Steve Christman has worked games at the high school, college and minor league level, but he said nothing compares to calling balls and strikes in a Little League All-Star contest.
Christman was part of a standout umpiring crew in a July 17 Section 5 All-Star tournament game at Veterans Park. In three weeks, the Ione resident will receive an even bigger assignment—a spot in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
It was another goal that came to fruition for Christman, who was at Veterans Park on July 17 to call balls and strikes for an umpiring crew that included Kate Hart, Tony Ortiz and Ron Roberts. Hart umpires in District 9 in Salinas, while Ortiz and Roberts umpire in District 59 in San Jose. Hart has umpired in the Little League Softball World Series, Ortiz will be umpiring in this year’s Western Region tournament and Roberts umped in last year’s World Series. For Christman, umpiring is a labor of love.
“I’m just honored to go there (Williamsport) and be able to do what I love,” Christman said. “I can’t wait.”
Christman waited nine long years to receive the assignment; umpires can only apply to work in the World Series if they earn a spot to umpire a regional game. There are eight regions in the U.S., and the West Region happens to be one of the toughest regions for an umpire to get through to work in the World Series.
Christman, 56, is believed to be the only umpire out of the 2006 group that worked the West Regional who received the call to umpire in this year’s World Series. There are up to 14 different umpires who work the West Regional every year, but only two get selected to work Williamsport.
Since 2006, Christman has put in an application to work in the World Series.
“It’s a huge pool of candidates, and that’s why it takes nine to 10 years to get there,” he said.
Every umpire who works a Little League game does so on a volunteer basis. But no one seems as dedicated or passionate to his craft as Christman, the District 15 umpire chief who made the 146-mile drive to Hollister from his residence in Ione to work the July 17 game, then drove back home the same night to work a game in his district the next morning.
“Little League reminds me of what the game is always meant to be,” said Christman, who owns his own construction business. “In the upper level, guys lose sight of what it’s all about. In Little League, they just want to play the game.”
Christman never had a motivation to umpire until he was well finished with his first passion: bull riding. Christman grew up on a ranch around the Sacramento area, trained horses for 22 years and was a professional bull rider for 11 years before retiring at age 31.
Christman traveled nationally to compete in Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association events, and didn’t enter a competition unless it had a decent payout for the top placers. Christman grew up as a true lone cowboy.
“I got my first horse at 2, I lived out in the country and didn’t have any friends,” Christman said. “When I was 8, my best friend was a horse. We grew up together.”
Christman played baseball at Casa Robles High, but he was more of a fan of umpiring than the game itself.
“Umpiring is all about footwork, getting to the proper angle to put yourself in the right position to make the call and you’re involved in every aspect of the sport,” he said.
However, Christman never thought about umpiring until his sons started playing baseball. One day, when Christman was signing up his sons to play, he checked a volunteer box stating his interest in umpiring.
A short time later, Christman received a call to umpire a Majors Little League game—at the age of 36.
“I didn’t know a single thing other than playing baseball in high school,” he said. “No one told me anything other than that I could pick out a parent in the stands to be another umpire. The first two years of doing it, I didn’t have a clue of what I was doing. But I knew I had to be the best to see how far umpiring could take me.”
Christman worked four years in youth baseball before attending the Jim Evans Academy of Professional Umpiring in 2001 in Florida. For five weeks, Christman immersed himself in a camp led by the former Major League Baseball umpire.
“The rest is history,” Christman said. “After the camp, soon everyone started calling and asking me to put on clinics. Attending that camp changed everything for me.”
From there, Christman received assignments at the community college and NCAA level, along with summer minor league gigs. He also became an instructor, traveling out of state sometimes to give clinics.
For the last 20 years, Christman has balanced his own business, raising six sons and umpiring near and far. He’s been assigned to plenty of prestigious events, but the Little League World Series trumps them all.
“Little League reminds me why I got into umpiring and why I do it,” he said. “And to think it all started with checking a box.”
