With all due respect
Umpire Volpe inducted into Pa. American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame
Umpires take their fair share of abuse and Joe Volpe has been involved in plenty of disagreements over the years.
Despite that, there鈥檚 no more respected umpire in the Fayette American Legion Baseball League or the Fayette County Baseball League than Volpe. That respect extends far beyond Fayette County.
Volpe was inducted into the Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame on Friday in Erie, a few months after receiving the PSAC Baseball Excellence in Officiating Award for his work at the collegiate level.
鈥淚t means the world to me,鈥� Volpe said of the Legion honor. 鈥淭hat came out of nowhere. It鈥檚 just really an honor. You work hard trying to make the right calls and be fair all the time. It鈥檚 nice to kind of see people notice that in you. I very much appreciate this from the American Legion.鈥�
The humble Volpe couldn鈥檛 help but add with a chuckle, 鈥淲hat I tell everybody is if you鈥檙e around long enough people will feel sorry for you and give you an award.鈥�
Volpe is in his 36th year as an umpire and has done every level from Little League to the NCAA Division II College World Series.
鈥淭his is 36 years now including 33 or 34 in college, which is where I do most of my games,鈥� Volpe said 鈥淚n the summer I just enjoy coming out here and doing the local baseball games. I love the County League. I love American Legion. You know sometimes things can get contentious but still one of the best things is the camaraderie between me and the coaches and players, and with my fellow umpires.
鈥淭he thing about being an umpire is there are a lot of 50-50 calls and naturally that鈥檚 going to lead to some differing opinions from coaches and players at times. It鈥檚 always a challenge, but one we like.鈥�
Volpe is a Masontown native who was a good baseball player years before he ever began to umpire.
鈥淚 loved playing baseball and I played until I was 35,鈥� Volpe said. 鈥淪ome time after that Paul Lancaster, who deservedly has a sportsmanship award named after him (in the FCBL and the Fayette Baseball League), asked me if I鈥檇 like to be an umpire. That was back in 1990, we worked in the mine together and were good friends but I didn鈥檛 think about it much at first. But then after a while I thought maybe I鈥檒l give it a shot. Once I started, and a lot of it was just my love for baseball and just wanting to be involved with the sport again, I really liked it.
鈥淚 was doing teener league games and County League, American Legion, then I got into college games. Paul mentored me, Ronnie Hudson from Pittsburgh, there were some others who I learned from. I was blessed to have guys like that help me out over the years. I always tried to learn from other umpires.鈥�
Volpe delved into officiating other sports as well but always felt most at home on the ball diamond.
鈥淏aseball is the best of all sports to me,鈥� Volpe said. 鈥淚 do football and I used to do a lot of basketball but I guess I鈥檓 considered a baseball guy.鈥�
Volpe was respected enough by the NCAA to draw two NCAA Division II World Series assignments, in 2013 and 2018.
鈥淭hose were the biggest games I was ever in, the College World Series, because everyone鈥檚 watching and the intensity is high,鈥� Volpe recalled. 鈥淏eing on the plate in a couple of those games was a challenge. Those are probably the two biggest games of my career, working the plate in those World Series games, and I felt I did well.鈥�
Volpe felt working games in Fayette County helped him enhance his umpiring skills.
鈥淭he County League is what made me the umpire I am today, especially back in the 鈥�90s when you had Pickhandle (Merkosky) and Tom Sankovich and all those guys,鈥� Volpe said. 鈥淭here were some wars there, very heated games, and doing those games made me a better umpire.
鈥淲hen I got into college I found that County League experience made the college game easier to do. I got to move up to a high level in college and I was happy about that.鈥�
Volpe performed well enough his first year in college to earn an umpire Rookie of the Year award. He wound up umpiring 14 PSAC championships and eight NCAA Division II regionals.
Volpe took his craft seriously once he got into it and even earned a top student award in 1994 from Major League Baseball鈥檚 umpiring school.
Volpe is not a loud nor combative umpire, far from it. His voice can be stern and authoritative when the situation calls for it, but, overall, his calm demeanor and good nature have helped him quash many potentially volatile disagreements throughout his career.
鈥淓veryone is going to disagree with calls you make but I think what bothers me most is after a game when people are yelling things like you let the game get out of hand,鈥� Volpe said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the ultimate insult to me, like we let everybody down, and it鈥檚 happened. That鈥檚 why you make sure to try to nip things in the bud, try to sense when you have to step in and maintain control and keep everybody sensible.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little easier when you鈥檝e done this so many years because the longer you鈥檙e around I think people notice you鈥檙e fair, they see you, recognize you and you鈥檝e kind of earned their respect,鈥� Volpe said.
Volpe couldn鈥檛 single out one particular most memorable moment in his umpiring career.
鈥淎 lot of games stand out over the years,鈥� Volpe said. 鈥淥bviously the College World Series games do. Back in the 90s any time you had Game 7 in the County League.鈥�
Volpe, who turns 70 in October, isn鈥檛 pondering retirement.
鈥淚 just like it and enjoy it,鈥� Volpe said. 鈥淚鈥檝e met so many great people over the years. Baseball鈥檚 been good to me and it all goes back to Fayette County. I love Fayette County, I love the people here, it鈥檚 part of me.
鈥淚 just think age is a number. As long as I feel good and stay healthy, I鈥檓 going to keep doing it, and being around young guys will make you feel young and make you want to work hard.
鈥淪ooner or later that time will come when I hang up my mask, but right now I have no plans on stopping.鈥�