The boys of summer (boys in blue, that is)

Steve Nelson is truly one of a kind.

When the San Carlos native works games as a home plate umpire, he brings so much more than just the balls-and-strikes calls to the diamond, though his old-timey voice when he makes these calls is alone worth the price of admission.

“I love the kids, calling their games and horsing around with them,” Nelson said.

Nelson goes above and beyond, though, constantly announcing the play-by-play like a radio announcer while games are in progress. And he is so engaged with his surroundings, during one Peninsula Colt League game on June 13 at San Bruno’s Lara Field, he turned to comfort a small child in the stands behind home plate when she started crying, offering some uplifting words of encouragement that seemed to settle her.

Having turned 50 last September, Nelson is a graduate of Serra, where he was classmates with Barry Bonds — three years his elder — for one year. One of his fondest baseball memories, he said, is having watched a 15-year-old Bonds pepper home runs in summer league at Burton Park.

Nelson said he umpires/referees approximately 175 games a season between baseball and basketball. He works mostly Little League and summer league for baseball, preferring not to umpire for official high school baseball games because he is afraid his animated and entertaining antics wouldn’t go over at the higher levels, he said.

“Cause I can’t change,” Nelson said.

Charlie Adams

A veteran with the Peninsula Baseball Umpires Association, Charlie Adams is one of the only umpires in town who still wears an old-school American League chest protector when umpiring behind home plate.

Since MLB, by rule, started doing away with the bulky chest protectors — which umpires held in front of them like a shield — 40 years ago, their use in the amateur ranks has also gone by the wayside. Not for Adams though, who said he is the only umpire in the PBUA to still use one.

“I take a lot of static from my fellow umpires about it,” Adams said. “But every time someone has the inside-the-shirt protector, they show me some bumps or bruises they’ve got.”

Craig ‘Knucksie’ Gruber

A familiar presence as a veteran in the District 52 Little League ranks, Gruber is one of most recognizable home plate umpires among Little League pitchers. The reason is Gruber has a very unique trait — when he throws a new ball into play, he tosses it to the mound by throwing a knuckleball.

Gruber said the reason he does this is because he can’t throw straight when throwing a ball normally. It’s a good thing his knuckleball is always right on the money.

A graduate of Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, Gruber learned how to throw the knuckler from his former varsity baseball coach. Gruber said he never learned how to make it dance enough to have it be effective as a high school pitcher, hence the reason he navigated toward umpiring.

Mark Comfort

While serving as the third-base umpire in the District 52 Little League 9-10s All-Star Tournament championship game between Hillsborough and San Mateo National Tuesday night at Ford Field, Comfort made one of the best defensive plays of the game.

“It’s the kids who make the plays,” Comfort said of his strategy as an umpiring presence. “I just try to stay out of the way.”

While standing off the third-base foul line, though, a blooper was struck into foul territory, which looked like it was going to drop to Comfort’s right and bound down the outfield line in foul territory. This would have held up the game for only a few seconds but Comfort wasn’t having it. Instead he showed some quick reflexes — fitting, since he is a former third baseman — by snatching the ball out of the air and quickly returning the ball to the mound by lobbing a strike to the pitcher.

The barehanded play inspired a young onlooker to comment: “Freakin’ Manny Machado, man.”

Paul Remedios

Crew chief Paul Remedios and his two fellow umpires made a patriotic splash for the Fourth of July. Working the District 52 Little League Majors All-Star Tournament championship game between Pacifica American and San Mateo American Tuesday at Holbrook-Palmer Park, the trio wore stars-and-stripes umpire jerseys, financed on their own dime no less.

“We just try to look patriotic,” Remedios said.

It’s one of the little touches that lends to Remedios being one of the most dedicated umpires in the county. Not only does he serve as a District 52 ump, he also works high school and summer travel-ball games. And on a trip to Seattle last summer, he took a tour of Safeco Field, and talked the tour guide into getting a look at the MLB umpire’s dressing room.

Remedios’ son Anthony is also a familiar presence around the District 52 diamonds. Having recently finished his freshman year at Aragon High School, Anthony has been a busy guy this summer, working in the concession stands at several venues and also providing public address at the 10-11s tournament at the Belmont Sports Complex.

Anthony is also following in his father’s footsteps as an umpire. During the Little League’s regular season, he works as an ump for Trinta and San Mateo National Little League. He said he prefers being a jack-of-all-trades as opposed to playing baseball, which he gave up several years ago.

“I enjoy doing the other stuff more,” he said.

Ken Dito

Something of an honorable mention to the umpires’ list, former KNBR radio personality Ken Dito got recruited into umpiring action earlier this summer while attending a game at Burlingame’s Washington Park.

While in attendance to watch his grandson Matthew Kitts’ Peninsula Colt League game June 8, Dito was approached by visiting South City manager Joe Freitas, who was asking all in attendance if anyone could fill in for the official umpires, who did not show for the Thursday night game.

Dito and another fan in attendance, Casey Owen, stepped up and umpired the game. Both Dito and Owen said they had never in their lives previously umpired.

As happenstance would have it, both were dressed the part, each wearing dress-down black. Dito’s black Milwaukee brand windbreaker had a special enhancement, a built-in electric heater to warm the interior lining, which came in handy on the frigid Burlingame evening.