13-year-old umpire superfan stars on Cubs-Cardinals broadcast

A young fan caught the attention of local broadcasts for the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night at Busch Stadium. And he would’ve been difficult to miss, seeing as how he was decked out in full Major League Baseball umpire gear just a handful of rows behind home plate.

13-year-old fan Bradley loves to attend baseball games, particularly to watch umpires.

Cubs reporter Taylor McGregor explained Bradley’s passion on the Marquee Sports Network and interviewed him for more detail in the bottom of the third inning.

Bradley even showed off his strike-three call.

13-year old Bradley is an aspiring MLB umpire. He saved up his money to come to STL for a 3-game series against the #Cubs so he could practice his skills 🥹 pic.twitter.com/xUIrkGOt13

— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) August 9, 2025

“Boog (Sciambi), this is amazing,” McGregor began. “Meet my new best friend, Bradley, from Palm Beach, Florida. 13 years old. Became a fan of the umpires when he went to a Marlins game in Florida. And his dad said, ‘What are you looking at?’ And he said, ‘I’m watching the umpires.'”

McGregor asked Bradley, “Where did you get your umpire getup?”

“Actually, a bunch of different umpires have given me a bunch of different stuff,” Bradley responded.

Bradley elaborated on how that happened.

“A lot of them are really nice to me and a lot of them appreciate me, and I really appreciate them,” Bradley said.

“I was actually at a Marlins (spring training) game, and I was looking at the umpires,” Bradley continued. “And my dad said, ‘Who are you looking at?’ And I said, ‘The umpires.’ Since then, I asked him for umpire gear and all sorts of different stuff. We started going to minor-league games, Cardinals, spring training.”

Along with having an interview with Bradley themselves, the Cardinals’ broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest showed him locked in and umpiring each pitch.

This kid is just waiting for his shot pic.twitter.com/dTE1UZs4bC

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 9, 2025

While much of the baseball world has nothing but frustration when it comes to umpires these days, Bradley has nothing but love. It’s easy to see how the umpires would show appreciation for his support.