Photo by Dan Andrews.
Farragut public address announcer Ralph Skinner honors Scott Dean at a recent ceremony where Dean’s number was retired and the baseball field house was named in his honor. Pictured are Dean’s family and members of the Admirals baseball team. Dean, who played and served as an assistant coach at FHS, died suddenly in January.

By Ken Lay

Scott Dean’s name will live forever in Farragut High School baseball.

Dean, who died in January after suffering a heart attack at age 28, had his number (5) retired in a ceremony following the Admirals’ 10-2 victory over William Blount on Friday, April 18.

The school also dedicated its field house, which is home to its indoor batting cages, in his honor. The facility is now called the Scott Dean Field House.

“We used to say that we were going to hit at the cages. Now, we say that we’re going to hit at the Dean,” said Farragut senior first baseman Chase Chambers. “Scotty was that players’ coach who helped me through the hard times.

“He always knew what to say and he knew how to say it. He played on [State] Championship teams in 2003 and 2004 and he coached on championship teams in 2010 and 2011. He was like that big brother that I never had.”

Dean, a catcher for the Admirals, went on to play collegiately at Lincoln Memorial University in 2005. He later transferred to the University of Tennessee where he served as the baseball team’s bullpen catcher in 2007 and 2008.

He returned to his alma mater to coach in 2010.

“Scott was one of our first former players to come back and coach,” said Ralph Skinner, the public address voice for Farragut High School baseball. “I knew Scott since he was eight or nine. He was like family to me.

“This [retirement and dedication ceremony] was really tough but I was terrifically honored to be a part of it. We had Scott’s family standing at the plate and his mom told me that was the first time that she’d ever been at the plate. The Deans are like family to me.”