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Menke is thankful he has his college degree and likely will pursue a graduate degree if umpiring doesn't work out. He plans to stick with it as long as he thinks he has a realistic chance of reaching the majors.

His wife takes a wait-and-see attitude.

"I am excited for him, and I try to be as supportive as possible," Susie Menke says. "Every once in a while I get kind of down. But, hey, it could be worse. If he was in the [armed] services, I would have to be concerned about his safety. Here the worst I have to worry about is him being hit by a foul ball."

Tumpane plans to finish junior college -- he is one course shy of getting his degree -- sooner if he is out of baseball, later if he reaches the majors.

"If I were able to work one big league game that I knew that I earned, it would all be worth it," he says. "Some guys don't like having continental breakfast 140 days in a row or don't like wishing their wife happy birthday from 600 miles away or miss out when there is a newborn at home. I have just been lucky I haven't run into any of that. I kind of have an open path to give it everything I have right now."

An average day

That path typically produces more drudgery than excitement.

Menke wakes up around 9 or 10 a.m., his partners closer to noon. Menke always tries to see the sights and particularly likes state capitals. He visited the building in Harrisburg, Pa., but is shut out in Trenton.

The three might exercise in the hotel gym if there is one and go out to lunch on their $25 per diem. But mostly there is a lot of sitting around. Hopefully, a day game will be on television. Menke reads the Bible and surfs the Internet for finance committee news from Washington.

"I try to be as productive as I can be on the road and keep my mind working," Menke says. "I do a lot of reading."

They leave for the park about 90 minutes before game time, then get some more rest in the small umpires' locker room. They hit the field about 10 minutes before the game.

"That is like my cup of coffee before work," Tumpane says of the atmosphere. "I played high school basketball, and it is the same adrenaline. The juices get going, and it is time to go to work."

The most taxing spot is behind the plate, where the umpire is involved in every pitch. Field umpires usually make only a handful of close calls, but the plate umpire can become a villain on any one of several hundred ball-strike calls.

"Some nights it feels like work, some nights it feels easy," Ripperger says. "Most of the time it's fun. We don't want to be just consistent. We want to be consistently right. If we miss a pitch here or there, you just hope it is not in the critical part of the game and that there are not a lot of them. Usually a good game is when there are a lot of pitches and you miss less than five pitches."

After a game, the three take quick showers and eat a meal provided by the home team. The food is considerably better at the higher levels: They get specially cooked food instead of whatever was left over at the concession stands.

As players give autographs outside the park, Crew 3 climbs back into Silvia. If they aren't heading to a new town, they go back to the hotel, then to a local watering hole to rehash what went right and what needs improvement.

"I am kind of a unique breed in that I don't drink at all," Menke says. "I have never drunk any alcohol ever. And a lot of umpires drink a lot. I hang out and everything. I enjoy going to a bar that has television and appetizers. I am kind of the designated driver of the group."

The sessions typically don't last long; the establishments often close not long after they arrive. Then it is another day of continental breakfasts, killing time and calling baseball.

"The camaraderie is what makes it fun when you are on the road," Ripperger says. "I like being on the road. I like traveling to different places. I like the challenge of working. You feel the sense of power and authority. It is nice. It is your game. That is kind of neat.

"But I also just love baseball. I love the game. I love being around the game. I will do whatever I can to try to stay around it."

Copyright © 2006 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.