Dean Esskew, Apostle of the Umpires

By Rod Anderson, CP Cartoonist Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Dean Esskew, 48, is the leader of a ministry Calling for Christ, which serves the highly itinerant and much criticized population through retreats, conference calls, and peer support.

A former pastor of an Oklahoma congregation, Esskew worked with Major League Baseball umpires Ted Barrett and Rob Drake to organize the inaugural retreat. Twelve men showed up the first year, though numbers have recently grown to nearly 70, reported Baptist Press in 2012.

A recent ESPN piece about Esskew, noted that the pastor spends almost half his year visiting umpire teams, while keeping up with them throughout the season through conference calls where he notes who is and is not on the call before often deciding to visit the absentee party in person.