South Jersey umpire honored after serving 50 years on the diamond

MEDFORD, NJ - The South Jersey Umpires Association declared the opening day of the season for a man being honored for 50 years of dedication and leadership on the diamond.

Bruce Lazaruk recalls the greats he has seen in his half-a-century career.

The backstory:

The South Jersey Umpires Association calls Bruce Lazaruk a mainstay. 

They are celebrating him for fifty umpiring baseball games and says it is a big deal at the high school level. But his resume also includes several state championship games, junior college, semi-professional, American Legion, Babe Ruth and little league games.

What they're saying:

"I'm pleased that I'm still umpiring baseball. I am doing what I like," said Bruce Lazaruk who we caught up with this afternoon after the South Jersey Umpires Association honored him.

"It started when I couldn't get a baseball job at Pemberton High School. They did not have an opening. I had come there to teach and coach football and baseball and they did not have a baseball opening. So I said let me go do the next best thing. I will go umpire and it has been ever since," he said. 

Late into Wednesday evening he umpired the high school game between Burlington City and Burlington County Institute of Technology in Medford. One of thousands of games in his career.

"There's a lot of rewards in it. I mean you are always close to the game. You see some great players," he said. 

Like former pitcher Sean Doolittle who won the 2019 world series with the Washington Nationals.

"Doolitte was a Shawnee kid actually from Tabernacle. But I saw him when he was in high school and his brother too came after him and played for Seneca. He was the lights out," said Lazaruk. 

He is modest about his success and milestone achievements but others cannot keep quiet. And rightfully so.

"He's dedicated to his craft, he's dedicated to making other umpires better and he's dedicated to the kids," said umpire Tom Wajda.

"He's been a mainstay for such a long time and we wanted to show appreciation for him and this is a big moment just in baseball in general. Especially at the high school level," said Gerry Malamisura, president of the SJUA.

Lazaruk says he is going for over 51 seasons.

"Absolutely. And a 52 and a 53. I am gonna do this until I cannot," he said.

"This is playing. They are paying me for it which is even better," he laughed.