October 3, 2024

By Ian Wilson

Western Canadian Baseball League

The Western Canadian Baseball League has named Kris Hartley as the top umpire on the summer collegiate circuit.

Aqil Samuel - the chair of the WCBL Umpire Committee - made the announcement, citing Hartley's professionalism and work ethic.

"His consistency on the field is second to none. This year, Kris really stepped up and took the reins and managed the scheduling for the entire league and did an excellent job," said Samuel, who is also the president of the Sylvan Lake Gulls.

"He makes himself accessible to all of our umpires and liaisons really well with the umpires, coaches and members of the umpire committee. For this reason, we feel that Kris is very much deserving of the Mitch Ball Memorial Award as the WCBL Umpire of the Year for 2024."

The award is named after Mitch Ball, an elite and accomplished umpire who passed away in 2021.

Hartley described the news as an unexpected honour and he spoke glowingly of Ball.

"Surprised and shocked to receive the call from the league. The league has many great umpires who are deserving of this recognition and I felt like I did not deserve it," said Hartley.

"It is a huge honour to receive the Umpire of the Year award named after Mitch Ball as, in my opinion, Mitch was the epitome of what it means to be an umpire. He was a talented official, but an even better human being who was willing to help anyone in his always humble manner."

Added Hartley: "Mitch and I shared many late night phone calls as we were both driving home from different WCBL locations discussing various situations that occurred or ways to improve umpiring in Alberta and the WCBL as I took over his 'grassroots' portfolio with Baseball Alberta, so to be nominated and recognized for an award in his name is a huge honour and something that I will cherish."

Looking back on this WCBL season, Hartley described the 2024 postseason as particularly memorable, culminating in the walkoff home run from Connor Crowson to win the championship for the Okotoks Dawgs.

"On that hit, I had gone out to centre field to signal the home run and then to turn back and see the excitement and pandemonium of the Okotoks bench clearing and the crowd going nuts was pretty special," said Hartley.

"Actually, every playoff game I was involved in were great games with intensity and moments ... from game three of the Okotoks versus Lethbridge series in round two to Brooks versus Sylvan Lake in round one."

Hartley got his start masking up in fastpitch softball in Chase, B.C. almost 30 years ago and he credited the mentorship of Kelly Hunter - a veteran ump who worked women's softball games at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, among other major events - for helping him learn the ropes.

He branched out from officiating softball games and entered the realm of baseball, where he gained experience in the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC).

Hartley is also a two-sport official, who worked as a linesman in the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 2002 through 2016. He's now a WHL video goal judge and an instructor of hockey officiating clinics in the Calgary area.

"I have been fortunate to work 10 national events for Baseball Canada, including the 2014 and 2017 'T12' tournaments, the 2022 Canada Summer Games, and I just got back from the Canadian Futures Showcase where Baseball Canada has moved me into the 'mentorship' phase by the Baseball Canada Umpire Committee to hopefully represent them on the international stage in the coming years," said Hartley, who has been working on the WCBL circuit since 2014.

The former teacher - who is now a training manager for a global oil and gas safety company based in Airdrie - has a busy schedule that includes roles with Softball Canada, the Alberta Softball Umpires Association and the Baseball Alberta Umpire Committee.

Hartley also has a number of upcoming international commitments involving softball and baseball.

"Officiating has played, and still does play, a major role in my life with my involvement in various roles," said Hartley, who volunteers much of his time to help educate aspiring officials.

"As I have gotten older and some priorities change, some of the greatest accomplishments that I achieve is seeing the development and growth of officials that I work with, rather than personal accolades, hence why I enjoy instructing and evaluating other officials and being a student of officiating ... to evolve and improve personally and professionally."