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THE RIGHT CALL! Nashua’s Levesque umpiring at Little League World Series

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Aug 23, 2022

Nashua's Phil Levesque works behind the plate during the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Levesque is one of 16 umpires working the event. (Courtesy photo)

It was a manic Monday for Nashua’s Phil Levesque.

For most of us, that means rushing from one thing to the next, schedules revamped, some type of unexpected calamity, etc.

For Levesque, it was umpiring behind the plate on the second day of an 11-inning, weather delayed game between Japan and Latin America at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.that was televised nationally on ESPN, and then doing another extra inning game later in the day between Indiana and Tennessee.

And he loved every minute of it.

“It was pretty incredible,” said Levesque, who is living a dream come true as one of the umps selected to work the prestigious Little League World Series. Monday was a sharp contrast to his first two games involving one of the tourney favorites, Hawaii, neither one close, one a mercy rule game. “It was nice to do an ultra competitive game between two evenly matched teams,” Levesque said. “That was a lot of fun.”

He’ll have a game sometime today, and will be told early which one he’ll be working. There are four games (1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m.) and four crews. “They wait to see who advances,” he said. “For example, if a New England team advances, they’d keep me off the New England game if they could.”

Levesque was supposed to be part of the umpire contingent to work the 2020 Little League World Series, but that got canceled due to COVID. He could have worked last year’s Series, but there were all sorts of restrictions, etc. and it was still a pandemic-watered down affair, so he and this year’s crew (16 in all) were allowed to defer to this year’s event.

Levesque is no stranger to local baseball. Years ago he was on the board of the Nashua Little League, began umpiring games in the league as he had also done in his hometown of Sanford, Maine, but has advanced to where he’s now done more high school and college. He’s umpired New Hampshire state title games, does the American Legion tourney every year at Holman, Stadium, but most recently worked Game 2 of the Nashua Silver Knights FCBL semifinal series with New Britain at Holman.

Years ago, Levesque simply moved his way up the Little League ladder, started doing district games, then was selected to do a LL regional in Bristol, Conn. Then once you do a regional, he explained, umpires get rated.And those who rate well get selected to do a World Series eventually.

But his first World Series wasn’t the 12-year olds in Williamsport; it was for the older players, the Senior League World Series on 90 foot bases, ages 15-16 in 2016. After a couple of years he was eligible – Little League wants umps to take a Series break after working one — to apply for the Williamsport event, and got selected. There was an orientation in May and then last week began the real deal. He stepped onto the field at Lamade Stadium feeling goosebumps.

“For me, just being selected is such an honor,” he said. “Just getting that letter is unbelievable. Literally thousands of Little League umpires are trying to get to what you’d call the Grandaddy of them all.

“When I showed up, I found out I had a plate assignment for my first assignment.”

“The first time you walk out at Lamade Stadium, there was a pretty good crowd, 7 p.m., prime time,” he said. “Stands are full, people up on that famous hill, just packed with people, you walk out, and you’re just like “Wow.’ It’s incredibly cool. What a moment. The crowd goes crazy, and it was probably a couple of innings of just floating.

“Then you buckle down a little bit, and it’s like every other Little League game that you’ve done, just with thousands of people watching instead of hundreds.”

And we’re talking about a veteran who began 30 years ago doing exclusively Little League and about 100 a season; now with the school game assignments he does only about 15-20 Little League games a year. But average it out, he’s probably done 1,500-2,000 Little League games over his career.

Did he always want to be an umpire? He was more or less recruited – or ordered – into it…by his Dad. Levesque was at his brother’s game in Maine, his Dad was coaching, and they needed an ump.

“My Dad told me,’You’re umpiring today’,” he said. “And I enjoyed it. So I wanted to figure out how to do it the right way, because I was standing back there as a dumb kid. I had an opportunity to go to some clinics, learn from people who knew what they were doing.”

Ironically, Levesque is no stranger to Williamsport. He actually went to college at Lycoming College which is located in – yep, Williamsport. He found the college by actually going to, as a high school kid, an umpire school in Williamsport another ump in Maine had told him about.

So while attending Lycoming, he might go over to help out at the umpire school, and he’d often make the trip back to Williamsport to see the World Series and catch up with some fellow alums.

But what was cool for him this past week was in all that time he had never worked at Lamade Stadium — and now finally has.

“I’d always tell people, ‘No – I’m not working on that field until I get selected for the World Series,'” he said. “And here we are.”

Does Levesque want to advance his level of umpiring, perhaps Division I schools, etc.?

“I already work at the level I’m comfortable at,” Levesque said. “But I may want to do a Division III regional or a Division III World Series someday. … But I’m pretty happy where I am.”

He’s had offers to work the Cape Cod League but logistics didn’t work out, but he’d like to get there next summer.

Remember, umpiring isn’t paying Levesque’s bills. No, that’s his job as a vice president of a bio technology company; he has a PHD in chemistry and has worked in biotech for 20-some years.

But right now he’s getting a huge degree in umpiring. The big games are this coming weekend, the U.S.and International division title games are Saturday and the winners meet in the finals of the Little League World Series on Sunday. Levesque would love to be selected for one of those. Just like his being selected for the event overall, it’s an evaluation.

“That’s the million dollar question,” he said. “We don’t know if they’re going to keep the crews together and assign by crew at the end, or take the better performing folks from each crew and make a kind of a ‘super crew’. It’s all up in the air right now.”

That, especially if it’s the championship game, would be even more of a dream come true.

“Absolutely,” he said. “It’d be great to be behind the plate (for the final), but it’d be great just to be in the game.”

Either way, when it comes to baseball, the last week Nashua’s Phil Levesque has always been in the game in the most fun way possible.

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