling a bit.
The son of Jessie and Johnnie Moscorro, who still live in Highlands, calls right at 14 weekends a season. His primary conferenece is the Pac 10, but he also calls Conference USA and WAC games, where the University of Houston and Rice are covered, and he calls a few games at Sam Houston State where another former Highlands resident, Chris Rupp, is the head coach.
It all started in 1974 with Little League and Pony League games and elevated in 1975 to include high school contests. Mascorro reaced his zenith in 1991 when he was selected to call in the state tournament in Austin.
His fulltime college career started in 1992. He worked the Big 12 from 1997 to 2003 and called games in the old Southwest Conference from 1983 to 1996 when it disbanded, joined forces with the Big 8 and became the Big 12.
Moscorro has not called a high school game since 1992, umpiring 80 to 100 college games a year.
His thoughts drifted back to the College World Series.
“This may be the last time I get to go (to Omaha),” Mascorro said. “If I get another chance I’ll take it. But if I don’t get to go I’ll never complain.”
Danny Mascorro has lived the good life.
Baytown Sun Published June 3, 2005 Danny Mascorro remembers it like it was yesterday. Only now he can laugh about it. But 29 years ago it was anything but a laughing matter.
And, to be sure, he has grown from the incident into a college baseball umpire that everyone respects. So much so he has received his third invitation to call in the College World Series later this month in Omaha, Neb.
It doesn’t get any better than that.
Danny Mascorro would have never dreamed in 1975 that his umpiring career could have reached this level. It was then he probably never thought it would get off the ground.
Ronnie Kluch’s Sterling Rangers were playing Texas City that day in 1975 at what is now “Ronnie Kluch Field.” There were no lights at the stadium, it was the top of the seventh, the Rangers ahead, 6-4. Texas City rallied to take a 9-6 lead and by the time the Stingarees did it, darkness had arrived.
Mascorro, calling behind the plate, rethought his position after the Stings finished batting and called the game. The score reverted back to the bottom of the sixth when the Rangers were ahead, 6-4, and that’s how it ended.
Mascorro took some heat from a young buck sportswriter that day, but he learned from his ways and look where he is today. In the middle of college baseball’s elite.
“I’ll never forget that day as long as I live,” Mascorro said earlier this week. “My wife (Kathleen) still has the newspaper article. We started the game at 4, it got dark real quick. You get so involved in that. But somewhere along the line I should have stopped the game.”
It’s 2005 now and Danny Mascorro lives in Friendswood. He’s 51 years old, works for Equistar Chemical in Channelview — he has for 28 years — and has two grown daughters.
Life is good for Danny Mascorro.
He got his regional assignment - he will work a regional in Long Beach - and currently calls games in the Pacific 10 Conference on the weekends and splits time in the Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA during the week.
And, yes, while working his real job at Equistar in Channelview on a regular basis.
He will be a crew chief at the 2005 College World Series later this month and he’s just as proud to work it now as he was the first time in 1997 and again in 2000.
“When I got selected the first time I was thrilled,” Mascorro said. “The second time it felt the same. This time it’s the same feeling. It’s not about the money (although he says the pay he receives for calling games is nice). You are selected to the thing by your peers. It’s an honor.”
It’s different now than it was in 1975. “Back then all I wanted to do was get selected for a high school playoff game,” Moscorro said, giggling a bit.
The son of Jessie and Johnnie Moscorro, who still live in Highlands, calls right at 14 weekends a season. His primary conferenece is the Pac 10, but he also calls Conference USA and WAC games, where the University of Houston and Rice are covered, and he calls a few games at Sam Houston State where another former Highlands resident, Chris Rupp, is the head coach.
It all started in 1974 with Little League and Pony League games and elevated in 1975 to include high school contests. Mascorro reaced his zenith in 1991 when he was selected to call in the state tournament in Austin.
His fulltime college career started in 1992. He worked the Big 12 from 1997 to 2003 and called games in the old Southwest Conference from 1983 to 1996 when it disbanded, joined forces with the Big 8 and became the Big 12.
Moscorro has not called a high school game since 1992, umpiring 80 to 100 college games a year.
His thoughts drifted back to the College World Series.
“This may be the last time I get to go (to Omaha),” Mascorro said. “If I get another chance I’ll take it. But if I don’t get to go I’ll never complain.”
Danny Mascorro has lived the good life.