Ted Barrett: "Faith belongs on the Field

2 hours ago

26 min read

Ted Barrett has seen some extraordinary moments from behind home plate.

During nearly three decades as a Major League Baseball umpire, he worked five World Series, three All-Star Games, 10 League Championship Series, 13 Division Series and three World Baseball Classics. He was also behind the plate for two perfect games.

His chest protector is even in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But when Ted Barrett looks back on his life, the baseball accomplishments are only part of the story.

Listen right here:

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His journey with Jesus began when he was just eight years old. His uncle Jack, a construction worker who had recently become a Christian, shared the gospel with him. Ted knew at that young age that he needed a Savior, and he walked forward during an Easter service to dedicate his life to Jesus.

But his faith journey wasn't a straight line.

As a teenager and college athlete, Ted drifted. He played football, basketball and baseball and even boxed. During college, a campus chaplain named Eric Hayek began meeting with him over lunch and eventually discipled him through Bible study and life together.

That relationship helped reignite Ted's faith.

His path then took an unexpected turn into boxing. After moving to Las Vegas, Ted became a heavyweight sparring partner and crossed paths with some of the biggest names in boxing, including George Foreman, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.

Along the way, Ted increasingly sensed a call toward ministry.

But God had another surprise waiting for him.

Ted became a Major League umpire.

At first, he wondered how ministry could possibly fit into a career where he felt the gospel was often unwelcome. He even reached a point where he believed God was asking him to surrender his baseball career and go into full-time ministry.

Then came the revelation:

God wasn't calling Ted out of baseball. He was calling Ted to minister inside baseball.

That realization changed the way Ted viewed his entire career.

He began praying with fellow umpires. He became increasingly open about his faith. He helped create a ministry specifically for professional umpires. What began with just 12 umpires eventually grew into a gathering that has included as many as 60 professional umpires.

That ministry became Calling for Christ.

Ted also shares a remarkable story about Major League player Chris Singleton confronting him lovingly about his language on the field—and how Ted prayed for the Holy Spirit to change him. He says he went roughly 20 years without swearing on the field afterward.

And yes, there's plenty of baseball in this conversation too.

Ted offers his perspective on the pitch clock, challenges, replay technology and the possibility of computers eventually calling balls and strikes.

But underneath all of it is one bigger question:

Where has God placed you—and what might He want to do through you right there?

This is the story of Ted Barrett: Major League umpire, minister, husband, grandfather, and a man who discovered that his workplace could also become his mission field

TED BARRETT AT A GLANCE

Major League Baseball Umpire • Two Perfect Games • World Series Umpire • Founder of Calling for Christ

Topics

Major League Baseball • Umpiring • Two Perfect Games • World Series • Baseball Hall of Fame • Boxing • Mike Tyson • George Foreman • Evander Holyfield • Christian faith • Jesus • Discipleship • Ministry • Calling • Workplace ministry • Prayer • Calling for Christ • Christian athletes • Faith under pressure • God's purpose

His Faith Journey

Finding Jesus at age eight through his Uncle Jack → Growing up in a family that became deeply involved in church and service → Drifting from active faith during his teenage and college years → Being discipled through a college chaplain and Bible study → Christian mentorship during his boxing years → Sensing a call toward ministry → Becoming a Major League umpire → Wondering why God had placed him in a profession that seemed hostile to the gospel → Surrendering his career to God → Discovering that God wanted him to minister where He had placed him → Bringing prayer and discipleship into professional baseball → Helping establish Calling for Christ

This Episode Explores

Ted's extraordinary career as a Major League umpire, including two perfect games
His unexpected journey as a heavyweight boxing sparring partner for Mike Tyson, George Foreman and Evander Holyfield
How Ted came to know Jesus at eight years old
His years of drifting from faith and the people God used to bring him back
How a college chaplain quietly discipled Ted through friendship and Bible study
Why Ted once believed God was calling him to leave baseball and enter ministry
The realization that God had actually placed him in baseball for ministry
How Ted and other umpires began praying together at home plate
The story behind Calling for Christ and its ministry to professional umpires
Chris Singleton's powerful reminder to Ted: "I just want to remind you who you represent"
How Ted says prayer helped him stop swearing on the field for approximately 20 years
Ted's thoughts on the pitch clock, replay, challenges and technology in modern baseball
Why Ted believes God may place people exactly where He wants them so they can serve Him there

Questions Answered

Who is Ted Barrett?
How many perfect games did Ted Barrett umpire?
What Major League Baseball games did Ted Barrett work?
Did Ted Barrett really spar with Mike Tyson, George Foreman and Evander Holyfield?
How did Ted Barrett come to know Jesus?
How did Ted Barrett drift from his faith?
Who discipled Ted Barrett during college?
Why did Ted Barrett think God was calling him out of baseball?
How did Ted Barrett discover his ministry calling?
What is Calling for Christ?
Why did Ted Barrett begin praying with other umpires?
Who is Chris Singleton and what did he say to Ted Barrett?
What does Ted Barrett believe about God's calling?
What does Ted Barrett think about baseball's pitch clock and replay?

Core Message

Ted Barrett's story is ultimately about discovering that God's calling isn't always a call to leave. Sometimes God places you exactly where He wants you so you can serve Him there. For Ted, Major League Baseball became not just his career, but his ministry.

Podcast Transcript: Ted Barrett on Baseball, Faith, Calling & Calling for Christ

Amazing Greats with Ric Hansen

Guest: Ted Barrett Claim to Fame: Former Major League Baseball umpire; behind the plate for two perfect games; worked nearly 30 years in MLB.Ministry: Calling for Christ

INTRODUCTION

RIC HANSEN: From the blistering hot desert of Arizona—103 degrees there today—and you're now inside a cozy and cool Arizona home.

I've talked with Ted Barrett, the retired Major League umpire. That's a big part of your career story, but there's so much more to your story, and we're going to dig into that right now.

You've been in Major League Baseball umpiring since 1994, almost 30 years. You've been the umpire in some of the most prestigious games of all time: five World Series, 10 League Championship Series, 13 Division Series, three All-Star Games and three World Baseball Classics.

And what's even more amazing to me is that you have been the umpire for two perfect games.

For those who don't know, there have only been 24 perfect games in all of baseball history, and you umpired two of them.

So, what do you have to say for yourself, Ted?

TED BARRETT: First of all, thank you for having me on, and thanks for laying out my resume like that. I appreciate it.

I am jealous of you sitting up in the Pacific Northwest. I remember working games in Seattle once we got out of the dome and into the stadium there. Just beautiful nights.

Tacoma and Triple-A. I was in Everett, Washington, and Bellingham in rookie ball. It was great in June because you'd come from some sweltering city like St. Louis off to Seattle and you'd actually have to put on a light jacket at night.

Just wonderful. I loved being there. I'd like to be there right now.

But I'm comfortable in the AC here.

RIC: And your whole family is there, too. You've got grandkids, in-laws and outlaws—all of them right there with you in Arizona.

TED: Absolutely. And we've got a pool here, so the grandkids like coming over to Grandpa's house, which I love.

THREE PERFECT GAMES

TED: Like you mentioned, I was a part of a lot of big games.

I feel a little bit like Forrest Gump at times—the Forrest Gump of baseball—because I have been on the field for a lot of cool things.

I've actually been on the field for three perfect games, been behind the plate for two, which I say is like catching lightning in a bottle twice.

I'm the only umpire to be on the field for three, and there aren't many people who have been on the field for three.

That's the beautiful thing about baseball. You show up to the ballpark and, in the case of one perfect game, it was a June night. Another one was a July night.

Baseball is like Groundhog Day sometimes. You don't know what day it is; it just all blends together.

So you show up, and sometimes things really cool happen, like a perfect game, or someone will hit four home runs, or a no-hitter.

And you're just like, "Wow, that was pretty cool."

It was pretty cool to be a part of.

FROM BASEBALL TO FAITH

RIC: You really are a legend in Major League Baseball. Your chest protector is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But let's throw onto that resume the fact that you earned your master's degree in biblical studies, you've got a doctorate in theology, and you're an ordained minister.

That side of your life is as robust as your baseball story.

So I want to first jump into little Teddy Barrett.

When you were just a youngster, I hear tell that you found Jesus at the age of eight. Is that true?

TED: Yeah, that's true.

It's funny. Growing up, we really didn't go to church.

My father had three brothers and a sister, and they all played guitar and sat around drinking beer and having fun. I have memories of that.

My Uncle Jack had gone to church and gotten saved. So he was kind of like the outcast of the family because he wasn't coming around anymore, and he wasn't drinking beer and playing guitar with the guys.

I'd hear them talk. They'd say, "Well, he called, and all he wants to do is talk about Jesus."

I kind of thought this was a bad thing that happened to him. Maybe he got brainwashed or something, on your eight-year-old mind.

But he persisted with my parents, inviting us to church.

Finally it was Easter, and I think my parents kind of said, "Yeah, I think we need to go. It's Easter."

I heard the gospel.

My Uncle Jack actually shared the gospel. It was a small church, so he played guitar, drove the bus, was a Sunday school teacher—just a construction worker who was a crane operator.

He wasn't a pastor. He wasn't formally educated in the Bible, although he was very knowledgeable through self-study.

He shared the gospel with me, and I knew at eight years old that I was in need of a Savior.

I didn't know the theology of it. I didn't know what I know now. But I knew I was separated from God, and I knew I needed Jesus.

He said, "Hey, listen. You don't have to do this, but we're going to go upstairs to the grown-up church, and the pastor's going to invite you down at the end of the church if you want to dedicate your life to Jesus. You don't have to do that."

I'm like, "Yeah, I'll do it. Whatever. Whatever it takes."

I'm in the middle of the aisle with my two older brothers, my younger brother, my mom and dad.

As the pastor gives the invitation, I'm trying to get out. My brothers are holding me down. My parents are saying, "Sit down, you're embarrassing us."

They didn't know what was going on in my heart, obviously.

I remember saying, "I've got to go up. I've got to go up."

Nobody was forcing me to do it. The Holy Spirit was drawing me, and I went forward.

You'd think this would be a great moment in my life, but driving home in the car, my brothers are like, "What'd you do that for, man? Now we're going to have to go back next week."

DRIFTING FROM FAITH

RIC: That's a great story. At the age of eight, to even be able to pull all that together in your young mind is amazing.

But then, as I understand it, you did kind of drift, as people will do.

What's your story there?

TED: You're right. It's so typical of people—the twists and turns in their faith.

For me, I loved church. I loved Sunday school. We were diving in and learning.

My pastor encouraged me, saying, "You really are absorbing Scripture and able to give it back, and you should think about preaching and ministry."

As I got older, things happened in the church. There was a split. People left. My family actually stayed.

After I'd gone forward, everybody had eventually gone forward. My dad was the last one to come, but he was all in.

He and his brother had a bus ministry.

We grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo, New York, and my dad and his brother would take a school bus into the inner city, get kids on the bus, take them back after church and then take them back home.

I rode the bus with them. I loved it.

I was exposed as a young man to service.

They weren't getting paid for this. They were paying for this. They were all in.

I watched them and watched them get the joy out of it.

But then, long story short, we quit going to church.

I was about 13 or 14 at this point. I was playing sports—football, basketball, baseball, doing some boxing.

So Sunday became a day where I didn't have to do anything.

Unfortunately, I was okay with that.

Then we moved to California right before my 16th birthday.

We said, "Well, we should try to look for a church."

We got there, and I always joke and say there were no churches in California.

That's not true. There are some fine churches.

But I played sports, and I didn't have any of my friends invite me to church.

I tell high school kids, if I had been asked to go to a Bible study or youth group or Young Life, I probably would have gone.

But I wasn't even invited.

That's not on them. That was in me, too. I could have been looking for it.

I got into college playing football at Cal State Hayward, a Division II school in Northern California.

We had chapel before games on Saturdays.

I always went to chapel because I thought—and I would call myself a Christian—even though I wasn't going to church or reading the Bible.

I started making my own rules.

I didn't drink the hard stuff; I drank beer, so that was okay, right?

I was hanging out with my girlfriend, and I could do this, but I couldn't do that.

I thought it was a pretty cool deal that I made up my own rules.

THE MAN WHO "SNUCK IN" AND DISCIPLED TED

TED: I went to the pregame chapel services, more out of good luck.

If I had a good game, I better go back to chapel.

But the chaplain there was a gentleman named Eric Hayek from Campus Crusade for Christ, which is Cru now.

He said, "Hey, I noticed you were at every chapel."

I said, "Oh yeah, that's me. I'm super spiritual."

He said, "I'd love to buy you lunch."

I'm like, "Man, you want to buy me lunch? You just tell me when and where."

Then he said, "You want to meet back next week?"

He said, "I can't buy you lunch every week, but you want to meet back here? Let's have lunch again."

So we did.

I really liked this guy.

He was an older guy, married, had small kids.

Then he said, "Why don't we meet back again, but this time bring your Bible?"

I had to find it and dust it off.

We started meeting every week, and we started studying the Bible.

What I didn't know was that he was discipling me without me knowing it.

RIC: He snuck in and discipled you.

TED: Yeah.

He was inviting me over to his house. His kids were there. He'd come to the games. He'd come to boxing matches and bring his family.

It was just kind of cool.

If he had asked me, "Can I disciple you?" I probably would have said no.

But the fact that he just did it—and we lived life together—that was different.

FROM FOOTBALL TO UMPIIRING

TED: It was about two years of solid meeting every week while I was playing and going through school.

Then football was over.

At this point I had started umpiring in Little League.

My dad told me to get a job, so I started umpiring.

I did high school games and made $57 a game.

This was the mid-'80s.

I did three or four games a week.

My dad was happy. I gave him some money for gas and insurance.

It was better than what my roommate was making at Burger King.

Nothing against Burger King, but he said, "You don't want to work here."

Another guy was at a retail store. He said, "You don't want to do this."

BOXING AND THE ROAD TO LAS VEGAS

RIC: How did boxing get into the picture? You boxed as a young man. Did you start boxing in college?

TED: In 1976, Rocky came out, and I think I was 12 years old.

I fell in love with boxing.

There really wasn't anything as a young boy to do it, but I would always mess around, hit a heavy bag if anybody could show me anything.

When I got to California and got to Hayward, that's when I really started formally boxing and doing some sparring with professionals in the area.

Football was over, and I was going to turn pro in boxing.

So I moved to Las Vegas.

Through a mutual friend, I became friends with Kenny Bayless, who is in the National Boxing Hall of Fame as a referee.

Wonderful guy.

I actually lived with him in Vegas as I was boxing.

Again, Jesus was in his infinite wisdom. This is all part of His plan.

I'm now going to church with Kenny on Sundays.

He's got his wife and three boys, and I'm watching him model out being a Jesus follower.

God's always putting these people in my life.

It was there that I started reading the Bible more, started studying more, and now that I was out from under Eric's discipling, I was studying on my own.

I felt God call me toward ministry.

I'm like, "All right, boxing's not going that great. I'm kind of getting beat up a lot. This might not be what I want to do the rest of my life."

I kind of wanted to go into ministry.

But I was umpiring more, and I got encouraged by a friend who was a minor league umpire.

He said, "You should really try to do this for a living."

So I did.

I went to umpire school.

SPARRING WITH CHAMPIONS

RIC: Before we get past boxing, can I throw out some famous names?

You were actually a sparring partner for Mike Tyson, George Foreman and Evander Holyfield.

How did you get into that circle?

TED: When I was in Vegas, there was a former heavyweight champion at the time named Greg Page, a guy out of Louisville.

Wonderful man.

I got to spar with him, and he told me, "You can really make decent money as a heavyweight sparring partner."

So I did.

I started sparring with the champions who were there.

Even when I was in the minor leagues, my first few years in the minor leagues, living in Arizona and being in California, I would spar with a lot of guys—champions and fighters coming through.

I had a good reputation in the gyms as a tough guy, as a guy who could take a punch, and as a guy who could work well with a professional fighter.

There aren't a whole lot of people getting in line to get in the ring with a heavyweight.

RIC: You probably got beat up a bit.

TED: I did.

But I've never really had a real job, right?

I've umpired baseball games, which is great, and gotten in the ring and people paid me to do that.

As a minor league umpire, I wasn't making a lot, so it was a nice way to subsidize my income.

JESUS IN THE BOXING WORLD

RIC: Was there any connection with Jesus during that period?

I know George Foreman and others were strong Christians. Did they influence you?

TED: Absolutely.

A lot of the people in boxing that I met up with—Foreman was actually in his second career, which was lucky for me because I don't think I'd have been able to survive with him in his first career.

He was actually in full-time ministry at the time.

Listening to him talk, listening to him pray, Bible studies, watching him in the gym.

Holyfield, too, would tell how Jesus healed his heart. He had a hole in his heart, and he wasn't allowed to fight anymore. Then he prayed for healing, and he went back and the hole was healed.

I mean, I was around this all the time and intrigued by it.

I was moving toward ministry and learning.

Being in the Bay Area back in the early '80s in college, I was exposed to a lot of different teachings and theologies—some good, some bad.

I was fascinated by it.

Then I found myself umpiring.

I kind of made this deal with God.

The odds were really long to make it to the big leagues.

At my school there were 150 guys. Another school had 150.

We came together. They took 25 out of each, and now there were 50 guys from each umpire school competing for 15 or 20 spots.

Just to get in was a long shot.

Then, as a minor league umpire, you start at the bottom rung in rookie ball, then A, Double-A, Triple-A.

You don't skip levels like a player could.

There were only 60 Major League umpires when I started.

Through expansion there became 64, 68, and later 76.

To think I would be one of those 60 guys to make it was incredible.

They say you have a better chance of being the governor of your state mathematically than becoming a Major League umpire.

MAKING THE MAJOR LEAGUES

RIC: From an altar call at the age of eight, God has played a powerful role in the life of this umpire and founder of Calling for Christ, Ted Barrett.

What was your first break into Major League umpiring?

TED: I was working in the Pacific Coast League in 1993.

I was doing a game in Tucson, Arizona, which is where my wife and I had settled in the Phoenix area.

She happened to be there, which was great.

In the minor leagues, I would leave home on opening day, right after spring training, and not see her until the end of the postseason unless we could save up enough for plane tickets.

It was nice to be in the old PCL with Phoenix and Tucson in the league.

She happened to be there in Tucson.

I tell young people this story, and they don't know what I'm talking about because there was a little red light on the phone that was flashing.

That's how we got called up.

There was a message to call the Major League supervisor.

He said, "Hey, you're going up. I need you in Texas on Friday, Ranger Stadium."

Back then the American League and National League were separate.

I was called up to the American League.

I became their property.

But you're not a Major League umpire yet.

You work vacations and injuries when you're needed, and then you go back down to Triple-A when you're not needed.

I was a fill-in umpire from 1994 until 1999, when I was hired.

I stayed there until 2022.

That was a heck of a ride between 1994 and 2022.

A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE GOSPEL

RIC: You had one foot in the Major League umpire world and another foot in the world of God.

TED: When I first went up, I was like, "Oh my goodness. God? I don't see God in this too much around the stadiums and ballparks."

RIC: You had a great line about that. Something like the industry was hostile to the gospel.

TED: It was hostile to the gospel.

The chaplains would try to come into the locker rooms and they'd get thrown out.

Instead of saying, "No thank you," it was more like, "We don't want you. Get out."

I was like, "Good Lord. We're throwing the chaplains out of the locker room trying to reach out to us."

This was literally hostile.

But that has evolved now to where Baseball Chapel is a wonderful partner to CFC and the umpire ministry.

It was a matter of some bridges being made.

At the time, I wasn't the one making them.

I was trying to be seen and not heard. I was trying to blend in and not rock the boat.

There was this tension with me as God was drawing me toward ministry and I was in this seemingly godless vocation.

Even Christian players weren't always acting very Christian-like.

Umpires see players at their worst.

As the years went on, I thought, "Oh my goodness, I don't know if I can thrive in this industry."

I wondered, "What do You want from me, God? Why did You put me here?"

The deal I made with Him was, "If I make it to the big leagues, that's where You want me, that's great. But if I don't, I'll go into ministry."

That was the deal I made with Him as He's laughing at me.

So I make it to the big leagues.

I'm like, "Okay, we can forget about this ministry stuff. Obviously this is where You want me as an umpire."

But that calling never went away.

SURRENDERING THE CAREER

TED: I thought God was calling me to leave baseball and go into ministry.

One night, after years of struggle, I was in a hotel room on my knees.

I said, "Okay, God, I surrender. I know I won't be happy until I surrender to ministry, so I surrender right here."

Then I said, "But I'm doing this under protest because this is a dirty trick."

I had overcome all these odds to make it to the big leagues, and now You're pulling me out.

I just picture Him up there saying, "Oh, Ted, you're my lovable, sweet idiot child."

He's so patient with me.

RIC: You were willing to die to your career in order to pick up a new career. I think that was the test.

TED: I think so.

If I'd been looking closer and listening to Him, He might have saved me a lot of pain because that was a painful thing for me to do.

Ultimately what He was saying—what He was trying to tell me—is:

"I put you here for a reason. I want you in ministry, but I want it where I placed you as an umpire."

I try to encourage people not to get on the sideline.

Wherever you're working or whatever you're doing, God strategically placed you there because there's a void and you can help fill it.

As I look back at my career, all the wonderful games I've worked and all the wonderful things I've been a part of in baseball, I'm proud that we brought Jesus into the locker room, out on the field and into the lives of umpires.

God could have certainly done that without me. He didn't need me.

But how cool was it that He allowed me to play a part in that?

I go from them throwing the chaplain out of the locker room to praying on the field.

PRAYING AT HOME PLATE

TED: Players are always hitting home runs and pointing to the sky or giving it up for Jesus.

That's wonderful.

But I thought, "How can we do that as an umpire? How can I model my faith without making a big deal out of it?"

Umpires were seen and not heard. We should be staying behind the scenes, in the shadows.

I was working with three other guys who were believers.

I said, "Hey, I want to try something, but I'm not sure how it's going to go over. If you don't want to do it, I'll do it by myself."

We would bow our heads and say prayers before the game on our own.

I said, "Let's pray together."

When the managers bring the lineup cards out to home plate and we exchange them, when they leave, there's that minute or so before the players take the field.

I said, "Let's just link arms and pray."

And we did.

It wasn't out loud, but people would see it.

BECOMING MORE OPEN ABOUT HIS FAITH

RIC: That was the first acknowledgment publicly that this was your ministry and that you were a follower of Jesus.

TED: Yes.

I waited to see the blowback.

But players would say, "Hey, I think that's really cool."

Fans would be complimentary.

Then in 2018 I was the crew chief of the World Series, which is the culmination for an umpire.

We had done it in the locker room, and now we were taking it out on the field.

All the guys I'd worked with were always, "Yeah, I'm in 100 percent. Let's do it."

THE TESTIMONY CARD

RIC: There was another public announcement, I guess.

You went to an umpire's convention where all the umpires got together, and you had a card that represented your beliefs.

Tell us about that.

TED: We have our winter meetings where all Major League umpires come.

We do physicals, go over new enforcement policies and talk about the season.

The crew chiefs select who they want to work with.

For me, I had a testimony card made up, and I passed it out to everybody on the staff and my employers too.

I always got nervous about that.

I went home and told my wife, "You know, I probably committed career suicide here because nobody wants to work with the Jesus dude."

I ended up getting on a crew—Ed Montague's crew. He was a great umpire from the Bay Area and one of my mentors.

Halfway through the season, one of our supervisors came in and said, "Hey Ted, I don't know what your deal is, but you were the most requested umpire out of all the crew chiefs."

I was like, "Wow."

That felt like confirmation that Jesus was saying, "This is a pat on the back. You're doing the right thing. Keep going. Don't be scared."

I was scared.

I was worried about what people would think.

I was worried about how my employer would react.

I was worried about all these things the enemy starts placing in your mind.

I was becoming more and more bold in what I was doing.

THE BIRTH OF CALLING FOR CHRIST

TED: In 2003, Rob Drake and I attended UPI, which is Unlimited Potential, Incorporated.

They have retreats for players, coaches and managers.

It was great because it was the baseball community.

But we realized it probably wasn't best for umpires and players to mix together like this.

We're like cats and dogs—oil and vinegar.

Even though we got along, we felt we should probably try to do our own thing.

Mickey Weston was the executive director of UPI.

We went to him and Tom Roy, the founder of UPI, and said, "We'd like to do our own thing."

They said, "We'll help you out. Whatever resources we have, whatever advice."

So Rob and I got Brian Hammel, who was teaching with UPI.

There was a pastor out of Oklahoma who said, "I've got a youth camp. You guys can use this."

We sent out emails and thought there was a pretty good chance we'd be the only ones there.

But 12 umpires showed up.

One of them had been tricked into it. He thought he was teaching an umpire class.

There were no other Major League umpires—just myself—and the rest were low-level rookie-ball guys.

I thought, "Well, this was kind of a failure."

But the next year we doubled.

The next year we got more.

We've had as many as 60 professional umpires there.

God knew exactly what He was doing.

A couple of those first-year guys became Major League umpires.

One became an attorney and does pro bono work for us.

Another became a pastor.

We've got two pastors—one a youth pastor and one pastoring a church in Texas.

God knew what He was doing.

He laid the groundwork.

We've built on that.

This year in January will be our 24th annual retreat.

We haven't missed one.

We even kept it going during COVID.

That is what birthed Calling for Christ.

From that, we do discipleship groups, one-on-one ministry and group ministry.

We have a prayer call for the Major League guys once a week and for the Minor League guys once a week, and everybody is welcome to join.

I've had the pleasure of officiating many weddings for umpires and the privilege of doing funerals for some of the umpires who passed.

I've even done weddings and premarital counseling for children of umpires.

It's been a wonderful family event.

CHRISTIAN PLAYERS AND A LESSON FROM CHRIS SINGLETON

RIC: You mentioned the association with players isn't necessarily a good idea, but did you have a rapport with some of the guys whose games you umpired multiple times?

TED: Absolutely.

I remember when Mike Matheny was catching, we'd be back there talking about Scripture.

Buster Posey, Stephen Vogt—these guys that are still around baseball.

I'll tell a story about a player named Chris Singleton.

He played in the Major Leagues. He was an outfielder and a wonderful brother in Christ—very mature.

As I came up to the big leagues, I told you I wanted to kind of be like the Major League umpires.

I started talking like they did.

I started cursing.

The Major League field is a whole lot of cursing.

It's like people who were in the military, where a bad word is an adjective, a pronoun, a verb.

That's where it is in baseball.

I fell right into it.

I remember working third base, and I got into it with a third-base coach.

I let him have it with both barrels.

My grandfather was a champion cusser, and I learned from him.

I was feeling really good about myself.

Chris was going out to the outfield and said:

"Hey, brother. I just want to remind you who you represent."

People are watching.

He lovingly rebuked me.

I told him, "Well, you know what you need to do? You need to take your glove and go out to center field and not worry about me."

A loving rebuke from him and a harsh comeback from me.

That night I lay in bed and said, "I don't know who this guy thinks he is. He doesn't know me. He's got no right to judge me. He should worry about himself."

Then the Holy Spirit comes on me and says:

"I sent him to you."

I was like, "Oh, what do you do with that?"

The next day I went over to him.

I said, "Listen, can I talk to you?"

He said, "No, I don't think I want to talk to you."

I said, "I want to apologize."

He said, "Oh. If you want to apologize, all right. Come on."

He told me, "You know, I had that problem too."

I said, "How did you stop swearing?"

He said, "I asked the Holy Spirit to take it away."

I said, "I don't think that's going to work for me."

He said, "Why? Have you tried it?"

I said, "No."

He said, "All right. Let's pray."

That was, I think, 2003.

I went the next 20 years without swearing again on the field.

I swore off the field, but on the field I didn't.

That's just—only Jesus can do that.

BASEBALL'S NEW RULES

RIC: The new rules speeding up the game came in after your retirement.

The big one is the pitch clock.

What's your thought? Is it helping or hurting?

TED: I think it's a good thing all the way around.

The games are quicker.

I retired the year before they brought it in.

It is a lot more work for the umpires.

They have to be conscious of the clock and enforce it.

Sometimes they have to enforce it even when people don't understand what's going on.

They're taking criticism for the way they enforce it.

It took an average game from about three hours and 15 minutes in my last year down to about two and a half.

They trimmed quite a bit off the game clock.

But they're still making the same number of decisions within that time.

It's like they've taken the work and made it more intense, especially for the players.

When they walk off the field, their brains are fried because they worked so hard and concentrated so hard within that time.

But from a fan standpoint, I think it's great.

The games were dragging out too long.

Even watching on TV, it used to be, "Here comes a relief pitcher. I can go out and move the lawn and come back."

Now it's like you get up, turn around, and they're ready to go.

I think it's wonderful.

CHALLENGES AND REPLAY

RIC: What about the new challenge rule?

TED: The challenge system—as I go and watch games now, I'll go to Triple-A games and watch the umpires, or I'll work for MLB Network as a rules analyst watching the games.

The crowd loves it.

When there's a challenge, the crowd becomes heightened.

They watch the board and get real-time feedback.

If it's their team, they're cheering. If it goes against their team, they're booing.

From a fan standpoint, I think it's great.

Again, from an umpire standpoint, it's more work.

We've got to get cleared up on the controversy of, "Did he tap his helmet? Did he not? Was he adjusting his helmet?"

What fans don't see sometimes is a player might tap his helmet and the umpire will deny it.

Then the announcers are upset.

But you're not allowed to assist from the dugout.

If someone is in there yelling, "Hey, challenge it," the umpire will deny the challenge because they're trying to stay away from any perception that they're looking at the technology and relaying it to a hitter.

There are some bugs that have to be worked out.

But I think for the most part it's been a good thing.

WILL TECHNOLOGY REPLACE UMPIRES?

RIC: Is there any fear of replacing play calls by computer?

TED: That would be the fear that the enemy tries to place in the umpire's hands—that they can become replaceable and not call pitches anymore.

But even let's say that happened, they're still going to need an umpire.

You've got to have someone run the game, enforce the clock, fair-foul, check swing, safe-out, catcher's interference—all of this stuff.

You could take the pitch element out of it, but you're still going to need somebody back there.

I know people will clamor for a full ABS calling pitches.

I've seen that at the Triple-A level.

I think that takes away something from the crowd enjoyment of it.

We could end up there.

The technology isn't perfect.

But one thing we know about technology is it gets better.

I'll say this: I think the ABS challenges have shown how good these umpires are.

You're talking about missing by the width of a dime, and pitches are getting overturned.

With guys throwing 100 miles per hour or more and late sink, it's incredible.

When I came up, there were one or two guys who threw 98—someone coming out of the bullpen, maybe Clemens or Randy Johnson.

Now everybody is throwing 98 to 100, and the ball is moving like crazy.

These guys are really, really good.

And it's nice that if you have a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded and you miss it, it affects the game.

At least now there's a way to correct that.

Believe me, the umpires would rather be corrected and get it right than have to live with getting something wrong.

CLOSING

RIC: Ted, I think we're going to call a wrap.

I try to keep these about 30 or 40 minutes, and I think we're there and then some.

It was so fascinating and so great.

We had a little trouble getting connected because I was having some technical problems in our first round of trying to get together.

But we did it, and it was amazing as I thought it might be.

I certainly thank you for being here and sharing your story in the love of Jesus.

TED: It's my pleasure.

People all come to watch the umpires, but maybe somehow tune in and listen to an umpire.

Thank you, Ric.

Have a great day.

God bless you.

RIC: Oh man, I love the heart of this guy.

A legendary career and an awesome story of loving Jesus.

The perfect combination to make one of the best Amazing Greats stories ever.

Thanks for being a part of our Amazing Greats family.

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God bless.