Dale Scott has a cool new gig that will keep him connected to the baseball officiating career that brought him to the highest levels of Major League Baseball.
American Umpires has announced that Scott will be the organization’s new Director of Professional Umpire Development. What exactly does that mean?
“I’ll be evaluating umpires in that group that are contemplating a pro career and umpire school,” Scott told Outsports. Those evaluations, of about a dozen potential umpires per year, take place in Indianapolis over two weeks each summer.
Scott umpired in three World Series and three All-Star Games. He came out publicly as gay in 2014 when he shared a picture of himself and his husband in Referee magazine. He retired from Major League Baseball last year.
What’s particularly cool about this is that Scott wasn’t looking for a job, but American Umpires sought him out. This continues to defy the drumbeat we hear from so many people about how anti-gay the world of professional sports is. Everyone at American Umpires is very aware that Scott is gay.
“I’m happy I’m able to give back to the umpire community that was so good to me,” Scott said.
If you have an interest in being a baseball umpire, you can find American Umpires at their Web site.
You can follow Dale Scott on Twitter @DaleScottMLB5, on Instagram @rightonpdxps, or on Facebook.
