A group of Camp Pendleton Marines showed up at Oceanside High School on Saturday to learn the "ins and outs" of being a Major League Baseball umpire from the umps themselves.
According to MLB.com, more than 550 U.S. service members have taken part in umpire training over the last four years. Two Marines showed such promise that they actually made it to MLB's umpire school.
Saturday's camp was the fifth geared just towards Marines.
Marine Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Mayfield served as a camp coordinator:
"Some of the intangibles that marines have are the same as Major League umpires and I thought it was a great match. You have to be dedicated and decisive in making decisions. You have to have a command presence, be dependable and able to operate out on your own, and Marines tend to do that."
