Local umpire selected for Little League World Series

No matter what happens this summer, District 11 will have a representative in Williamsport at the 2024 Little League World Series. Jason Field of Rocklin was one of the 16 umpires selected from across the country to work the tournament, which will take place from Aug. 14-25. Field is one of two umpires from the West Region. "Being named an umpire at one of our seven World Series events is an honor that thousands of Little League umpires strive for each year and has long been known as an opportunity to showcase their hard work and give back by helping to provide a fun and memorable experience for the hundreds of participants from around the world," Little League Director of Umpire Development and Operations Stu Hartenstein said in a press release. "As we look ahead to yet another exciting summer and continue to find new ways to enhance our umpire development opportunities, we are proud to announce the well-deserving volunteers who have been selected to serve at this year's events." Although he will be umpiring on one of the sport's biggest stages, Field says that he isn't nervous about it. "I'm a firm believer that if you're nervous, you're not prepared," Field said. "I still get butterflies and still have excitement for it. I always want to get up higher and be among the best of the best. I just can't wait for it to get here. I've been to the event. But this is the first time I've been actually involved in it." Field started his umpiring journey at Tri City Little League in Rocklin in 2004 when his son was involved as a player. In 2010, Field saw Jerry Westfall of Grass Valley umpire a Little League World Series game and decided he wanted to make it his goal to get to Williamsport himself one day. "I made some phone calls and I was told that you have to go to an academy or school to even be eligible to be selected, so I went off to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for a week of umpire school there," Field said. "When I came back, I started applying and doing games and in 2016 I went to an umpire academy and during this whole time I was learning I was selected to do the Western Regional tournament in San Bernardino." Field said his experience at the Western Regional is what opened the door to him being selected for the World Series. "Once you do that tournament, you get evaluated and are qualified to do more," Field explained. To be selected for Williamsport, Field had to attend another umpire academy where he was one of three selected out of the field of 96. Even though he will be umpiring for games on ESPN, Field said it is still all volunteer work and all umpires there are doing it for the love of the game. "I've got to pay for my own travel to get to Williamsport. Once I get there, they put us up in a hotel and they give us a food stipend, but I still pay all my own airfare to get out there," Field said. "We are all volunteers, we don't get paid for a game." Asked what he is looking forward to the most about the event, Field said. "I'm really looking forward to that level of baseball and seeing it on the international stage. There's gonna be teams from Japan and Korea, Caribbean and stuff. I'm excited about that because it would be my first time umpiring an international team. I think that's pretty exciting."