WILLIAMSBURG— Thanks to his YouTube Channel, Williamsburg resident Noah Katz is living his dream, umpiring at some of baseball’s biggest stadiums alongside the Savannah Bananas, a nationally touring exhibition barnstorming team.
Katz started The Umpire Channel as a way to educate the next generation of umpires. Through video classes and interviews with umpires at all levels, Katz’s channel provides education and the tools to become a successful umpire.
As the channel has now amassed over 200,000 subscribers, Katz has been able to fulfill many of his dreams on the field.
After connecting with the Savannah Bananas to film content for the channel over a year ago, Katz inquired about the possibility of umpiring a game himself. After umpiring a few games in 2023, he got the chance again in 2024, but this time on a much larger stage.
In front of 37,000 people and a sold-out Fenway Park, Katz found himself on the right field line umpiring one of the biggest games of his life. He spent the day at Fenway with Savannah Bananas players and umpires, got a tour of Fenway, and even participated in a very special Fenway tradition: signing the Green Monster.
“As a kid, you dream of getting to step out on the field at Fenway. Getting to umpire there was just incredible. It feels different when you walk in, when you visit the Green Monster, it was really an MLB experience. We got to do everything you would get to do if you are playing in the MLB at Fenway. To see the entire stadium completely sold out, it was overall an experience unlike any other,” Katz said.
It’s an experience Katz will not soon forget.
“It was quite literally baseball heaven being out on that field,” Katz said.
On July 13, Katz will umpire for the Savannah Bananas again, this time at Nationals Park, home of the Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals.
Since starting the channel two years ago, Katz can’t believe the growth and popularity that he has created around umpiring.
“It’s crazy to see the impact that I have had on umpiring. Every time I’m at a baseball field, all the kids follow the channel. All the kids are always coming up and asking for pictures and autographs. They have seen what I’ve done with the channel and a decent amount of them want to become umpires just from what they have seen on the channel,” Katz said.
Katz will continue to travel and film content for The Umpire Channel in addition to his Savannah Bananas umpiring duties. He plans to attend a Pro MLB camp, where he will film a day in the life of an MLB umpire video. In August, he will film umpire content at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
“I grew up with two dreams: To be a YouTuber and to step out onto MLB stadiums. With The Umpire Channel, I get to do both,” Katz said.
For more information on The Umpire Channel, visit theumpirechannel.com.