Dear editor:

Here we are in the middle of another baseball season of the Greater Niles Little League at F.O.P. Park. As I see all the practice fields filled, I would like to thank the coaches, umpires, parents and most of all, the kids. They are the reason we are at the ballpark all summer long.

I would like to send an extended thank you to Buff Vella. I remember in 1980, when I was a batboy, Buff was admiring the effort that I put into being a batboy. He told me that I was hustling and doing a heck of a job as a batboy, and I could play for him anytime.

That made me feel great at 5 years old; however, I never played for Buff, but I played for the F.O.P. Giants from 1984 to 1987, as that was the team that drafted me. Growing up, I saw that Buff was full of vigor, encouragement, heart, discipline and fair play. I tried to incorporate what I learned from him into how I played the game of baseball.

Several years later, after my playing years, I became an assistant coach. I instilled into the kids the willpower, sportsmanship, integrity, discipline and respect for the game that I learned from Buff, and it paid off with great success and championships.

One thing Buff told me was that if you say you’re in the sport for the kids, you have to mean it from the heart, and I now understand why he said that. Too many people are in youth sports fro the wrong reasons, and I see it much too often.

In 1998 I became an umpire. Buff Vella was a fellow umpire, and it is during this time that I learned and cherished the most. I saw baseball from a different perspective as an umpire, and Buff showed me the way. Thanks to Buff, I was guided on how to deal with player/coach conduct, how to be stern, the importance of consistency and how to the let the kids have fun without the umpire taking the game over. He reminded me that the game wasn’t about him or myself, it was about the kids.

I remember a game during my first year umping. I was having a rough day behind the plate. I told Buff between innings that I was too young and the coaches didn’t respect me. He told me not to worry about the coaches and just call balls and strikes. He told me that he was Buff and he would take care of them. From that point on I relaxed and everything went more smoothly the rest of that season.

A few years later, Buff was having a rough day umping in the field. He told me that he was too old and that the coaches didn’t respect him anymore. I told him not to worry about the coaches, just umpire in the field. I told him that I was the umpire in chief and that I would take care of the coaches. That made Buff smile. After that reason he retired from baseball. He left behind a legacy unmatched by any.

I am very thankful to have worked with Buff Vella and appreciate all I learned. I can learn more from Buff than any coach or umpire clinic. I know how much Buff misses the kids and the game of baseball, but as long as I’m on the baseball diamond he is on it too. There is so much more that could be written, but it is impossible to write it all. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be close to where I’m at in the game of baseball. Thank you, Mr. Buff.

I want to also thank the rest of the Vella family for introducing me to coaching and giving me a chance.

Tim Phillips
Greater Niles Little League
F.O.P. Umpire in Chief
District 15 Little League Umpire