Marching to Volunteer
- Updated: June 14, 2019
“He sounds like Vin Scully.” I just happened to hear an Ocean View Little League player say that as I walked by their third base dugout at a recent Tournament of Champions(TOC) game in Costa Mesa. The player was speaking about the announcer for that day’s game, Mr. Gary March.
Mr. March was announcing the starting lineups(and keeping a pitch count) for the first game of the day, but it is hardly all that he does. He is the epitome of what a Little League volunteer is and he is well-loved for it.
I first heard about Gary March a few years ago as I was attending a Little League All-Star Tournament in Fountain Valley, California. The man yelling out(with a voice made for announcing, I might add) “one dolla…one dolla,” was giving out a dollar for each foul ball returned to the scorekeeper’s table. Keep in mind, the kids returning the balls usually receive a piece of candy or a pin, but the kindness of Mr. March provided even more incentive for returning a foul ball. This nice gentleman definitely got my attention.
Mr. March(as pretty much everyone around Little League calls him), has always “kind of” been a baseball fan, but never really was involved in playing Little League when he was younger. His interest in Little League got started back when he was an instructional aide in a school and he saw students in Little League uniforms. His “now batting…number…” announcer’s call got started way back then.
He is not really a Major League Baseball fan, but his devotion to Little League is humongous. His contributions deserve to be well known. Besides finding him announcing at District 62 Little League TOC games, he does so much more. At the recent tournament, he was rewarding kids who brought back foul balls with five dollars and kids who brought back home run balls with twenty dollars! When Mr. March is announcing, there are really two games going on. One game is on the baseball diamond and the other is all around the diamond with kids waiting to retrieve foul balls so they can cash in their generous reward.
Mr. March brings great joy to the Little League fields. His smile and attitude are uplifting and contagious, and the kids absolutely adore him. During my recent interview with our local “Vin Scully,” we were interrupted(happily) quite a few times with both kids and parents thanking Mr. March and vice versa.
The story really doesn’t end there though. Through my involvement with family in Fountain Valley Little League, I learned that Mr. March was heavily involved in paying for team banners. This is not a minor amount of money. He was very humble when discussing this, but after I asked him, he did mention that he was fortunate to be able to “heavily sponsor Little Leagues.”
There are tons of fantastic volunteers in every Little League, like Mr. March, that make that storied institution function. They are visible and invisible at every game and tournament. Mr. March has been involved for about six years now and wants to keep going “as long as I’m able.” If you happen to make it to the District 62 All-Star Tournament(at Ocean View Little League the first day and Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley after that) do make it a point to seek out and say hi to this wonderful man. It will be pretty easy to recognize his voice, presence and character.
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