It was Oct. 20, 1996.
It was Game 1 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, the New York Yankees hosting the Atlanta Braves. Andy Pettitte was on the mound for the Yankees, John Smoltz pitching for Atlanta.
And there was Larry Young, an NIU graduate, serving as the left field umpire, working his first World Series and living his dream.
Most kids dream of playing professional baseball, going to places like Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park in Boston. Young, who was born in Dixon and lived in Oregon for most of his childhood, fell in love with umpiring at a young age.
From the time he was 13 years old umpiring Little League games, Young’s interest in being an umpire grew and grew. He started umpiring church softball league games, and by the time he was in college he would be working pretty much every night, whether it be as an umpire in baseball or softball or as a referee in basketball.
“I had it in the back of my mind for a long time that I wanted to do it for a living,” said Young, who graduated from NIU with an education degree in 1976. “I would go anywhere and work anything. I was kind of doing it as a job when I was in high school and college.”
And it was that October night in the Bronx when Young’s ultimate goal had been fulfilled.
“The World Series was the most memorable game,” Young said. “My first World Series was very memorable. It felt like I had hit what I set out to accomplish years ago.”
From an umpire’s standpoint, the series went great, going without controversy for the most part, as the Yankees lost the first two games at home before winning four straight for their 23rd world championship.
“It wasn’t just another game, it was the epitome of baseball,” said Young, who now works with Major League Baseball as a supervisor of umpires. “You’re hoping your name wouldn’t remembered for a bad call.”
Young would experience basically everything a big league umpire could before retiring in 2007. He would go on to work another World Series in 2003. He also worked the AL Championship Series in 1992, 1998 and 2002, as well as the All-Star Game in 1991 and 2003.
He was on the field when a number of players reached milestones. He saw Nolan Ryan’s 5,000th strikeout, as well as Rod Carew, Rafael Palmeiro and Dave Winfield getting their 3,000th hit.
“I was lucky to see a lot of those types of games,” Young said.
GETTING STARTED
After college graduation, Young went through a five-week course at umpire school, and was one of the few to be given a job in the minor leagues. He started out in the Class A Midwest League, doing games in places like Appleton, Wis., and Burlington, Iowa.
Young would keep moving up the minor league ladder, and in the summer of 1983 while he was in Omaha working in the Class AAA American Association, he got the call to work his first big league game at the old Comiskey Park in Chicago, where the White Sox were hosting the Twins.
“Very memorable,” Young said. “I can remember just about every play.”
After splitting time between Triple-A and the majors in 1983 and 1984, Young was up for good in 1985, and would serve in the big leagues until an injury forced him to retire in 2007, when a line drive off the bat of Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young hit him in the knee during a game at Wrigley Field.
His knees already were in bad shape from his long career as an umpire, and Young only worked a couple of more days, umpiring his last game on July 22, 2007, at Wrigley Field. He took a month off before deciding to take his current position.
“They made it known that there was a position for me as a supervisor,” Young said. “I took a month off and told them I was ready to start that second career. [I] really have enjoyed that more than I thought I would. I enjoy this side of umpiring.”
SCARY MOMENT
The injury that helped force Young into retirement in 2007 wasn’t the only one he suffered on the baseball field. In fact, the worst injury he had came in 2001 when the Diamondbacks were visiting St. Louis.
Young was the second base umpire, and accidentally was hit in the face by a throw from Arizona second baseman Jay Bell.
Albert Pujols hit a ball that went off the second base bag, and Bell picked up the ball and didn’t see Young, who was standing in the path between Bell and first baseman Mark Grace.
“Jay Bell thought that he might be able to catch the runner. He grabbed it, didn’t look and just threw to first base,” Young said. “I was standing about two feet from him. The ball hit me right above the eye.”
Young had to get stitches and was forced to stay overnight in the hospital. But he was back working a week later.
“That was a very serious injury,” he said. “I had a nice scar.”
ARGUMENTS
Young says that most times when there’s an argument over a call, players and managers know it’s just business, and that it’s forgotten about the next day.
With the exception of former Orioles manager Earl Weaver.
“Earl Weaver was the absolute worst. He despised anyone who ever put on a blue shirt,” Young said. “Umpires don’t agree on much, but I think we can all agree on Earl Weaver.”
How did the two current Chicago managers treat him?
“Ozzie (Guillen)’s good. We have a very good relationship,” Young said. “We always got along really well.”
Young is able to speak Spanish, and once joked with Guillen that he couldn’t understand him in either English or Spanish.
However, Young has had his share of run-ins with Cubs manager Lou Piniella,
“We had a screaming match one time,” Young said. “We ended up yelling at each other going through the tunnel at Wrigley field.”
When it came to players who would give him a hard time, the first one that came to Young’s mind was Rickey Henderson.
“Rickey Henderson was a pain in the neck,” Young said. “Any time he didn’t swing at a ball, he called it a ball. He was not pleasant to deal with.”
CHANGE OF SCENERY
Baseball isn’t the only sport Young has officiated at the professional level.
In 1995, he worked as a referee in what was then the World Wrestling Federation. Instead of calling balls and strikes behind the plate, he was in the ring with the Undertaker and King Kong Bundy at WrestleMania XI in Hartford, Conn.
Young knew WWF (now World Wrestling Entertainment) commentator Jim Ross, as Ross had gone to umpiring school. It was Ross who booked the talent, so Young was able to work as a referee at WrestleMania because the 1994-95 strike still was going on.
“We had fun. It was very impressive,” Young said. “The Undertaker’s entrance was unbelievable. They know how to do it.”
