Once in a Lifetime!

The absolute coolest thing happened 

at Jarrett's scrimmage.

First, the not cool part:

the umps didn't show.

We waited and waited, but no umps.

Then a buzz started on our side.

Turned out Phil Niekro's grandson was on the opposing team.

And he was in the crowd.

And he was willing to umpire!

For those not familiar with Phil Niekro ...

here he is as an Atlanta Brave ...

He was a pitcher (famous for knuckleball),

won 5 Golden Gloves,

still holds the record for the most wins at age 40, 45, 46, 47, and 48,

and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

More fun facts can be found here.

**and no, I didn't know any of that before he umped the game!

in fact, Jarrett scolded me that I didn't know he was a knuckleballer!

Anyway, I think we parents were all more excited than the kiddos.

Cameras were snapping all over the place.

It was pretty awesome!

So ... Jarrett started as our pitcher.

Since Mr. Niekro had no umpire equipment,

he chose to stand behind the pitcher to call strikes/balls.

Here's what it looked like:

Jarrett said he was just a little nervous having him stand there.

I would have been a MESS!

But he was super kind,

introduced himself to Jarrett & asked J his name,

gave J a pat on the back & some encouraging words

when a homer was hit off of him 

(he said, 'happened to me several times!')

and seemed like an all around great guy.

Here's a complete pitching sequence,

for the record!

By the way,

the umps did finally show 

and I think an audible groan was heard from the adults!

It was a great game (we won!) 

and a once in a lifetime experience for Jarrett.

Grateful!