Major League Baseball umpire Dale Scott has revealed he’s gay.
Scott, who has 29 years of MLB umpiring experience, first revealed the information by sending a photo of him and his partner of nearly 30 years to Referee magazine, which profiled the ump in its October issue. He told Outsports.com during a recent interview that fellow MLB umpires have long been aware of his same-sex marriage.
“I realized that it could open a Pandora’s Box, but this is not a surprise to Major League Baseball, the people I work for,” Scott told Outsports.com. “It’s not a surprise to the umpire staff. Until Mike and I got married last November, he was my same-sex domestic partner and had his own MLB I.D. and was on my insurance policy.
“This is not going to be some huge flashing news to Park Avenue (MLB headquarters), but I also didn’t want to be making some coming-out story, some banner headline, because that’s not how I operate. It’s not a shock to MLB management because they’re well aware of my situation and it’s not a shock to the umpire staff. If it would have been, I don’t think I would have done it.”
Referee magazine is a subscription-only publication with a circulation of about 45,000. The October profile was a look at Scott’s big league umpiring career. Scott decided to send the magazine’s editor, Jeff Stern, a photo of him and his partner when asked for non-game photos.
The caption on the photo later read, “Scott’s resume includes three World Series, three All-Star Games, six league championship series and 10 division series. He and his longtime companion, Michael Rausch, traveled to Australia for the 2014 season opener between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers.”
Scott, who has been a crew chief for 12 years, said fellow umpires began to figure out he was gay around the late 1990s, as he never hid his relationship with his partner.
“I am extremely grateful that Major League Baseball has always judged me on my work and nothing else, and that’s the way it should be,” Scott told Outsports.com.
Photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
