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’s 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.
“It means the world to me,” Volpe said of the Legion honor. “That came out of nowhere. It’s just really an honor. You work hard trying to make the right calls and be fair all the time. It’s nice to kind of see people notice that in you. I very much appreciate this from the American Legion.”
The humble Volpe couldn’t help but add with a chuckle, “What I tell everybody is if you’re around long enough people will feel sorry for you and give you an award.”
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.
“This is 36 years now including 33 or 34 in college, which is where I do most of my games,” Volpe said “In 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.
“The thing about being an umpire is there are a lot of 50-50 calls and naturally that’s going to lead to some differing opinions from coaches and players at times. It’s always a challenge, but one we like.”
Volpe is a Masontown native who was a good baseball player years before he ever began to umpire.
“I loved playing baseball and I played until I was 35,” Volpe said. “Some 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’d like to be an umpire. That was back in 1990, we worked in the mine together and were good friends but I didn’t think about it much at first. But then after a while I thought maybe I’ll 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.
“I 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.”
Volpe delved into officiating other sports as well but always felt most at home on the ball diamond.
“Baseball is the best of all sports to me,” Volpe said. “I do football and I used to do a lot of basketball but I guess I’m considered a baseball guy.”
Volpe was respected enough by the NCAA to draw two NCAA Division II World Series assignments, in 2013 and 2018.
“Those were the biggest games I was ever in, the College World Series, because everyone’s watching and the intensity is high,” Volpe recalled. “Being 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.”
Volpe felt working games in Fayette County helped him enhance his umpiring skills.
“The County League is what made me the umpire I am today, especially back in the ’90s when you had Pickhandle (Merkosky) and Tom Sankovich and all those guys,” Volpe said. “There were some wars there, very heated games, and doing those games made me a better umpire.
“When 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.”
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’s 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.
“Everyone 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,” Volpe said. “That’s the ultimate insult to me, like we let everybody down, and it’s happened. That’s 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.
“It’s a little easier when you’ve done this so many years because the longer you’re around I think people notice you’re fair, they see you, recognize you and you’ve kind of earned their respect,” Volpe said.
Volpe couldn’t single out one particular most memorable moment in his umpiring career.
“A lot of games stand out over the years,” Volpe said. “Obviously the College World Series games do. Back in the 90s any time you had Game 7 in the County League.”
Volpe, who turns 70 in October, isn’t pondering retirement.
“I just like it and enjoy it,” Volpe said. “I’ve met so many great people over the years. Baseball’s been good to me and it all goes back to Fayette County. I love Fayette County, I love the people here, it’s part of me.
“I just think age is a number. As long as I feel good and stay healthy, I’m going to keep doing it, and being around young guys will make you feel young and make you want to work hard.
“Sooner or later that time will come when I hang up my mask, but right now I have no plans on stopping.”