Trey Ward Of Madison Makes Minor League Baseball As Umpire

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- Trey Ward has moved up in the ranks as a professional baseball umpire. Three weeks ago while checking into a hotel in preparation of a three-game series in the Coastal Plain League among teams throughout the Southeast and the East Coast of the United States, Ward answered a call on his cell phone from Dusty Dellinger, President of the Minor League Baseball Umpire Development.

“He told me a position was being offered to me for a spot in the Gulf Coast League,” said Ward from his hotel waiting for his next assignment. “I was thrilled to say the least.”

The 23-year old former Bob Jones High baseball player and 2014 graduate of the school worked his final two games in the Coastal Plain League before he boarded a plane to West Palm Beach to sign a contract for the remainder of the 2019 season.

“My first game in the new league came the next day on Monday between teams representing the Astros and Marlins in Jupiter, Fla.,” said Ward. “In the first game I was behind the plate where I’m very comfortable.”

The promotion to the Rookie League officially ranks Ward an umpire in Minor League Baseball.

“It feels great. I love it,” added Ward. “This is what I’ve been working for.”

Ward began his trek into an umpire as a young teen at Madison’s Palmer Park. He continued his work at honing his skills through high school and college. He attended the required training to put him on the path to reaching his goal of one day calling games in the confines of the stadiums in Major League Baseball.

Ward signed a salary contract with the Gulf Coast League that will run through the remainder of the current season.

He may make another promotion in 2020, and, who knows, he may just be an umpire in the Southern League at the new stadium of the Rocket City Trash Pandas.