In the 1970’s, Dale Scott (b. Aug 14, 1959) was the proverbial “young man in a hurry”. His athletic accomplishments at Sheldon High School in Eugene were on the tennis court. He was also a musician, a student broadcaster, and a friend to all on campus.
His love of baseball and lack of ability drew him to umpiring at the early age of 15. Dale knew he wanted to be part of the grand old game.
Dale Scott went straight into the radio business after graduation and the baseball bug continued to bite, propelling him to umpire school in 1980. After five seasons of dues-paying in the minor leagues, he made the show in 1986.
Scott loves the umpiring life and baseball loved him back. A man who could talk to anyone, he could take abuse from angry players and managers and dish it right back, usually with a smile.
Dale always liked to stand out from the crowd. When the American League introduced the red shirt uniform option in 1996, he was frequently the only one on his crew to wear the color.
He found himself square in the middle of labor strife when 68 Major League umpires resigned in 1999 trying to force baseball into a new agreement.
Along the way Dale met Presidents, past and present and was part of the World Series crew in tense days just after 9-11.
He also found himself living a quiet double life after meeting his future husband Michael in 1986. Scott came out publicly in 2014 after finding himself welcomed in baseball for being his authentic self.
Umpires endure their own physical grind of fatigue and injuries. Scott’s career was cut short by concussions, four in five years and then in 2017 two in nine months. After being knocked out of a game in Toronto, he knew it was time to hang it up.
His 32-year Major League career included 3,897 regular season games, 91 post-season games and 92 ejections and too-many-to-count stories and memorable moments. He umpired in three World Series, three All-Star games, six League Championship series, and 12 division series.
In retirement, Dale tells a lot of those stories in his book “The Umpire is Out” and spends a lot of time following his beloved Oregon Ducks.
UMPIRE BY THE NUMBERS
DALE SCOTT
Uniform numbers: 39 and 5
Minor League seasons: 1981-85
Major League seasons: 1986-2017
Total regular season games: 3,897
Division series: 12
League championship series: 6
World Series: 3
All-Star games: 3