Umpire makes hometown return at BlueClaws' series: 'I grew up coming to games here'

LAKEWOOD -- For Connor Crowell, last week's series between the Jersey Shore BlueClaws and Brooklyn Cyclones was a return to his baseball roots. But there weren't many, if any, cheers when he took the field at ShoreTown Ballpark. In fact, the best case scenario is that the Lacey native doesn't hear anything at all.

"I grew up 20 minutes from the stadium, so I grew up coming to games here," he said. "And now getting to work here is awesome. It was really cool, last night was my first time ever working here so I got to work in front of friends and family."

The work is calling balls and strikes, or as was the case in the April 17 game, determining who is safe and out on the base paths in addition to a myriad of other duties. The 2015 graduate of Lacey High School is treading the difficult path to the majors in a way few people do: as an umpire.

"We started out this year in Greensboro (North Carolina)," Crowell said. "Then went to Aberdeen (Maryland) and drove up on Sunday from Aberdeen to come here."

The series between the Cyclones and BlueClaws was his third of the season, providing a chance to return home for six days.

The grind of the minor leagues is the same for the aspiring umpires, minus the fleeting moments of glory after a home run or a strikeout-filled outing on the mound. For Crowell, he finds his own ways to embrace the challenges of the journey through the ranks of professional baseball.

"Obviously the goal, everyone's goal, is to get to the major leagues. And you have to go through every spot, every level to get to it." he said. "You have to enjoy the journey. You have to enjoy the grind. Going from place to place is tough, but it's a lot of fun. You get to experience a lot of different cultural things in this great country that we have."

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Rising through ranks of baseball 'a long journey'

While Crowell has found silver linings in his globetrotting journey, the six-game series with Jersey Shore was a fulfilling reminder of where his love for the game started.

"I grew up in Lacey, lived there for 24 years. Played high school baseball for Lacey. My dad was president of Lacey Little League for a few years," said Crowell. "All my friends growing up, I got from baseball. So luckily I'm still doing that, making new friends through baseball."

Crowell graduated from Lacey in 2015, having already began his career as an umpire at youth games to make some extra money. Given the intense nature of youth sports parents, it might have been a good baseline of training for his future profession.

"It's a lot different," he said with a chuckle. "There's some interesting situations with youth parents for sure."

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After continuing to work at different levels of baseball, Crowell attended umpire school in 2019 and was hired to begin his professional career in January 2020. Naturally, the pandemic closures meant there was a delay to his budding umpire career. He was steadfast and able to resume his career in 2022 with a start at the Rookie level of the minor leagues and has steadily moved up from Single-A to now High-A in the South Atlantic League.

"It's been a long journey," said Crowell. "But it's been fun."

Calling games like 'dealing with people in normal life'

Crowell was reluctant to speak on his approach or considerations as an umpire given MLB's protective policy on umpires and the media, which unlike the NFL and NBA does not typically allow any type of media availability for their officials.

But he did provide a glimpse of insight into the interpersonal nature of his work on the field.

"You just got to realize everyone's different," said Crowell. "That's the best way to put it, it's kind of dealing with people in normal life as well."

Given the lack of any issues with calls, it appears both Crowell's umpiring skills and his interpersonal skills are at a strong standard as he progresses in his career.

"You want to keep a professional rapport, but a good one as well with everyone you're out there with," said Crowell. "That becomes extremely important."

The late Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem, who worked a record 18 World Series during his career 1905 to 1941, is credited with saying: “The best umpired game is the game in which fans cannot recall the umpires who worked it.”

For the rest of the season, Crowell will hawkishly watch the games while hoping nobody notices him - after a week in which he had the rare distinction of being the hometown attraction.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lacey's Connor Crowell in umpire hometown return at Jersey Shore BlueClaws