Submitted photo Pictured are Wayne (left) and Warren (right) Cook at the All-Star Series in Chaska on June 27.
MARSHALL — On a hot final weekend in June, the top high school seniors in baseball in Minnesota lined up for the starting lineups of the 46th annual All-Star Series games in Chaska. Joining alongside them were Wayne and Warren Cook, and, while it was their fifth year serving as umpires for the games, it ended up being a special one for the 71-year-old twin brothers.
It was Warren’s final games, as he officially retired on June 27 after 40 years and 3,700 games as an umpire. Wayne has umped for 48 years and done 5,200 games. For comparison, Joe West is the longest active umpire in Major League Baseball at 5,376 games.
“We’ve worked college, amateur, high school and legion games together,” Wayne said. “We’ve pretty much seen it all.”
Wayne got his start as an umpire in 1974. A few years later, he attended the Joe Brinkman umpire school in Sarasota, Florida, which jumpstarted his career of calling games.
“I started umping in 1974 and I’ve worked in six different umpire associations. In 1978, when I was 27 I went to Joe Brinkman umpire school in Sarasota, Florida and that’s where my career took off,” Wayne said. “My goal was to ump in the Major Leagues but I never made it to that level.”
Warren, meanwhile, got an earlier start as an umpire, working his first game in 1972 in Leavenworth calling Wayne’s Junior Bi-County team. Warren said at the time, umpiring “wasn’t in my blood” yet, but it wouldn’t take long for him to get more involved calling games.
Then in 1980, while Warren and Wayne were working for the Southwest Minnesota Umpires Association, Warren’s first wife’s grandfather, Larry Knigge, who was the umpires secretary at the time, gave him an opportunity to work the state amateur tournament in Brownton the same year. From that moment on, he was hooked.
‘The highlight
of our careers’
The opportunity for the Cook brothers to work the All-Star Series didn’t actually start in 2016, but in 1994 at the state amateur tournament in a game between Belle Plaine and Milroy. Wayne called that game behind the plate, and made a lasting impression on then-Belle Plaine manager Brent Meyer. When it came time to find umpires for the 2016 All-Star Series, Meyer, who was the umpire-in-chief, knew who just to call.
Wayne said they were very fortunate that Meyer remembered them after several years and recommended them for the All-Star Series.
“After a game, they say you never remember the umpires but we were lucky that Brent, 22 years after 1994, remembered us. He told us we were ‘legends’ because we were still umpiring,” Wayne said. “If it wasn’t for Brent, we would have never gotten into the All-Star Series. We owe a lot to him and the Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association.”
The Series, which features six different All-Star teams, had a classic finish between the Metro South and South teams in a pool play game. The South took an early 3-0 lead before the Metro South made it 3-1 after one inning of play. The Metro South then took advantage of a pair of South errors to tie things up at 3-3 and weren’t done there. In the fifth inning, a player from New Prague put the Metro South All-Stars in front for good with a solo home run and gave them a 4-3 lead before adding another run in the next inning on a sacrifice fly. The South All-Stars kept fighting, though, and loaded the bases with two outs. A player on the South team hit a deep ball to left field, but the Metro South All-Star leftfielder made a leaping catch with his back against the wall to rob a potential grand slam.
Wayne said games like this year’s contests always made it a privilege to work the All-Star Series, adding it was a “career highlight”.
“It was our fifth time working in Chaska and it never got old. Those players are the best seniors in the state and every game got you excited. We have to thank Dale Welter of Chaska for treating us like kings,” Wayne said. “Working the All-Star Series was the highlight of our careers.”
From a hobby to a legendary career
Wayne and Warren worked 30 combined state amateur tournaments, including ones in Marshall and Granite Falls in 1989 and 1999, respectively. Wayne said it was a unique opportunity to be able to work with his brother during games.
“It’s been a treat. You umpire with a lot of different guys, but when your brother is out there with you – let alone your twin – that’s really kind of neat,” Wayne said. “We’re well-known around the area here, but we gained statewide exposure by doing the All-Star Series.”
Warren added that they did everything together and his brother became a role model in their umpiring careers.
“He was always who I looked up to in umpiring. He would critique me at the same time when we would ump together, but that was the only way you got better,” Warren said. “In college in 1968, Wayne was ‘Cookie 1’ and I was ‘Cookie 2’ because no one could tell us apart. He was the leader and I was the follower.”
Prior to the All-Star Series, Warren hadn’t called a game the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wayne worked both years, but only called games around the infield for a year because of complications with gallbladder surgery two days after their 71st birthday in mid-January.
But when they stepped onto that field for the last time calling a game together, they both shed some tears and knew it was a special moment they would always remember.
“It was a great ending to work with him,” Wayne said. “It was pretty special on that Saturday at the All-Star Series; both of us had tears, so talk about being identical.”
“I wouldn’t change much,” Warren said on his umpiring career. “What started as a hobby went on for 40 more years and that’s pretty special.”
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