BRECKSVILLE Magazine - ScripType Publishing

The Brecksville Magazine, July 2011
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local baseball Ump impresses baseball’s Hall-of-Famer
by Calvin Jefferson
An experienced, veteran amateur umpire
who has likely seen and heard it all,
Brecksville resident Mike Radey recently
also found a soft spot for baseball’s own
“Iron Man.”
The Brecksville resident, called upon to
umpire games for The Ripken Experience
spring tournaments in Myrtle Beach, met
living legend Cal Ripken Jr. – and the Hall
of Fame shortstop did not disappoint.
“He was just the nicest guy,” Radey said
of the iconic longtime Baltimore Orioles
shortstop, who helped coach his son Ryan’s
Gilman (Baltimore) High School team in
the first game Radey umpired during a
late-March tournament. “He was a total
gentleman.”
But it was Radey’s officiating contributions
to the tournaments, which hosted
high school and junior college teams
mostly from the northeast, that left an
indelible mark on Ripken and the staff of
The Ripken Experience facility.
“Quality umps like Mike and others
come from different parts of the country
to work our tournaments, and we appreciate
their dedication to the game,” said
Ripken, who holds Major League Baseball’s
all-time consecutive games-played
streak with 2,632. “We are very proud of
the Myrtle Beach complex and all of the
families and teams that pass through there.
Sometimes we forget that there are other
components of the experience that are very
important, such as the umpires.”
Radey, 51, umpired 26 games in 13
days at the facility, which is a unique
youth baseball complex with professionalquality
playing surfaces on fields designed
after historic ballparks including, Griffith
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M09 LOCAL BASEBALL UMP
Mike Radey, left, found Cal Ripken Jr. to
be a “real gentleman.”
Field, Navin Field and The Polo Grounds.
Ripken operates a similar facility in his
hometown Aberdeen, Md.
A trusted umpire assignor out of
Atlanta referred Radey to The Ripken
Experience for the March tournament,
according to General Manager Matt Ensworth,
who said Radey worked multiple
college and high school spring training
games. Ensworth explained that spring
training is an on-going event in which
The Ripken Experience hosts hundreds
of college and high school teams on their
spring breaks.
“Mike came highly recommended, and
he did an excellent job,” Ensworth said.
“We are in the business of creating memorable
experiences for players, coaches, and
fans. Our umpires play a huge role in delivering
that experience. Mike grasped that
immediately and was first-class both on
and off the field. We are looking forward
to having him back for next year.”
Radey has been umpiring Ohio high
school and college games since retiring 11
years ago from his job as a medical supplies
salesman, and he said he still plays
baseball. He has also been umpiring each
of the past four years at a tournament in
Puerto Rico and even got to call games in
Cuba a couple of years ago.
Radey will travel next to the World
Scholar Athlete Games in Hartford,
Conn., to umpire. The games host scholar
athletes from around the world who
compete by mingling participants from
different countries on the same teams in
a variety of sports.
Radey will be hard-pressed to be more
impressed with the games than he was
with The Ripken Experience.
“It was tremendous competition,” he
said. “And they give you a really nice place
to stay.” ∞
Roger A. Wadsworth
Attorney-at-Law
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Located in downtown Brecksville for thirty-two years
440 526-1500
8748 Brecksville Road • Brecksville, Ohio 44141
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