Murphy: Minnesota woman chooses longest road to majors: umpiring
From Brian Murphy at the St. Paul Pioneer-Press on June 10, 2017, on SABR member Emma Charlesworth-Seiler:
The grounds crew covered the infield with a tarp and vanished underneath the seats as the last concessionaires exited the ballpark and the stadium lights went dark.
CHS Field was a ghost town when Emma Charlesworth-Seiler emerged on the concourse with her postgame meal in a carryout bag and her professional umpiring notched on her belt.
A no-stakes exhibition game between the St. Paul Saints and Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks last month allowed Charlesworth-Seiler to absorb the moment she walked onto the field in full gear and exchanged lineup cards with opposing managers.
“It’s pretty amazing down there,” she said. “Obviously, you’re a little bit nervous. After the first couple innings, I settled down. Everyone was pretty cool. I wasn’t expecting anything, but I wasn’t going to be surprised by any comments; it’s part of baseball. But it was very relaxed.”
Complaints, confrontations, double takes and hard knocks await Charlesworth-Seiler later this month when she joins the Florida Gulf Coast League as the second female umpire on the lowest rung of Major League Baseball’s minor-league ladder.
Read the full article here: http://www.twincities.com/2017/06/10/minnesota-woman-chooses-longest-road-to-major-leagues-umpiring/
Originally published: June 12, 2017. Last Updated: June 12, 2017.