Umpire retires after 4th concussion in 5 years

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — As a big league umpire, Dale Scott saw maybe 1 million pitches from the field. His final call, it turned out, was the easiest of all.

Rather than risk yet another concussion, Scott has decided to retire at 58.

“I’m done,” he told The Associated Press.

The veteran crew chief missed nearly the entire 2017 season after a foul ball off the bat of Baltimore slugger Mark

Trumbo in Toronto on April 14 caught him hard in the mask, causing Scott’s second concussion in nine months and fourth in five years.

Within a few days, while undergoing treatment for head, neck and shoulder injuries, Scott realized it was the end of a major league career that began in 1985 and included three World Series assignments, three All-Star Games and 91 postseason games.

“In fact, it was pretty easy,” he said. “I wasn’t planning on this year being the last one. But I thought, this is a sign.”

Especially when he asked three doctors about the possible long-term effects if he got jarred again.

“They said, ‘We just don’t know,’ ” Scott said. “But they told me that the more times you get hit, the more probability that you’ll have issues.”

Scott worked 3,897 regular-season games and was a crew chief for 16 seasons, half his career.

MLB provides long-term disability for umpires who cannot work because of permanent concussion effects, the same as it does for other lasting injuries.

Scott wonders about umpires who are cleared as part of the concussion protocol and then face the choice of continuing to work and risk further injury, or leaving the game.

“That needs to be addressed” in talks between MLB and the umpires’ union, he said. “Maybe my situation can be a catalyst for that.”