Even under the lights, in the middle of a big-league baseball field, the umpires tend to fade into the background. But the umpire crew working the Coors Field series this week between the Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays stepped out from the shadows and into a hospital Tuesday.
Umpires Dan Iassogna, Paul Emmel and Clint Fagan volunteered a visit to Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children to talk to kids dealing with serious illness or injury and their parents.
“You walk into a hospital with a little bit of ego from the big-league life, but that quickly goes away,” said Emmel, who lives in Castle Rock when he’s not working games.