Three veteran baseball umpires with more than thirty years of service each have retired following the conclusion of the high school autumn tournament season. Yoshiaki Ueno of Suzaka City, Hisayuki Yoneyama of Komagane City, and Atsushi Ito of Ina City stepped down from the Nagano Prefectural High School Baseball Federation’s umpiring department after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65.
The Careers Behind the Plate
Operating under the jurisdiction of the prefectural federation, the trio managed high-stakes postseason contests while balancing demanding careers outside of athletics. Ueno, an alumnus of Suzaka High School, entered the umpiring ranks in 1988 after a recommendation from his school’s baseball club director. Alongside operating a fruit farm, Ueno served as chief umpire for the Nagano tournament finals and held the role of chief umpire for the federation’s Northern Shinshu branch, accumulating a career approaching four decades.
“The presence of my colleagues is what allowed me to make it this far,” Ueno said. “While I set my sights on becoming a certain kind of senior mentor, there were also times I stole techniques from younger colleagues.”
Ueno’s alma mater, Suzaka High, recently rebounded from having zero players to advance to the prefectural tournament for the first time in 15 seasons, securing a victory in the process. “Hearing from people in the community made me realize once again the immense presence that high school baseball holds,” Ueno noted. Beyond his high school duties, Ueno also serves as chief umpire for the prefectural corporate baseball federation. He intends to continue officiating corporate games and high school practice matches when requested.
Decades on the Diamond in Southern Shinshu
In the Southern Shinshu branch, Yoneyama and Ito concluded decades of service together, having both graduated from Akaho High School, where Yoneyama is one school year ahead. Yoneyama registered as an umpire in 1992 following an invitation from an acquaintance in the officiating corps. His career included a hiatus during which he worked in Komagane City Hall and served as a volunteer coordinator in Nepal for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Finding that he ultimately preferred the sport, Yoneyama returned to officiating upon his return to Japan.
“I realized the true fun of baseball by becoming an umpire,” Yoneyama said. “I never imagined I would be standing on the same field enjoying it with high school students at this age. As long as my body allows, I want to remain involved with high school baseball as an umpire for practice games if called upon.”
Ito registered in 1980 after receiving a direct request from the Akaho High School baseball coach, logging nearly 40 years of service aside from a brief multi-year period playing for the corporate soft-baseball team of his former employer, Rubicon. “Making black-and-white calls while passionate instructors and guardians watch is intimidating, but I could keep going because I loved baseball,” Ito said. “I focused on running games at a good tempo to help bring out good plays.”
Passing the Torch
Family tradition also marked the conclusion of Ito’s career. Roughly a decade ago, his eldest son, Hijiri, a graduate of Komagane Industrial High School, registered as an umpire. “I was able to successfully pass the baton,” Ito said, expressing relief at having a capable successor. Even in retirement from official tournament play, Ito plans to watch high school baseball from the stands and handle practice game assignments as long as his physical condition permits.
Yoneyama and Ito completed their final official assignments on September 13 during the fifth- and sixth-place playoff match on the final day of the Southern Shinshu preliminaries, where both received commemorative floral bouquets. Ueno worked his final official game on September 20 as the first-base umpire during the first match of the prefectural tournament’s second round.
