Scott was profiled in the October issue of Referee magazine, a subscription-only publication with a circulation of about 45,000. The article by Peter Jackel was a look at Scott's 29 years as a Major League umpire, and how he became one of the game's best despite nearly being fired early in his career. It also delved into his past career as a disc jockey with his "distinctive, radio-rich voice of a Vin Scully and the comedic timing of a George Carlin."
Jackel talked to friends of Scott's who grew up with him in Eugene, Ore., but nothing was written about his private life since he became an umpire. Prior to publication, the magazine's editor, Jeff Stern, wanted some non-game photos and that's when Scott made a decision to reveal a part of himself previously hidden from the public.
After consulting with his partner, Michael Rausch, Scott decided to send the photo below of the two of them, and it ran with this caption: "He and his longtime companion, Michael Rausch, traveled to Australia for the 2014 season opener between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers."
"My thought process was," Scott told Outsports in his first interview on the subject, "is that there's a story about my career and how I got started in umpiring and they're talking to people I have known since junior high and it didn't seem right to have a whole story and pictures without a picture of Mike and I, someone who's been with me through this entire process. We met the October after my first year in the big leagues.
"Obviously, when I sent that picture to Jeff, I knew exactly what it meant. In a small way, this was opening that door in a publication that wasn't going to be circulated nationwide. It could be picked up, but it's not Time magazine. I made that decision to go ahead and do it because I felt it was the right thing to do.
"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. 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."
And the best part of all this? Almost didn't feel the need to post it.
Outsports...MLB umpire Dale Scott comes out as gay in quietest way possible
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