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The Umpire Is Out: Calling the Game and Living My True Self

Dale Scott,

Rob Neyer,

Billy Bean (Foreword)

4.42 · Rating details · 33 ratings · 6 reviews

Dale Scott’s career as a professional baseball umpire spanned nearly forty years, including thirty-three in the Major Leagues, from 1985 to 2017. He worked exactly a thousand games behind the plate, calling balls and strikes at the pinnacle of his profession, working in every Major League Baseball stadium, and interacting with dozens of other top-flight umpires, colorful m ...more

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Hardcover, 312 pages

Published May 1st 2022 by University of Nebraska Press

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May 16, 2022 Greg Stoll rated it really liked it

A very interesting look at Dale Scott's career; he was the first openly gay umpire in Major League Baseball. He was an umpire for 30 years, and so as you can imagine has some good stories to tell!

Odds and ends:
- When Scott was umpiring in the Cal League, at a particular ballpark a couple had season tickets and were always yelling at the umpires. One day Scott and a fellow umpire went to an ice cream shop and realized that the couple owned the shop, so they started saying things like "You call th A very interesting look at Dale Scott's career; he was the first openly gay umpire in Major League Baseball. He was an umpire for 30 years, and so as you can imagine has some good stories to tell!

Odds and ends:
- When Scott was umpiring in the Cal League, at a particular ballpark a couple had season tickets and were always yelling at the umpires. One day Scott and a fellow umpire went to an ice cream shop and realized that the couple owned the shop, so they started saying things like "You call that a scoop? C'mon, you gave us a bigger scoop than that!" and so on. When the couple kicked them out, Scott asked "Were you upset that we're yelling at you while you're working?", and when they replied that they were, he said "OK, well, that's sorta how we feel when you yell at us. We're the umpires. See you tonight!" (I realize this is kind of a jerky thing to do, but, you know, pretty funny!)
- Scott talks about umpiring in the Dominican League, and how every stadium had sections where fans would place bets with other fans about almost anything. Scott said he would call a strike on the first pitch of an inning and hear boos and cheers from just one section of the stadium, and it took him a while before someone told him what was going on!
- Scott would leave comp tickets to games for his boyfriend's mother, and she would sit in those seats and yell at him about ball/strike calls! Eventually his boyfriend told her to knock it off🙂
- Billy Martin was the manager of the Yankees in the 80's, and he got into it with a lot of umpires. After he kicked dirt on Scott and accidentally kicked him (he was trying to kick the dirt but it was wet; he then gave up and picked up dirt and threw it at Scott; the video is pretty funny) Scott ejected him. A few months later Scott was scheduled to work a series in New York, but the umpire crews were switched out and he didn't go. Scott didn't know this at the time, but the league had received a threat that if Scott came to New York again, he'd be leaving in a body bag! And according to Billy Martin's biography, he had tried to find a mob guy to kill Scott. Crazy!
- A strategy you see sometimes is when a player gets mad at an umpire, the manager will run on the field to intervene and take over yelling at the umpire so the player doesn't get thrown out (some managers thinks this fires up their teams, to show that he has their back). This can happen even when the manager knows the umpire was right. Scott tells a funny story when this happened with Twins manager Tom Kelly after an interference play; Kelly made a big show of running out on the field and yelling and pointing, but the whole time he was saying things like "I can't believe my guy doesn't know the difference between running here *points* and running here *points*! And you made a great [expletive] call!" He had to tell Scott not to laugh because the cameras were on them!
- In 1999 there was a big umpire union dustup as they were negotiating a new contract with MLB, and Scott got an anonymous threat from another umpire that if he didn't fall in line, he would be publicly outed! (the fact that he was gay was somewhat of an open secret among other umpires)
- One time in the minor leagues (in a game Scott wasn't umpiring), all four umpires were gathered around a manager while he yelled about some ruling. The manager got more frustrated and said "You're all a bunch of [expletive]s!" Three of the four umpires immediately ejected him - then the manager pointed to the fourth umpire and screamed "It must be you! You're the [expletive]!"🙂
- Scott tells the story of how after he ejected manager Lou Pinella for arguing balls and strikes, Pinella ran out of the dugout to home plate, and yelled and kicked dirt onto home plate. (16 kicks!) When it looked like he was done, Scott responded "Hey Lou, you missed a spot" to which Pinella responded "Oh, [expletive] you!" and scooped four more handfuls of dirt to finish covering the plate with dirt!
- When Scott came out publicly in 2013, he got nothing but supportive comments from players! Very sweet. ...more

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Feb 25, 2022 Jake rated it it was amazing

Thank you to University of Nebraska Press for the advance reader copy.

The Umpire Is Out is, like most good umpire memoirs, full of great stories from the world of MLB (as well as minor league baseball) going back over the past four decades. All of the on-field interactions, famous (and not so famous) baseball personalities, behind the scenes tales and how Scott balanced his personal life with his professional life are included.

His personal life is what sets Scott apart, as he was (and still is) ...more

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May 13, 2022 mitchell p. kanefsky rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great Read!

A fast read that was written well! As an official in other sports, I appreciate anyone willing to do what it takes to "strap it on!" The dedication and sacrifice not only by the person, but their support system, as well! Dale does a great job of bringing you inside the locker room and psyche of a professional, always presenting the human side, which can sometimes turn things sideways - as he describes - but which also resolve in the end. His lifestyle is his choice. And like anyone el ...more

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Jun 07, 2022 Caroline rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

as compelling as I knew it would be

Knowing a handful of the MLB and MiLB umpires Dale has worked with over the years I had very much looked forward to this book being published. It didn’t disappoint. I came away thinking even more highly of Dale as both a person and as an umpire. He weaves the whole history of both his career and his personal journey in an exceedingly engaging way with true transparency and genuine integrity. Look forward to going to the book signing soon at Powell Books in Port ...more

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May 15, 2022 Ty Linder rated it liked it

Dale Scott is a pro and his story is unique in the annals of sports and human culture. His book is a perfect blend of great umpiring stories and his own personal triumphs. As someone who has followed a similar path, many of Dale’s experiences ring near and dear to me.

Some of his baseball anecodotes are familiar (they are mentioned in crewmate Durwood Merrill’s book from the late 90s) but there is plenty of fresh material and several “laugh out loud” moments.

Baseball (and umpiring) misses guys li ...more

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Jul 01, 2022 Carl Hafer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Enjoyable

A nice enjoyable read with a ton of great stories. A nice change of pace to get the umpire's perspective. Definitely recommended for any baseball fan ...more

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