Longtime Major League Baseball umpire and former Clairemont Hilltoppers player and umpire Mike Winters paid a recent visit to his old stomping grounds at Cadman Park, meeting with the Majors division Rays team and generously donating some umpire gear to our program.

The Rays are managed by Hilltoppers Vice President Mike Van Cleave, who played and umpired with Winters when they were growing up in Clairemont back in the '70s. Winters graciously spent close to an hour with the kids, coaches and parents, answering questions, telling stories and letting the kids know how a former Hilltopper made it to the Major Leagues. His donation of umpire gear will also be put to good use by Hilltoppers umpires this season.

As a 19-year veteran Major League umpire, Winters has umpired in a number of playoff, World Series and All-Star games, and is looking forward to his 20th big league season in 2009. A charter member of the Hilltoppers Hall of Fame announced in 2006, he was also our guest on Opening Day in 2007, where we celebrated his accomplishments by retiring his number 33 (look for his banner on our outfield fence on the Padres field).

All of us at Clairemont Hilltoppers take great pride in having "one of our own" working in the Major Leagues. We look forward to future visits from Mike, and hope he can always be proud of being a Hilltopper.