Five years ago, 2004 Sherburne-Earlville graduates Josh Hicks, Chris Young, Matt Doscher, and Tim Mastro found themselves in the right place at the right time – more than one time, in fact.
The stroke of fortune for the S-E contingent, all of whom were standout baseball players in high school, started innocently enough on a weeknight game at Yankee Stadium.
Hicks’ uncle had a client in New York City, and while he was down there, he picked up extra tickets to attend a Yankees baseball game against the Detroit Tigers. The four friends attended the game, and had the idea to grab the attention of television cameras. “Before the game, we painted our chests blue and had an individual letter painted on spelling out ‘Shef,’ short for Gary Sheffield,” Hicks said recalling the game.
In the previous Tigers-Yankees game, Sheffield was beaned by a Tigers pitcher. The Yankees retaliated in the game Hicks and his friends attended hitting Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez with a pitch. Immediately after the retaliation pitch, the television cameras panned the crowd and focused on the four Sherburne-Earlville graduates, who not only had painted-on letters, but were wearing actual chef hats.
“All of the media and camera guys were taking pictures of us,” Hicks recalled. “The next day, our picture was on the front page of the New York Post sports section.”
If a cameo on a Yankees game and a picture on New York tabloid weren’t enough, Hicks and company found out months later that their likeness was being used on the Yankees’ Internet website for a “I Live For This” promotion. The picture of the S-E grads served as inspiration for dedicated fans who wished to enter a contest in which the winner would appear in a Yankees television commercial. The caption under the picture of Hicks, Mastro, Young, and Doscher read, “We need ambitious fans like this.”
“Once we saw our picture and found out about the contest, we were kind of forced to audition,” Hicks said, who said that he and his friends finished second in the contest for the commercial.
In February of 2005, the four boys – all now in college – made a road trip to New York City, and they replicated their original outfits – blue paint, chef’s hat and all. The quartet made it through the first round of auditions answering questions on Yankee trivia. They continued through the process, and at one point had to describe why they loved the game of baseball. Hicks said that he and his three friends had become certified umpires the previous year, and worked at the Cooperstown Dreams Park umpiring games as a summer job. The four young men made it to the final round of the interview/audition process, their last meeting with the New York Yankees’ head of marketing. “We were walking out after the interview, and a lady from the last meeting said that the Yankees were promoting youth involvement in baseball, and asked if we would be interested in umpiring the Old Timer’s Game,” Hicks said. “Of course, we said yes. They sent an e-mail to Matt a couple of weeks later (for confirmation).”
For those unaware of Yankee tradition, typically the Old Timer’s Game includes recent and not-so-recent Yankees players who are recognized, then the players split into two squads for a relaxed three-inning exhibition game before the big-league club plays its official game.
The four S-E grads arrived at the parking lot before their game, and had the preferred parking spots designated typically for players. They were escorted into the park and received the ultimate credentials. “We had access to just about everything,” Hicks said.
The first year, the would-be umpires dressed before the game in the equivalent of a storage closest. Things have improved steadily over the last five years, and this year the four not only received one complimentary game ticket in addition to their own, but were placed in a Yankees luxury suite with all the amenities one could ask for as a fan.
“What they’ve done for us has progressed every year,” Hicks said. “It’s like they know we’re supposed to be here, and we feel like we belong.”
As for the actual umpiring of the game, Hicks said his group had no idea what effort the Yankee greats would put forth. “We weren’t sure how serious they would be. It’s not serious at all,” he said. “The players are all down to earth, and before games, that’s when have had the most time to talk to them.”
And the pre-game dressing accommodations have improved mightily. “We had our own changing room this year with a 60-inch flat screen TV, and all the food and drinks we wanted,” Hicks said. “We actually got to share a locker with a couple of the old timers. We were bumping elbows with David Wells and Tino Martinez.”
Hicks, a graduate of Cortland State, now lives in North Carolina and works for a subcontractor that builds sports fields. Young resides and works in Syracuse, while Mastro and Doscher share an apartment in Albany. Life has taken the four Sherburne-Earlville friends in different directions over the past five years, yet they still plan to reunite each year for Old Timer’s Game for as long as the Yankees want them. And even if the Yankees no longer need their umpiring services, one thing will remain a constant. “We’ll always love baseball,” Hicks said.