Ricci Hall spends a lot of time at the ballpark. He’s been a little league umpire for 30 years. 

“I got started umpiring when my brother played Little League baseball actually,” Hall said. “I showed up one day they didn't have an umpire to play it on to play the game. So, I volunteered and I sort of have been hooked ever since.”

Although Hall never played baseball himself, he has a passion for the sport and teaching others. He works in education and is a former Worcester principal. Umpiring District 5 games is volunteer work.

“I think baseball is a wonderful sport to teach children, particularly at this point in our lives where too often things are too fast paced, and kids don't have a chance to attend to anything,” Hall said. “Baseball gives them an opportunity to slow the pace down and attend to something.”

The Central Massachusetts native’s dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed. He’s been asked to head to Pennsylvania next month to umpire the Little League World Series for a second time. 

“It's an incredible honor,” Hall said. “I mean anytime you go to the League World Series, it’s kind of the mecca for Little League umpires to get a chance to go there to go there. To go there once is an incredible opportunity, to go there twice is really unheard of. I'm really excited.”

The tournament starts on August 19.​ Hall says he’ll be on the field for about 14 games while he’s at the tournament. In 2017, he was behind the plate for the international championship game. 

“It was a remarkable experience to step out on the field with thousands of people in the stadium," he said. 

Being on the big stage comes with pressure, too. 

“It’s going to be memorialized forever on television,” Hall said. “So, if you make a mistake, people are not going to let you forget it.”

But Hall says his focus is doing the best he can and making the Central Massachusetts baseball community proud.