‘Listen to yourself’: 11-year-old Black SC baseball player trailblazing as umpire

IRMO, S.C. (WIS) - Kyson Scurry is on a mission to continue to blaze a trail for Black umpires in the game of baseball at 11 years old.

“I just thought it would be a phase,” said Reginald Scurry, Kyson’s dad. “Kids go through phases. He was seven years old at the time. It started off with an indicator, then he got a plate brush. And ball bag. And it just went on from there.”

“It started when I was about five or six years old. I asked my mom to find an umpire camp that I could go to,” said Kyson, the Irmo Little League All-Star.

Kyson has traveled across the country attending training camps covering umpire mechanics and timing. He’s also hopped in to call a few scrimmages in Irmo.

Kyson understands that what he’s doing is unique because of his age and demographics of umpires in baseball. Currently, there are five Black umpires in Major League Baseball (MLB).

According to the MLB, there have been only 11 full-time Black umpires in the history of the American and National Leagues since 1966.

“Those numbers are very small,” said Reginald Scurry. “So, for him to be on the course that he’s on, is very important to me, and kids that look like him.”

Kyson said he embraces being a young trailblazer and dares other kids to believe that they too can walk a different line.

“When I was younger, people didn’t really believe I was an umpire. Just be a leader not a follower. Do what you want to do. Doesn’t really matter what other people say. Just listen to yourself,” said Kyson.

Kyson said current MLB umpire Laz Diaz is his mentor and will be attending one of the games Diaz is officiating Friday when the Atlanta Braves play the Philadelphia Phillies.

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