EP14 Tripp Gibson: Behind the Plate - The Life of a Major League Baseball Umpire

Ever wonder what it's like to make the split-second calls that can turn the tide of a Major League Baseball game? Join us as seasoned umpire Tripp Gibson pulls back the curtain on the often invisible yet intensely scrutinized life of a professional umpire. Through a tapestry of tales, Tripp recounts his unexpected journey from player hopeful to esteemed MLB umpire, transporting us from the dusty diamonds of minor leagues to the electrifying buzz of the World Series.

You might think you know baseball, but Tripp's candid revelations on the sacrifices behind the mask – the long stretches away from family, the weight of critical eyes, and the unshakeable support from his wife – are bound to offer a fresh perspective. Imagine proposing to your partner amidst career uncertainties or welcoming a child into the world as you navigate the unpredictable tides of minor league umpiring. Tripp shares these pivotal moments with the warm authenticity of a friend, illuminating the complex interplay of personal life and professional ambition.

Sit back and savor the rich tapestry of stories featuring baseball legends and unexpected encounters that even the most die-hard fans seldom hear. From calling a historic no-hitter to amusing run-ins with players outside the park, Tripp's experiences underscore the respect and camaraderie that underscore the spirit of the game. Whether he's regaling us with locker room elation or reflecting on the pure joy of his children meeting their sports heroes, Tripp's love for the game and his role within it shines through every word.

Tripp is also very involved in https://www.umpscare.com/

My sincere apologies to Tripp and the MLB umpires for not covering this amazing organization within the podcast.  The work they do for kids is wonderful and I hope everyone checks it out and supports them whenever you can.  We've made a donation to this worthwhile cause and hope that you can do the same here:

https://www.umpscare.com/support-us/show-your-support/

Finnleigh would like to remind everyone that a 5-star rating from each of you would be a huge push for the podcast in the algorithms that suggest podcast to listeners.  Please take a second to give us a 5-star rating when you get the chance!  Thanks so much!

Transcript

Scott: 1:24

My next guest is Tripp Gibson. Tripp has been a Major League Baseball umpire for over 10 years, since his big league call-up in 2013. Over the past 11 seasons, he's been part of the umpire crew for over 1150 regular season games, 28 post-season games and was part of the crew for the 2023 All-Star Game in T-Mobile Park. Note for his outstanding accuracy behind the plate. Tripp's been involved in some historic games, including Game 4 of the 2022 World Series, in which the Houston Astros pitched a combined no-hitter only the second no-hitter in World Series history after Don Larson's perfect game in 1956. Tripp Gibson, welcome to Carney Saves the World, scott, thanks for having me, man, I appreciate it. Thank you for being here, sitting down and thinking about you coming on. I'm wondering you know, and I'm sure other people out there are how does one become an umpire Like? Where does that start and what was your journey like?

Tripp: 2:09

That's funny. You say that. You know, I get to ask that question a lot because people are like so did you just like, wake up one day and go, I want to be a Major League Baseball umpire? Well, that is not how that happened. I did not wake up a Major League umpire. And the other funny thing, when you were reading my bio, was, like, do I really have almost 11 years experience in the Major Leagues? Like that's, it's kind of flown by. I want to start by saying this before I go into like you know how you become an umpire, but you read all those things and I'm just like well, I'm also a husband and I'm a father. So it's like, and I think that when people look at people on television, first and foremost, they get lost in the fact that, like, oh well, trip probably doesn't even have a mother, right, he's just some name of the umpire that everybody wants to hate, right, I actually got a sense of humor sometimes too. Yeah, right, you know, my journey really began, you know, at an early age.

Tripp: 2:57

I started playing baseball when I was six, and for me it was just something to do in the summer, right, as a young kid, and I got pretty decent at it. You know you're making like seven eight-year-old all-star teams. And then I started playing you know a little more, what they call travel ball, now select ball. It was a travel team and I got into 12, 13, 14 and grew up in western Kentucky in a little town called Mayfield which, if anybody remembers, a major tornado hit my hometown two years ago, this past December. But I grew up in a really small town, kind of in a river region where the Mississippi River and the Ohio River meet is where I'm from and that little hotbed of western Kentucky and southern Illinois and, you know, south of eastern Missouri, southern Indiana, like western Tennessee, even that little corner of Arkansas. It's a hotbed for sports because the climate, you know it gets cold in the winter but it gets hot in the summer and so the climate is really advantageous for baseball. I mean there's tons of baseball being played in that area, you know, and I got to where I was like 12 and 13, 14 and I got pretty good, like I was really good for a travel ball team out of western Kentucky and you know we were going in the summers to, you know, denver, colorado, omaha, nebraska, you know, down in Florida we were traveling a lot playing.

Tripp: 4:09

You know high level baseball and, like a lot of us baseball fans out there, I wanted to be a major league baseball player. I wanted to be a guy that was going to either wear at the time because where I grew up right, the Cubs were really popular because they were on WGN. You know, you had Bozo, the clown that was on the, the Shawnee before the 120 Cubs game. You had the White Sox that weren't far. The Cardinals were the closest team. You got KMOX Radio, Jack Buck on the call and you got TBS, which broadcasted the Atlanta Braves all over the planet.

Scott: 4:40

Well, yeah, they were the first ones.

Tripp: 4:41

Yeah, and when you grew up in that little area like baseball's huge right. So I wanted to be a major league ball player and as I started playing more and more travel ball, more select ball and kind of getting better and advancing, got into high school and I really had my mindset on getting better in high school and I was like you know what to make this, I've got to get into college baseball. I got to be a college player I was like, okay, I'm going to have a, hopefully get a scholarship somewhere, big. You know. Growing up in Kentucky, at least for me, wildcat basketball like kind of runs the state, right, oh yeah, you've got horse racing, you've got Kentucky basketball and there's that little bitty section around this town called Louisville that's Cardinal fans but the whole rest of state's basketball fans. So I wanted to go to the University of Kentucky or University of Tennessee and so people were like the Vols, why would you go to the Vols? And for me it was all about proximity to home. It was a heck of a lot further to Knoxville than it was to Lexington and I wanted to get away. So, figure came, I had a couple like little offers junior college, little Christian school, nai, and I don't know if it was just intuition something hit. And I was like you know what my dad was pretty upset when I finally told him, after all these years of work trying to be a major league ball player and being the best baseball player, I could little switch, hitter, leadoff hitter, center fielder, fastest lightning hit. Okay, could run like the wind. But yeah, like you know what Dad, I think I'm done and he's like well, why I go? Because if I go to this little school and this is just me it's not for everybody, right, but it is for some people, but for me. I was like some of these credits won't even transfer when I go to a bigger school. I don't want to waste two years of my life. And my dad was like what, you've had this dream since you were probably six, seven, eight years old and you wasted 18 years already. Oh right, I mean you're thinking about it. You're like well, in the summers I played for a coach. It was actually Murray State University's head baseball coach. He was my summer coach for quite a few years there and he'd kind of told my dad hey, like if he comes to trial probably can get him a locker it's a walk on, no guarantees he'll play right. And so I just, I was like I'm done. I hung my cleats up and kind of giving you the rest of the story.

Tripp: 6:41

My father was also my baseball coach, high school coach. He was my employer. I worked for him. He had his own business. I was his little gopher. We were doing home theater installs.

Tripp: 6:52

I'm running wires through Attics under homes and you know I don't have a fear of spiders anymore because of that. Right, I became his repossess man. I'd have to go like repossess, like TVs and appliances, refrigerators for people that hadn't been paying. That's no life for a 16, 17, 18 year old kid. Yeah. So it's like dad had a deal. I'm going off to college and they had convinced me.

Tripp: 7:13

My grandfather, who really has a lot to do with this actual story, my grandfather came to me and he's like hey, everyone your cousins except for one is graduated from Murray State University in Murray, kentucky.

Tripp: 7:24

It's like 30 minutes away, right, I didn't want to go to school 30 minutes away, I want to go to school seven hours away. So I was done working for my dad. I was done living with my dad. I was done playing baseball for my dad. My dad's like well, somehow you're going to have to pay for your car insurance, your gas, books, food, dorm. He's like what are you going to do? I'm like I don't know. And he goes well, I heard that the local youth league, the recreational park, got named Pat Powers, who I will the beginning of my umpire and career to.

Tripp: 7:52

He's since passed. I went down to a local park and he's like hey, I've got a game for you. You want to work behind home plate in your first game? I'm like not really. And he's like well, I paid 25 bucks. So I went and worked the game. I had my hat on backwards, which, if anybody's ever watched a major league game and paid any attention to the umpires and I hope that you don't pay much attention, you don't wear your hat backwards I looked like a fool, probably. I felt like a fool and of course, I did the best I could, but in the fourth inning I ejected the head coach my very first ever game first game and I knew the coach too.

Tripp: 8:27

But after the game walked over to Pat, over at the concession stand, you know, before you get your hot dog and I soda and handed me my check and he said thanks for giving it a shot. And when I went to grab the check out of his hand he wouldn't let go and I was like, actually, pat, I loved it every second of this. Can I, can I have more? He's like really, you want to keep doing this? So, yeah, I kept going. I showed up the next day and kept showing up the next weekends and I Got into it, you know, doing like these little tournaments, like the ball. I was playing it, you know 10, 11, 12, 13 and I found myself I wanted to be the home plate umpire for championship games or tournaments. I wanted to be getting to high school baseball, got into high school ball within a couple years, and even while I was at Murray State University yes, it did take me five years to get out of there I mean, too, I was actually umpiring Division 1 baseball games while I was in college and what I found and this is gonna be mind-blowing what I found is I actually loved umpiring more than I ever did, playing Really Kind of weird even say it now. Yeah, and what I did is I had this drive like I wanted to be. I wanted to be the best dressed, I want to be in the best shape, I wanted to be the most known as far as like respectable trip has a good strike zone, trip doesn't miss a lot of calls, he shows up on time or early, you know, and he always looks professional and that was kind of like my theme. You know, this journey keeps going right at this point I'm just 23 years old, about the turn 24, and through my fraternity and I gotta give mention, I was a pike, pike, kappa, alpha. It was actually a great experience for me because what it did was it taught me to be the best I could individually but for a team almost like playing ball for a team like you want to be the best fraternity on this. And and one of my fraternity brothers older guy that was working for the University at the time he's like, hey, I know a major league umpire. I'm like really who? He's like Larry van over. He lives in Owensboro, kentucky. I'm like Owensboro is only an hour and a half away. I go to a rotary club event lunch meeting, met Larry. Within a week I got a.

Tripp: 10:19

Through the regular USPS I get a registration form for Harry Wendell's, that school for professional umpires, really based out of Daytona before, and it was a note Signed by Harry Wendell's that, who was a longtime National League veteran. Yeah, and I said hey, but let me see, at our umpire school I registered, graduated college, murray State, december of 2005, went to Daytona Beach, enrolled and started on January 2nd 2006 to start my journey in professional umpiring at Harry Wendell's at school. Wow, that's great. Yeah, that's amazing. It's like yesterday. But then again, when you've restart reading the biome, like man, I've been a part of a lot of cool things.

Scott: 10:59

You really have now. You go through school, you graduate one by our school. How long is that process?

Tripp: 11:05

on first school five weeks Okay, it's six days away off on Sundays. When I say this, I want to preface this statement by saying I don't mean military style, but it's got a military format, whereas and Harry was a US Marine, retired US Marine and before he went into Umpiring in the National League, and so the way it was set up is it? You have classroom in the morning and then you have field work. There's calisthenics, there's formation and lines where everything's regimented and everybody's working together, which I really like. That approach like where you're you're trying to be the best individual you can't, to be the best class that you can be. Yeah, five weeks long, and wow, I was a very naive person, I guess, because I thought at that time there was a hundred and seventy five students that were gonna take 20, the top 25 To go on to an advanced training.

Tripp: 11:50

There's two umpire schools at this time. There was the Jim Evans Academy it was a longtime American League umpire and then Harry Wendell said school. They took the top 25 from each class to go on to an advanced placement into the minor leagues, almost like another tryout. Okay, so essentially, umpire school, five week long trial and they're trying to see if you can learn the stuff. They're teaching the rules. You know, we went through the entire rulebook in five weeks, you know, and it's my god kind of crazy to think about it now. Yeah, and it's the rulebook. It's been, I guess, changed on the layout, the form of it, but it used to be like one of those adventure novels where it would say if you want to go to drive his car off the cliff, turn to page 58. If you want him to turn around, turn page 22. The rulebook used to be like that. You go through that, you learn how to work a two umpire system which, when I graduated with, from a hundred seventy five students in my class, I finished somehow two in my class, number two, wow, and Got hired in them to a minor league baseball. Thank you, summer, wow.

Tripp: 12:48

So then you did the minor league route. Yeah, nine years in the minor leagues, I man. I started out in the New York Penn League. I've never been to New York and never been to Boston, and I remember I was the driver. So like that means I had my car right, my little. I was a Chevy cobalt. So the Chevy cobalt, my league meeting was an Aberdeen, maryland. I was at a Baltimore, the iron birds, cal Ripken juniors, his corporation, or they own the team. They probably still do. And my first assignment was low Massachusetts, home of the spinners low spinners.

Scott: 13:22

There we go. Yeah, yep, go up north. It's not for Patek Rhode Island. Did you ever make the rounds to the McCoy State in the Tuckett Red Sox?

Tripp: 13:29

I missed what was called used to be called the international league. Yeah, triple A for me was the Pacific Coast League. Okay, which has always been laughable for me, it was named the Pacific Coast League because it used to be all the West Coast, but when I was there Nashville, memphis, new Orleans, omaha they were on the Pacific Coast League. I'm like this is anything but the Pacific Coast. This is like three time zones. Are you kidding me?

Scott: 13:50

Yeah, it was so weird. I grew up in Tuckett, I worked for the concession stands and kind of behind the scenes stuff. But you know we saw a lot of, you know umpires come through, a lot of players come through and it was interesting because the international league was segmented towards the Northeast for a while. And then Late 90s, early 2000s, they started jumbling everything up and you get a West Coast team and you're what the hell's going on here?

Tripp: 14:11

Yeah, and actually the interesting part about the international league is that there used to be a team in Ottawa. Yeah right, part of the international league. Another reason, and I think even Puerto Rico, way back in the day. But yeah, the minor leagues, you know it's changed a lot even since I was there. But you know, when Harry was there they had like a, b, d. You know a, b, c, d levels, like they had all these little towns. Like you know, north Carolina's got some teams. You know I went to Greensboro back in the day trying to think of other teams in North Carolina. I went to, oh, raleigh, there was it. We were in Zebulun. That was double a when I was, when I was in the Southern League. But yeah, nine years, nine years in the minor leagues, driving either my car, driving a minivan with two other guys, I believe me as a single man, driving a minivan, nothing, nothing says loser. Oh, I'm gonna be man.

Scott: 14:54

Nothing keeps you single, huh.

Tripp: 14:56

Yeah, exactly matter of fact, when I met my wife, we were I was in double a, and so I can vividly remember her flying to Huntsville, alabama, with a broken ankle and Her riding the minivan going to the ballpark with us. Oh, that's love.

Scott: 15:12

So you know, working for the second red sox I saw you know a lot of you know with the clubhouse attendance did and you're doing laundry and I've always wondered this who did your laundry? Did you guys just do your own laundry, just wash your own clothes and no, that's a great question because a lot of people don't think about it.

Tripp: 15:27

No, we had club. We have clubhouse attendance as well, and, all right, it would be either the home or visiting clubhouse attendant for the team. Most of time it'd be the visiting guy. They would be assigned to our locker room and so you know they would take care of us. They provide, you know we'd have a couple waters and they get. You know, in the locker room We'd have a locker room, just you know, to shower after the game. Get ready, pregame we used to rub all the baseballs and I can remember rubbing dozens and hundreds of dozens of baseballs Long ago. You know we don't even touch them anymore. Yeah, the clubhouse attendance would take care of us and you know we'd tip them for their work. Well, they provide food after the game and you know, even in the lower minor leagues you'd walk in there. There might be two bears sitting there. You know, one for you and your crewmate and you know you are to that. So, yeah, and then now the major leagues, like we, get some of the best treatment you can imagine.

Tripp: 16:13

And when you think about how many games Baseball players play you know, 162 in the majors you know it would be like 140 to 144 in the minor leagues, depending on the league and the umpires. You know, in the minor leagues you're working all those games Like you don't have any time off in the minors. And so when you're working all those games, like when you get after the game and you get under a shower, you leave, you come back. It's so nice to have you clean clothes and In the major leagues my trunk ships ahead. So after the game I pack it up and it's gone to the next city. When I go from New York to Minneapolis, when I get to Minneapolis my locker is ready to go, everything's set up, ready to go. So it's so nice having that. It's a luxury. Honestly, it's a major luxury.

Scott: 16:52

Oh nice, you earned it. You know you've been through so much just to get to there. I heard on another podcast your story about your call-up. As you're telling, I was driving and I'm listening to it. I started kind of as such a huge, huge baseball fit. I started welling up. It was such an awesome story. Would you mind telling telling us about the day you got called up to the major leagues?

Tripp: 17:12

Yeah, I remember it had been about a year and a half lead up to this to better explain. So I say on task and target here with my story when you get the triple a, it's kind of like put up or shut up time All the things you've learned in single a which you know. There used to be four levels of single a and then you spent two or three years in double a and you hit all those levels. Right, players get promoted, they bounce from single a. All of a sudden they're in triple a, they're in the big leagues two years later, right? Well, that doesn't happen for an umpire. So when you get hired you're expecting 10 years. You get the triple a and you're like okay, my goal now is to make major league spring training. I want to be a call up to work or an invite. Like you see, these players They'll sound like minor league contract invite to major league spring training. So that's kind of what you want as an umpire. You want to get that invite. And I got the triple a and I had a great crew chief, great crew. I was, you know, about to propose to Dana, my wife and you know I'm like thinking, okay, I want to get to major league spring training.

Tripp: 18:04

But to get major league spring, you have to go to the Arizona fall league first, which is kind of where they send the hot prospect players to you. Go there, you're under like a major microscope. It's almost like umpire school again, but it's a super, super competitive, which is good, because competition makes you better right A lot of the time. Half to almost all the guys that go to the Arizona fall league, because there's usually only like 12 to 15 umpires that go, all you know, out of triple a those guys are not on what they call the call-up list, meaning I can get called up to work for a sick, injured, vacationing umpire, who you know. Maybe they're going to their daughters high school graduation, whatever, so that I'm not on the call-up list yet. That's why I got to go to the fall league, did well in the fall league, go to major league spring training and so on 2012, I go into Major League Spring training my first ever, scared to death not really scared to death, but nervous, right, I don't want to screw up. This is my big shot on the big stage, even though this is not even the Major League yet, and after spring I get awarded a number, and so I'm number 73, and that was the number they gave me in 2012. And so I went all year as a call-up on the list, right, and I didn't work. Dana and I had our first son that July and kept thinking maybe the last week of the season I'll get called up to work to Seattle. We got married in September and it didn't happen, right, and that's pretty bummed, you know, and we're a religious family, we have a lot of faith and kind of just prayed a lot about it and was like you know what? I need to stop worrying about all this and just let things happen, because I'm a big believer of like, if you just put your nose in the groundstone and go do your job, like good things will happen, right. And so that's kind of what I did.

Tripp: 19:40

Went into the next year, 2013, you know, go to Major League Spring training again, and so this is a year later after getting my number being on the call-up list and not being used, and I saw some other guys that were kind of with me in that group, the Fall League, and they're working in the Major Leagues and I'm not, you know, I'm not jealous, but I'm more or so just kind of angry at myself, like that I screw up, and I guess it was. So. My first game was July, the 8th of 2013, in Phoenix, arizona, the Dodgers of the Diamondbacks. But it was like two weeks before that and I get a phone call and it's my boss and he's calling me and he's like our liaison supervisor between he's a Major League supervisor but he's between he handles all the AAA umpires and another supervisor who handles AAA umpires, and they're kind of like going so trip, you know, how do you think you've been doing lately? And I'm like I think I've been doing pretty good, you know. And he's like, no, no, not really seeing that, not really seeing that we've got some problems. And so I'm on the phone thinking like, and so they go, hey, we're gonna patch in this other boss. And so they patch him into the call. So I'm sitting on the call, I'm like I'm about to get reamed. I am literally about to get reamed. And they're like, yeah, so you know, we were thinking might need you come two weeks from now. I'm like, okay, he's like, yeah, how would you like to make your Major League debut in Phoenix, arizona, the Dodgers are playing the Diamondbacks and I'm so excited At that time, if you go back and look at history, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks literally had a bench clearing brawl.

Tripp: 21:08

Like a couple of days before they made, they gave me this call and so I'm thinking to myself I'm gonna have a brawl, I'm gonna have to handle this in the Major League. I'm freaking out and I'm like I'm so ecstatic. I called the crew. I was like, hey, let's go to lunch. And so we went to lunch and I'm the crew chief and I bought lunch and I'm like, hey, I got some news and we celebrate and everybody's so excited.

Tripp: 21:28

And a couple of weeks go by, I've made all the phone calls to everybody. I'm trying to get everybody there my dad, my stepmom, I'm trying to get my mom there, my wife, kid and, you know, all the grandparents, let everybody know. And it's almost like one of those things when you build something up too much, it's almost like I don't want to let them down. So like part of me didn't want to tell hardly anyone because I didn't want to like screw up and feel like, well, tripp got a cup of coffee in the Major League, that was it right. I didn't want to be that guy. I guess one of the funnier parts of this story is the day before I left to fly to Phoenix.

Tripp: 22:00

I was in Nashville, tennessee, working in the National Sounds, and I don't recall who the visiting team was, but the sounds were the Brewers organization. I'm not going to name the pitchers name. He's still pitching right now, to this day, but he's pitching and I'm working first base. In AAA it's three umpires, sometimes four, but I'm at first base and there's a ball hit down the right field line. That is what we call a pole bender, so it kind of wraps around the pole right. You've been to plenty games the Fenway, you got Pesky pole there. Oh yeah, such a pain in the rear, but it's so cool because it's just an odd layout. You know the field and the fans are right there on top of reaching over the fence. Anyways, this ball is hitting the air and I've got it above the pole. The minor leagues, these foul poles, are not like Major League foul poles. They're pretty short, so anything hit high enough is going to be above the pole. So I kind of got it wrapping around the pole fair, it's all point the ball fair.

Tripp: 22:50

And before I knew it the pitcher is going crazy Like I'm talking crazy and I'm like stop, stop, stop. I ended up ejecting him. Right. The manager comes out. He is calming me down. Calming him down, he's like hey, tripp, I think you got it right. So he's like defending me, right. But he's trying to get his pitcher, who probably had been shelled that game and he gives up a home run. He's mad. So the game ends, the night ends.

Tripp: 23:17

Of course, I have to type up this report. By the way, when we have an ejection, it's literally like two hours of report writing. Serious, yeah, because you got to get all the language right and it goes to attorneys and it goes to the Major League Baseball Players Association and the office and all these people have to read. It's a legal document, right? Oh, wow, that's nuts. And I get it because there's any assessiveness. You know there could be fines, there could be suspensions, whatnot. I got to make sure that I'm handling as professional as possible what you do. The game ends, the night ends.

Tripp: 23:45

I've got like a 430 AM wake up call flying from Nashville to Phoenix and of course, I'm in suit and tie. I'm flying first class for the very first time ever because I'm going to the big leagues. And guess who starts loading the plane? The Nashville sounds. They start loading the plane and I'm sitting there in first class and they're all sitting in the back of the plane, right, because they're flying to the next city. And I see the pitcher and he stops and looks at me and he goes hey, tripp, what are you doing up here? And I go I'm headed to the big leagues. Baby, I just thrown him out the night before. Now I'm headed to the big leagues. It was a pretty funny moment, that's awesome, yeah.

Tripp: 24:37

And then man getting the like you said, getting the call, and no one that I'm going down into history books is working in the major leagues. You know having my wife, my son there, and I remember. So I started at second base and I worked with retired Major League umpire Tim McClellan, oh yeah, retired Major League umpire Marty Foster, and then current crew chief Marvin Hudson. I'm at second. I think in the second inning I had a call at second where I called Hanley Ramirez out. It was all of a sudden like the boom the butterflies were gone. I was like I'm a Major League umpire. I mean, I went under contract, but I'm like here I am, it's awesome.

Tripp: 25:10

Worked first base the next night and there was a incident where the Marvin had the plate and he had to issue warnings, meaning he had to warn both teams. The dugouts, the players, like I think a batter got hit might have been on purpose, and so I'm thinking to myself I'm going to have the plate tomorrow, there's going to be a brawl, I'm going to have to handle the brawl, I'm going to eject the pitcher. I don't know what's going to happen. Right On July 10th of 2013, I worked home plate for the very first game ever and if, as if, I would forget it it went 14 innings. Oh my God, five hours and like 15 minutes. Are you kidding me? First game, are you serious? Yes, 14 innings.

Scott: 25:48

Like I just want to go to bed and beat. Wow, that's crazy. There's also spring training. I mean it gets spring training good. Full season it's post season. I mean that's just a long time. How do you manage being on the road that long? It's got to be crazy.

Tripp: 26:03

That's an interesting question. So I got hired full time in 2015 and in the year of 2014,. And I'm going to go into that answer, but you just asked me in a second. In 2014, I taught at Harry Wendell's that's Empire School for 10 years as well. So in 2014, I taught the whole month of January. The first week of February in Daytona I was gone for my family and then I went to Major League Spring training starting the end of February. So I was home for like two and a half three weeks and went to Major League Spring, went right into the season. I worked basically the entire Major League season. I was up as a call up right. So I was still tripling umpire working in the major leagues and I bounced around from Del Scott, retired American League umpire, became full time major league umpire when they joined staffs in 2000. Worked with him half the season and then with the guy named Tom Halyan, who was also retired, and a couple other crews in there as well. But I worked 149 games that year. So I got taught at umpire school Major League Spring training, the full season. In August they called me and said hey, you haven't been to Winter Ball yet, we're going to send you to the Dominican Republic. Oh my God. On top of that, to answer your question, 2014, I was gone from my own Personal bed 322 nights. Oh my Lord, that's crazy. Um, and then I got hired in January of 2015. So I was in the Dominican when they hired me.

Tripp: 27:17

And, to answer your question, think about, like number one, what my wife had to put up with when I was in the minor leagues of being gone, especially that year in 2014. We had a young son and I was just gone. I mean, they got a few times. I mean they only think, come travel with me for a couple of weeks, they come out for a series or two, that's it Right. I mean, if we've got St Louis and Kansas City and we could drive together or or what you know, and now the kids are getting older and being gone.

Tripp: 27:42

People always say, like you know, what's the hardest part of the job? My answer is always the same the hardest part of the job is also the part I like the most, which is the travel. I love traveling, going to different cities, different restaurants, meeting new people, having my family come out, but the travel is what keeps me gone and it is extremely difficult. You know my boys are getting older, they're playing sports, you know they're in school and then being able to come out doesn't happen as often as when they're little, yeah, Right. And you know, Dana, to be an umpire's wife.

Tripp: 28:12

Not only do you have to understand that well, number one, I'm not curing cancer, Right? So even though people hate me and they don't even know who I am, they have to understand like not really the real world. I mean Twitter, X, whatever. It's not really the real world. I mean it's not like having a conversation face to face with somebody, and so anybody, anything that people say about me, it's just low and awesome steam, yeah. And you know, once you get past that and then you understand that your husband is gone and she has to make all the decisions, like basically, she's basically she has to live like a single parent until I get home on an off day or vacation week or whatever. So I can't honestly imagine the things that she goes through until she tells me but it's like man, it's almost impossible. Like it really is, Like you gotta have a very, very tough spouse, yeah, and you know so.

Scott: 28:58

I worked with Danna at Boston Beer, and she was traveling for a while too, so I mean, that's got to be, you know, just so hard on her, but she's, she's an angel, you know, being able to do that and to let you live your dream too, you know, to let you do what you love to do.

Tripp: 29:12

Well, that's funny too is that I knew what I signed up for to be a major league umpire. So when people get upset with me, like that's just part of it, right, I'm doing the best I can, like I'm gonna try to get every call right. I know that I'm not going to be get every call right, it's not possible but she knew that this was my dream and it's amazing that you know she signed up for it right. Sometimes I'm like I can't believe you actually signed up for this crazy wild ride.

Scott: 29:34

Did you not know any other men?

Tripp: 29:38

I'm thankful, yeah right, our two sides of crazy kind of go together so.

Scott: 29:42

So does she? You know, if she's in a game and you're there and the other crowd turns on you, does she get? Does she feel it? Does she get all fired up and want to scream back?

Tripp: 29:50

You know, I think that she's probably heard me boo so much it doesn't even faze her. I will say this in 2017, I worked the world baseball classic oh wow In Miami and I had to play at the plate. It was Dominican Republic versus Columbia and it's the bottom of the ninth. Columbia is the home team and there's one out with a runner at third. So Columbia's got a runner at third and the game's tied. So this run wins the game. I can't remember the hitter, but he hits a fly ball lazy fly ball to left field for out number two for the catch, right. Well, the runner third tags up. This is the winning run of the game and this is the world. So we have two countries that are trying to beat one another.

Tripp: 30:30

The ballpark in Miami, the Marlins stadium, is packed. I mean I'm talking, oh yeah, huge fan base and Dana's there and she showed me videos after the game but like, literally, there was like little parties going on in the stands as if it was like the greatest day of the people, this people's lives, that were there, all the runner out to send in an extra innings and Columbia they're all leaving the dugout about to celebrate and high five their runner because they're gonna win the game right, except for I Called him out, so there's no, there's no winning of the game. It's we're going extra innings and all those guys like rushed me and ended up having to eject like six people. Oh no, and if you freaked out and security actually had to get her, they brought her down the locker room. She was just worried for me because she's like I'm never seen anything like that before, like that, that type of a yeah, all like on you.

Tripp: 31:15

I mean like you hear it from the stands, but I mean she does, I. We don't hear. We don't hear the booze. I mean we feel the energy, but you're so focused on what's happening in front of you that big crowds, you don't hear the comments at all. Small crowds where you hear some things. But yeah, I remember. I mean this is kind of an old one, but I remember the minor leagues when the cell phones got really way, way more popular. You know it's like hey, hey, blue. You've got your phones been ringing all game. You've got three missed calls and like, oh, what an original. Well, this was only three. You wish, by the way, we don't even go about, we don't even wear blue, so we don't even go by blue, because my name's Tripp. Nice to meet you, scott.

Scott: 31:55

Well, that's what I wanted to get into. Next, you're known for your accuracy. I mean, I was looking up some of your stats and Was it? Last year you almost called a perfect game. You missed two calls and a game and it blew up Twitter and it went crazy.

Tripp: 32:10

It was pretty insane you know, I, I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't. I don't have social media number one, so I don't look at those things. I do get told or wise man. Well, I mean, if you're having a bad day, you should just type my name into X, trip umpire, trip gifts and you're gonna laugh Hysterically. Mean people are. I think one of my wife's from your one of them. It says it's a trip gifts and sounds more like a NASCAR driver than an umpire.

Tripp: 32:34

I was like that's actually pretty good, I like that. But, right. So, you know, I pride myself on being the best I can. And look, there's days where I woke up, funny, and I'm just not seeing the ball, like I did the game before, right, the plate job before, and I approach it Kind of like a hitter would, like I'm trying to see it out of his hands, and then I get to see it into the catcher's mitt where so I've got like an, I got an advantage of like three extra feet or Three and a half feet that a hitter doesn't get to look at it that far. And then I get to kind of think about it too, right. So as far as accuracy, like I have good games, I have bad games, you know, and I just try to minimize the number of bad games.

Tripp: 33:11

And then again it goes back to what I was saying earlier about knowing that you're not gonna be perfect. You have to kind of. You have to kind of look at it. I mean, once you, once you've worked thousand games, you know, once you've worked a lot, of a lot of baseball, seen a lot of innings, you look at like the things Okay, what did I do right, what did I do wrong? And then you learn from it and you just kind of move on. You just got to kind of wipe it clean, honestly, like a hitter. I, you know, I'm trying to teach our kids as they're getting older and I help out with their baseball teams. It's like I call it amnesia, baseball amnesia. You have to like okay, what did I do right, what did I do wrong? Okay, now we got to forget it, because if you did great or if you did bad, well, you just kind of kind of wipe it and Move on to the next one. Yeah, do the best you can, right, and so. And then I will say this too there's a lot of different media outlets out there that kind of great us statistically, and the one that matters is is what we get from from baseball, and I know that people don't see that one, which is fine, but it all goes back down to this like I'm gonna do the best I can.

Tripp: 34:46

I want to do my best I can, being a good communicator on the field too, which is something I actually pride myself in more. How can I communicate with my relationships on the field? And when I say relationships like I'm not going out having dinner with baseball players, right, but how can I handle myself in a professional manner To know people? And that's the other thing. You build rapport, right. I mean there's players that I've had in the minor leagues that are in the major, yeah, and so I've known those guys.

Tripp: 35:12

I mentioned the picture that I ejected and you know what? We get along great now. I mean it's we laugh about it, right. And so you build that rapport, you build that relationship, that reputation, and it kind of comes, it kind of preceded you a little, you know, and so I pride myself on that and I do my best to get to know guys like I want to know like where they're from, where they played college ball. If they played college ball, are they married? They have kids, you know, because that we have something to talk about.

Tripp: 35:34

Yeah, when you work in the bases, especially first, second, third, you have more opportunity to talk. Now with the pitch Timer these days you don't have as much opportunity. You speed that up, you gotta go right. But yeah, you know accuracy is important. I want to be correct as much as possible, but I know that there's gonna be years where I'm gonna be better than I was the year before or I might not be as good, but try to minimize those. The best you can block out all the noise, right the social media noise. That the best I can right.

Scott: 36:01

And then, yeah, just go out there and every and every day is a new day, yeah you ever make a call where, as soon as you made the call, you're like oh, that was. Yeah, I was wrong there. Did you kind of walk it off?

Tripp: 36:12

100%, absolutely. We umpires. We call that timing, and what timing is is the moment you see the play or you see the pitch. The timing is that space, that amount of time between seeing it and actually calling it, and what happens sometimes is your timing it's too fast. And you see it, it's like oh, and you make a call, make it this, oh yeah, and you're like, oh hell, oops.

Tripp: 36:35

So I got, I got hired in 15 and it 14 was the first year of instant replay and I was hired because of openings in the job, because of replay. And you know I will say this about replay I'm not on Sports Center on rerun 16 times because I missed a call that decided the game and more replay fixes that. And yeah, don't get me wrong, like I sleep better Knowing that I didn't decide a game and there are still plays and calls that we can make that aren't reviewable. I sleep better knowing that, but it still hurts to get overturned by replay. Because I'm human, I want to be great, I want to be the best, right, and, like I just told you, you're not always gonna be yeah, yeah, I was wondering.

Scott: 37:16

If you make that call, you turn around you're like oh shoot, nobody look at me, nobody look me in the eyes right now.

Tripp: 37:22

You want to hide? Yeah, I know.

Scott: 37:24

So we're going into spring training now and you're getting ready to roll down there. One of the cool things about spring training is that organizations will bring in their old players. They're legends and kind of help out, be on the field.

Tripp: 37:36

Have you ever been just awestruck by a Legend that was just sitting on the field just hanging out like yeah the first time that I want to say awestruck, but just kind of like I'm in his presence and you're probably gonna hate me when I say this. Oh no, but I got to work Derek Jeter's last year, all right, okay, I'll give you a jeter. I'll give you jeter. The way he handled me into as an individual. He walked up and you know they have our names, they know our names on the list of the dugout. He's a hatred. How's it going? Congrats on getting here, man. You know, keep having a great year and it's awesome. Just the way he he was so professional, was like okay, he didn't have to even speak to me, he didn't have to say a word, but he went out of his way to do that and I just will never forget it because my experiences with dealing with him have are great, right so, derek Jeter, and know that he's more of the recent era, right Then. Then, what you're referring to and I'm trying to think of a guy offhand but you know, I've met so many people. I you know what I met. I met Ozzie Smith at the airport and growing up, you know, with the Wiz, the wizard, there, I just I was like, you know, meet and help was super cool because, you know, I look back at my childhood and he's the greatest shortstop that I ever saw, you know, growing up, as far as just the pure athleticism and the things he can do. Yeah, and you do meet a lot of people in this job, traveling, but my family, when we were working, I opened the season in Japan in 2019. It was actually East Rose last game, so he announced his retirement in Japan, his home country, which was super cool Because the Mariners played the A's and I'll never forget and this is more for my wife, diana, because she grew up in the Seattle area we were walking through the hotel and she had one of those like moments where you could just she just let up this giant gasp of air and I'm like what he goes?

Tripp: 39:17

You can even talk, she's pointed and it was, it was Ken Griffey Jr, oh, you know, and and for her to be able to experience that growing up here, that was really rad. And then we ended up meeting him later in that week. He was at the same restaurant and we've been talking to him for a while. And then I worked a series in Seattle and he was there on like on Griffey Jr Night and he ended up coming to the locker room and he met my men, our boys, and we actually have a really cool photo with him. Wow, and the boys. And so for things like that for me means you know, mean the most. It would a nice. You know he's not playing anymore and I never umpire any of his games, but what a nice man.

Scott: 39:49

Yeah, one of the things I saw being friends on social media with your wife is last year you worked the all-star game, which was in Seattle, and I saw some really cool pictures and your kids made out like bandits. It was, take your kids to work day.

Tripp: 40:04

Yeah, it was, you know, and you know, as umpires, like I'm not gonna ask anybody for their autograph. I was Seattle won an autograph. Neither autograph or whatever. Yeah, but my kids do, hold them. I said and I go, look, this is all dependent on how aggressive you can be and polite. And I told the boys, I said, look, if you see somebody, you recognize them, go up and ask them. You know you're never gonna say you'll let yes, unless you ask them. And if you do it respectfully. You know, and they met a ton of guys. They, they did. They actually sat and talked to Ozzy Albie's for for a little while. That was that was pretty cool.

Tripp: 40:39

So, um, yeah, that experience was great. You know the best part of that you're working the all-star game was fun, don't get me wrong. But being in the stands for home run, derby, sitting with my family and, you know, to have a beer, watching the crowd go crazy when Julio's hitting home runs over the fence, like that was really fun, like that was a blast. You know, yeah, and here's a funny thing is that when we got in the ballpark and I'm coming in through the concourse, my wife's like, let me show you around. I Know the underbelly of the stadium. I don't know like which place has the best broad or Seattle dog, or which place has craft beer, like I didn't know anything.

Scott: 41:16

All right, you have to ask me us to four of my seats. Where's the restrooms? That's fantastic when you're in spring training. Have you ever seen somebody? And you know, please don't name names or I don't want to put you in, you know conflict, but has there been somebody that you were watching and you were like, oh my god, this guy has it.

Tripp: 41:34

Absolutely, absolutely 100%. I mean I can name a few names in it. I mean I, when I had Freddie Freeman in double A and he was miss graves, you just knew he was gonna be a major league baseball player.

Tripp: 41:44

And not only just the major league baseball player, but a really good one. You just knew he had that approach right, anything that he still does, and what I'll say about this too and this doesn't have to teach my kids late they got works hard, I every day to get better right, and that's something that is very honorable and admirable for him. Paul Goldschmidt was another guy that I had early on. You know that still, I mean to this day, like working nonstop. I mean he just a couple years off in MVP. There are guys you know, but you know what. There's guys that you would never have thought.

Tripp: 42:16

I remember seeing Jose Ramirez and the Dominican Winter League and then all of a sudden, this guy is like you know he's a star, so it's, it goes both ways, it really does because you almost feel just as good for them when you see them and they're great and they still stay great and they're kind. But also the guys that surprised you too, you feel just as good for them because it's like, oh wow, it just goes to show, man, like you got so many great athletes working so hard, it is so hard, it's so hard to become a major league baseball player. I mean it's extremely difficult to become an umpire, I think I think less than 1% of the guys that go to umpire school actually make it to the major leagues as an umpire. But I mean, I was looking at it up not too long ago there's only been like 10,000 major league baseball players ever. Oh wow, like in the history of the game.

Scott: 43:01

It's a crazy set yeah 100 and whatever years, 100 plus years that's insane. So, as a Red Sox fan, I noticed this statistic. You ejected Aaron bleeping boon.

Tripp: 43:12

I can tell you that anytime there's an ejection, it's always called situational ejections, meaning like a call led to excitement, which the call was either correct or incorrect. And you know what. The ejections are just part of the game and it all goes back to the way you handle people, right. And when I look at the video of any ejection and that one I've looked at too right, I felt like I handled myself in a professional, respectable manner and you know what, in that situation, Aaron did the same thing, right. And when you have those, most of the time they're defending their player, boston.

Tripp: 43:44

And that ballpark is probably still one of my favorite ballparks, even though it's so quirky. It's got such a strange layout. You know the way. It's just the different shape. And actually I'm going to jump in and say this when you think about sports stadiums, baseball fields are probably the coolest because they're all different, whereas like an NBA arena or hockey or even, you know, soccer and NFL, like they're all kind of the field dimensions, most all the same. Yeah, in baseball they're all different, but that's something about working games there. Anyways, you get a ladder on the monster, for goodness sake.

Tripp: 44:16

I mean, like, I mean there's, I mean, but yeah, I mean, I actually remember, like if I see the list of all them, I can't tell you how many times I've ejected somebody and ejections are only literally 1% of our job, because my job actually is to try not to eject someone, Just try to keep them in the game, especially players, right? If I know two people are mad at me. Like, the player's job is to play, and I'm going to. If the manager does it the right way and he comes out and gets ejected, he's keeping his player in the game right and that's what I want him to do too, which because people aren't paying to see me. Matter of fact, we just we mentioned it in the very beginning of this podcast Like I kind of want to be invisible, Like I don't, and that's another reason why it was I was upset after the game that I actually had an ejection because I wanted to be invisible in that game. I didn't want anybody to even know I was there.

Scott: 45:03

How does the pay structure work on those games? Do you hope for longer series or do you like all right, if we could get a sweep?

Tripp: 45:09

that'd be great. That's a great question, because we get paid salary like a school teacher right Once a month. Postseason's a little different. There's, you know, there's other things because you got to get rewarded post seasons for your body of work throughout the year, but also kind of like a cumulative amount of body of body of work for the last few years to kind of get to different assignments, like the World Series that I got so fortunate to work in 2022. Those few years kind of led up to that and that specific particular season. So, yeah, you do, you do get paid extra for those things.

Tripp: 45:40

And so you know, working a game, that's a sweep or not a sweep, there's no difference. I mean, honestly, when you're doing your job like you don't, you can't think about those things. You just got to think about the next call. Because, if you like thinking yourself, I just made a great call. All of a sudden, boom, there's another call right in front of you, and so when you go into those games like this past year I worked game six behind the plate in the National League Championship Series and I had to go into that series me mentally going it's going to go at least six games I couldn't like, hey, it's going to be a sweep.

Tripp: 46:08

And then all of a sudden, boom, I got to work to play game six. Like I can't think that way. Right, I have to prepare myself. Yeah, and you know you didn't ask this, but I'll say it. We fly commercial and so we don't fly private charters, team charters, like the players do, and so a lot of times you have a night game on getaway day, and you know, and you got to catch a six am flight the very next day to go to the next city to work a game that night. So think about being wired and then having to try to sleep three or four hours and then get up and go to the airport and do it again. It's difficult, it can be exhausting.

Scott: 46:37

Oh, God, I bet you you got some serious sky miles, huh.

Tripp: 46:40

Yeah, I've flown a lot, no doubt a lot of hotel. So you mentioned working though that Houston Phillies game 2022 World Series game where Houston's pitchers collectively through the no hitter so the question people always ask when they, when you work in no hitter or part of a game like that, they all say when did you know, you know, like when did you know there were no right?

Tripp: 47:01

I'm doing the third inning and I remember my mind going, ok, bryce Harper walked in the first, so the perfect game's gone. And you know, and most nerve wracking game I've ever worked, and the main reason was it was the World Series number one. Yeah, right, didn't want to screw up Number two, I didn't want to affect the no hitter one way or the other. Right, I didn't want to be a part of the reason why there was no hitter, I didn't want to be a part of the reason why there wasn't. So I was just like, ok, just slow down, like timing, go back to that timing thing, like just keep everything as slow as possible, stay within yourself. I remember coming off the field kind of in disbelief.

Tripp: 47:39

We go out to our tunnel, kind of off to the third base side of home plate there at Citizens Bank, and we go up the tunnel there and all of the media was lined up in the tunnel and they had a ton of like Philadelphia media and of course the Phillies had just lost and it was stone cold quiet because they just got no hit. And it was such an eerie feeling because I had just worked my first ever home plate game in the World Series, and I just wanted to scream and celebrate, just be like it was major accomplishment. My family was there. Not only was it my first game behind home plate in the World Series, it was also a no hitter. I didn't know that it was only the second no hitter. I mean, the other one was a perfect game.

Tripp: 48:23

So there's no way to really compare it the two because what Don Drysdale does, it's different than combined. It's still amazing, amazing that it happened so crazy. Yeah, everybody in the tunnel was dead quiet so we had to like. When we got in the locker room. That's when all the umpires were like, oh my crewmates go, are you kidding me? Because, look, I didn't pitch the ball, I didn't throw the ball first, I didn't hit the ball, I didn't do any of that stuff Right, but I was a witness of one of the coolest events, if not the coolest event of the 2022 World Series, one of the coolest events in the World Series, and I was just fortunate enough to be the guy wearing the mask behind the plate.

Scott: 48:59

It's so crazy. When I was doing the research on it I was looking at it all up. I didn't realize that that was only the second one as well. And an interesting connection to this was one of the umpires that was in the 1956 Don Larson game. His name is Hank Soar. He is from Pawtucket, rhode Island, my hometown. His son was the private school head coach for every single sport and was an amazing guy, has fields named after him. We played against him when I was in high school and it was just kind of that is cool. I think I'm really reaching for it. That's what I'm doing.

Tripp: 49:32

No, no, I don't think so at all. I think things like that are interesting.

Scott: 49:36

It was a really, really cool thing to see. I mean, you're going to be in hundreds more crazy games too. I mean the things that you're going to see. It's got to be so exciting to go to the field every single day. I'm so jealous Last year.

Tripp: 49:49

I worked first base for Michael Lorenzen's no hitter and Philly, and I draw a blank on who the visiting team was. It might have been the Nationals. I didn't work home plate but I was such an honor for us as umpires to be a home plate umpire for one of those games and it kind of becomes like a stat that guys keep up with like, oh, you've worked a couple no hitters, you know whatever. But I was so thrilled for the guy that got to work, my crewmate. They got to work home plate because it was his first one. It was a complete game and he threw a ton of pitches and it was just. I was just happy for him. When we walk off the field I had to make the joke Because this was the season later from the World Series and I had to make the joke. Man, I haven't seen a no hitter here since, oh, the last World Series, because it was the same ballpark in the outfield. I don't know.

Scott: 50:34

Who are some of the funnier players giving you some grief and joking around with you out there?

Tripp: 50:39

Well, you know what offhand I can't think of guys. But I'll say this I'm not really a big jokester on the field, Like I do have laughs, right, no, you're wrong, but I always feel like the guys that talk the most are guys that have more than two or three, four years in the major leagues, Because the guys that are a little more comfortable being there, but also they know they're going to be there and so they're a little more, you know a little more. They talk more, right, the guys that kind of talk to you more. And there's tons of guys I've thought of some names, I don't think I want to name them, but yeah, they're, yeah, no, no, no, I feel like what you've been around a little while, guys that are more comfortable not only talking to you because you've been around a little while, but just talking in general, right?

Scott: 51:18

So you mentioned your boys were playing some ball. Did they feel any added pressure? Because their dad knows every single rule possible in this game that they're playing. You know what's funny.

Tripp: 51:28

I don't think they've really thought about it. I don't think they could care less because they've been around it so much. Now I mean, I have told them and tried to tell them to. Well, first and foremost I'll say this Actually, I'm obviously not a fan of any team or player.

Tripp: 51:47

It's all gone for me. I'm a baseball fan and I love it that they get to be fans of teams, fans of players and keep up with it. And I don't ever tell them stories about things unless they ask. And nothing negative, obviously, because I don't want to skew their perception of things. But for them to be able to be fans is important for me and to know the game.

Tripp: 52:14

But when they think about at least the way I see it, when they think about me as an umpire, I think they just say, yeah, my dad has a job on TV umpire's games. It's not really that big of a deal to them. I don't know. But then again, I don't know how it would take it either. I mean, they've been in the World Series, they've been to All-Star Game, they've been to tons of games. It's not an old hat. They love it, right, they love going. But I don't even know. I don't know what they talk about with their friends. Like, yeah, my dad's a majoring umpire. He goes to a job where he gets yelled at and booed on a regular basis. Hundreds of thousands of people in the world don't like him and they don't even know him.

Scott: 52:49

Their best friend's dad is a mailman. Nobody booze him all day long, I know I know, I don't come to your job and yell at you. Yeah right. Are you a big fan of other sports? Do you watch other sports on TV?

Tripp: 53:02

Yeah, definitely, we're Seattle Seahawks fans, and some people always go wait a second. You're from Kentucky. Well, let me put this in perspective. When I was growing up okay, the Rams of St Louis were in LA the first time.

Scott: 53:15

Yeah.

Tripp: 53:15

The Tennessee Titans were in Houston as the Oilers Yep Right, cincinnati wasn't really that good of a team at the time. Kansas City is too far, atlanta is too far I mean, at least for me to be a and so I didn't really have an NFL team. College basketball is probably my favorite sport now, especially since Kentucky. Kentucky's always been competitive and good. Oh yeah, every team, every squad, has their ups and downs and years are great and years are not whatever, but college basketball is definitely my favorite. And then the NFL.

Tripp: 53:48

And then the Kraken has just come in a couple of three years ago into Seattle and we actually went down to the Winter Classic, which was the outdoor game at T-Mobile, which was super cool, yeah, super great experience. That's awesome. And yeah, I've been to quite a few Seahawks games. We're sports fans. You know our boys. They play baseball and basketball and they've done flag football in the past and my dad was a collegiate golfer and so I grew up in a house where golf kind of was king for a long time. We grew up on golf course and, yeah, we just kind of do it all. And since I've lived in Washington now almost 12 years, especially with my wife's family, we've kind of become more outdoorsmen and hunting and fishing and hiking and just being outside. We live on a lake and we love water sports, love snow sports. We just got back from a nice ski trip and, yeah, just love doing everything, doing everything we can. But yeah, college basketball is my favorite. I mean college basketball, yeah. I mean it's a nice Wednesday. Kentucky plays LSU.

Scott: 54:46

Do you ever feel for the officials of those sports?

Tripp: 54:49

Yeah, you know what Sports officials is? A big fraternity it is. It's like a big community and I know tons of guys in the NBA, nfl, nhl. We all have a very similar job. It's interesting how our season begins and the NBA season ends kind of right about the same time. I probably know more NBA officials than I do other sports. But yeah, I mean, if I'm in town and you know, let's say I'm in, you know in Chicago and the Blackhawks are playing, you know, I'll try, I'll find out who's officiating the game.

Tripp: 55:20

I'll either go or meet up with them afterward. You know if I have a day off or whatever. And then you know, depending on the type of year it is like this year at spring training will be in.

Tripp: 55:28

I'll be in Arizona, for you know a few weeks and the Suns are in town, I'll find out who the officials are and we'll probably meet up and, you know, talk about the game or might even go to the game, you know, and maybe they'll want to go to a spring training game. So it's kind of fun doing it that way.

Scott: 55:42

Yeah Well, tripp, this has been fantastic. I'm so happy that you were able to do this. I'm honored. This has been really cool, eye-opening, definitely eye-opening, and I hope the listeners feel the same way because, you know again, major League umpire is something that people don't really think about. It's not something you just wonder how that guy got his job. You just watch your game and it's really cool to hear kind of all that backstory and to hear your successes over the years. So thank you again.

Tripp: 56:09

Scott, it was a pleasure, man. I enjoyed it. It's not hard to talk about yourself, that's for sure.

Scott: 56:16

I'm an old child, so I have no problem with it either. All right, cool. Thank you so much again. Best of luck with the season, spring training, regular season and everything else. We'll definitely be rooting for you and watching for you and hopefully get to Fenway a couple of times this coming year. Definitely have a great season.

Tripp: 56:34

I appreciate that. Yeah, I love going to Boston. It's just a great town.

Scott: 56:41

It's only my 14th episode. I'll catch on Danna's printer is going off.

Tripp: 56:47

Sorry, if I can hear it, Danna, what are you doing? Yeah, there we go.