It didn't take long for Ted Barrett to realize Cal State Hayward was special.

A two-year standout as a tight end on the Pioneer football team in 1985 and 1986, Barrett (BS '88 Physical Education) noticed something interesting during a game on the sidelines that caught his attention.

"I was proud of our cheerleaders," Barrett said from his home in Arizona. "There weren't many of them, but a couple of the male cheerleaders would rap. 

"I'm thinking, 'No one else is doing this, we're Hayward.' There were guys busting out raps on sidelines … I had never seen that before."

Although it wasn't a traditional sports-crazed campus atmosphere like nearby Division I programs Stanford and Cal, school spirit and support began to increase as the Pioneer football program continued to improve.

"As we were winning games, there were bigger and bigger crowds," Barrett recalled. "There wasn't a traditional 50,000 people at the game, but it was cool to look up and see more and more people. 

"It was starting to build up." 


Ted Barrett with family.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Barrett moved to the Bay Area between his sophomore and junior years of high school. 

He soon became the first member of his family to go to college, but wasn't interested in leaving home to do so.

"I liked the Bay Area, and Hayward is a big part of my story," said Barrett. "I loved the campus and the diversity. 

"There was every race, creed and color. I loved the melting pot of different cultures."

Instead of staying in his own football bubble, Barrett branched out and eventually found himself supporting other teams on campus.

He had friends on the Pioneer men's basketball team and began attending games regularly. He also started going to women's soccer games, as Cal State Hayward was building toward an eventual 1988 national championship. 

He branched out in the classroom too. 

"I was doing things I never thought I would," he said. "I was taking women's studies and a race class that got me out of my box. 

"I'm thankful for the education I got in Hayward." 

On the field, Barrett and the Pioneers started strong in his first season in 1985 behind head coach Tim Tierney. 

Cal State Hayward began the year 4-0 and was ranked No. 15 in the nation before suffering a road loss to rival San Francisco State. The Pioneers eventually finished the season with a 6-3-1 overall record.  

"We were a great team, especially the defense," said Barrett. "Football players are lifelong friends. When I'm in The Bay, guys come to (baseball) games and we have laughs over memories."


 
AN UMPIRE IS BORN

With his football career coming to an end in the fall of 1986, Barrett had plans to move on to his next phase of life. 

However, Don Sawyer helped lead him down a different path. 

An assistant football coach and former lineman for the Oakland Raiders, Sawyer persuaded Barrett to return for a fifth year as a member of the coaching staff and finish his degree as a graduate assistant.

"At this time, I was just trying to stay eligible," Barrett recalled. "But (Sawyer) told me, 'Get your Physical Education degree from here and it will be an achievement.' So I decided to buckle down. 

"There was group of us that played together, and were now coaching and running a lot of errands. We were kind of like interns. But I learned a lot about coaching and what it takes. There's a great tradition of coaching at Cal State Hayward."

When Barrett ultimately decided to attend baseball umpire school, one of the first people he told was coach Tierney. 

"(Tierney) was so supportive of me," said Barrett. "He said, 'Chase you dream, and if it doesn't work, you can come back.'"

At 23-years-old and fresh off college graduation, Barrett jumped in head-first into baseball officiating.

But like countless others with a similar dream, it requires time in the minor league before working your way up to the major league level.

"The odds of making it to the big leagues are so astronomical as an umpire," Barrett said. "The (MLB) staff was young at the time, so I had no shot. I was just enjoying the moment."

Barrett began officiating games in the California League, before eventually moving on to the Texas League. Soon after, he was promoted to working Triple-A games in Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas.

"I wasn't making any money, but I was young and chasing a dream," Barrett explained. "I never got to a point I thought I would quit. But I told my wife Tina, if it ever gets too bad, I can come home. 

"But she never complained."
  
 A PERFECT GAME

Everything changed when Barrett was called up to the major leagues in 1994 as a fill-in official, and was eventually hired as a full-time MLB umpire in 1999. 

Although viewed as a glamorous job by many, working as a professional umpire at the highest level of baseball is much tougher than it appears.

"You have to maintain concentration," Barrett said. "It's a skill. You have to learn when to bear down and concentrate, and when to catch your breath."

He's had plenty of tests. Barrett has worked behind the plate for two perfect games in his career, and was on the base paths for another.

He also worked Game 3 of the 2018 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, which is the longest World Series game in history lasting 18 innings over seven-hours and 20-minutes.

Barrett acknowledged headaches are common when giving complete concentration for 300 pitches per game. It gets even more intense for the postseason in October.

"It's a challenge to be perfect," Barrett said. "You've got to get every pitch right.   

"I never walked off the field and thought I was perfect. But I was still on the quest."   

Barrett has been on a different quest off the field as well. 

Currently a minister in Phoenix, Barrett initially joined the Campus Crusade for Christ while a student at Cal State Hayward. 

It has since transferred over to his day job. Barrett eventually created Calling for Christ, a Christian prayer/study/support group for MLB umpires to help them strive toward becoming better fathers, husbands and people.

"I always felt God called me for ministry," he said. "I love serving others and helping them be the best they can be.

"My time in Hayward is a big part of that, and I have pride in being a Cal State Hayward graduate. I look forward to being part of other events on campus as things get back to normal." 


 
PANDEMIC AT THE PLATE

Spring Training for the 2020 MLB season was shut down midway through in March just like everything else in the world. 

At this point, Barrett found himself not making calls on the baseball diamond for the first time in 33 years.

"I've always been an umpire, and this was the first time it didn't happen," he said. "I was sitting and waiting like everyone else."

When Major League Baseball resumed during the summer, Barrett regained some normalcy by working intersquad games for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But the 2020 season that followed was anything but normal.

"It was surreal with no fans," he said. "We were wearing masks on the field and were stuck in hotels.

"I love coming to the Bay Area to see people and catch up, but we weren't allowed to do any of that. It was strange. I loved taking people to the city to show it off. I like walking the streets, people watching and the energy. 

"Not being able to do that was just completely different and kind of depressing for me. I love everything about San Francisco."

Barrett's first 2021 Arizona Cactus League Spring Training game was on Feb. 27, as he and others ramp up for the MLB regular season beginning on April 1.

He's hopeful fans will be able to attend regular-seasons games at some point. But in the meantime, it's back to work.

"Spring Training is a fun time to knock the rust off," Barrett said. "You can't simulate MLB pitching, there's no way to practice it. I'm just anxious to get back to as near of normal as we can. 

"It's what I do for a living. I'm ready to get back to it."

Play ball.