In the late 1980s, when Kevin Pemburlin chose to begin his officiating career, he made a pact with himself to do whatever was necessary to ensure the kids could play the game.
“I can remember a couple of games, even back in the early ‘80s, being canceled due to a lack of officials, and once I decided I was going to officiate, I made up my mind I was going to do everything I could do to keep that from happening,” said Pemburlin, who now, 33 years into his officiating career, has become a mainstay on the Key West fields and courts.
It was in 1989 while stationed in Ridgecrest, California, with the U.S. Navy, that found his passion for calling a game.
“I need a little extra cash and they were playing $10 a game and you were guaranteed at least four games a week, so that was $40 extra, which was big for an E-4 with a wife and kid, and not a lot of pay coming from the military at that time, it all helped,” said Pemburlin, who has officiated every home football and volleyball contest at Key West High for nearly three years straight, along with splitting his time in the spring between the high school and youth baseball and softball field.
Pemburlin spent 20 years with the Navy, retiring as an E-5, while also spending time with the reserve.
“Now I’m having a hard time because there’s nothing to officiate in the middle of summer,” said Pemburlin, jokingly. “Because there are so few of us in the Keys, especially Key West, the last couple of years there’s only been one or two of just officiating volleyball in Key West, so I do every home game.”
His efforts did not go unnoticed, as Pemburlin was invited by the Key West 12U All-Star baseball team to be their guest umpire during the squad’s trip to the Cooperstown Dream Park from June 19-25 in New York.
“I graciously accepted as I thought it would be a great time, and I was 100% correct,” said Pemburlin, who after being accepted as the Key West umpire, was called upon to do multiple weeks, but outside obligations allowed him to just do a single week with the Key West team. “I got to meet some really great umpires, learn some stuff from them, and overall had a great time.”
In total, Pemburlin was on the field for nine games during the five-day span, three of which he was behind the plate, but none for the Key West team; in fact, he was forced to move from his assigned five-man crew during one game that coincided with the Conchs. Pemburlin was honored with the privilege of carrying the American flag during the opening ceremonies, as one of two veteran umpires who were umpiring at the field for the first time.
“Everybody was fantastic, all the players and coach were great, as far as an umpire was concerned,” said Pemburlin. “It was a very high level of play, our Key West team did very well, losing in the quarterfinals, and it was the only loss they had. It was some great ball. I had one controversial call that ended a game, in the last game I called, they didn’t think he left early and I thought he did, so when they appealed it, I called him out. It was the third out of the sixth and final inning.
“The park has a steadfast rule that if a parent or coach gets ejected, they are done for life and can never come back. If a player gets kicked out, they are out for that game and the next game at a minimum,” he added. “I know that had a lot to do with how the players and coaches acted.”
There was a small clinic for the first-timers to Cooperstown, with the Key West umpire recalling the major point he received from the session was to make the call very slowly and to let the play continue to develop and finish.
“For me, that was kind of hard because I was originally taught ‘as soon as you see it, call it,’ but that was 30 years ago and the philosophies have changed and nobody told me they had changed,” said Pemburlin. “I was able to manage it and I don’t think I rushed any calls. It’s definitely something I’m going to bring back to Key West these next seasons for baseball and softball.”
To that note, Pemburlin stressed that he is going to hold some umpire clinics in the Keys to help spread the knowledge he learned from the week in Cooperstown, with the new philosophies he acquired taken into mind.
“Like they pointed out, you can see the ball get caught with the kid, not on the base, so you call them out, but the fielder drops the ball, now they are actually safe by rule, but you now have to change the call you just made,” said Pemburlin. “I don’t mind teaching and getting new officials up to speed because, not only at the kids level but the high school level as well, we have some young guys in the Keys who have got time to work their way up and maybe even go professional.”
As for Pemburlin, he has been invited back next season to Cooperstown as an umpire, and “provided my schedule doesn’t change next year, I’m going to try to go the week before Key West and a week after Key West makes the trip.”
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