WORCESTER, Mass. - Noah Katz has umpired Savannah Bananas games before, but this one's going to be a little different. On Saturday, he'll call the game at Fenway Park for in front of 37,000 fans. It's an opportunity he says he's been looking forward to his entire life.

"As a kid, there's one place to dream of playing and it's Fenway Park," Katz said. "You know, it's the dream of stepping out onto the field. And this Saturday, I'm going to be able to live out that childhood dream."

Katz wrapped up his baseball career in high school, but umpiring has allowed him to keep his passion for the game alive. 


What You Need To Know

  • Clark University student Noah Katz will umpire the Savannah Bananas game at Fenway Park this Sunday

  • The Bananas' trip to Boston is part of their "2024 Banana Ball World Tour"

  • Katz, a member of Clark's Class of 2026, has also started a social media page called 'The Umpire Channel' where he boasts more than 113,000 followers
  • Katz is hoping to address the nationwide umpire shortage through his social media pages

"I get to still be out there and give back," he said. "When I'm umpiring at my little league, I get to give back to the same community that I grew up playing in. It's such a blast to be out there umpiring."

During his time behind the plate, the Clark University student realized there's just not enough umpires out there for youth baseball. He started filming himself, and ultimately created 'The Umpire Channel,' which showcases the people calling balls, strikes and outs.

Katz's hope is to get more people involved.

"'The Umpire Channel' has 200,000 followers and 100,000,000 views," said Katz. "Think of that. That's a city of people. When I'm out there now, I'll get kids who are coming up to me who started following me a year ago, and now they've started umpiring."

His social media helped get him in touch with the Bananas, where he called a few games for the Georgia-based satirical baseball team. Those games were only in front of 5,000 or so people, which was a great practice run before he takes the field at America's most beloved ballpark this weekend.

"I was nervous before my first Bananas game," Katz said. "But once the game starts, it's so fast-paced that you really don't have time to be nervous. It just goes, goes, goes. So, a little less so than if I hadn't umpired before, but still a little bit with so many fans."

Noah is studying marketing at Clark and says he's still not sure which career path he'll choose. But, he says this weekend will go a long way towards building his career on the diamond.

"For now, I'm really looking to continue to develop the channel and see where I can combine umpiring and the social media aspect on the umpiring channel together," he said.