Major League Baseball and the players’ union will add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination policy as part of a new labor deal, the New York Daily News is reporting. From Andy Martino: The new collective bargaining agreement adds “sexual orientation” to its section on discrimination, a person with direct knowledge of the agreement told the [...]
Posts under ‘Baseball’
Billy Bean on meeting one of his heroes, gay serviceman Eric Alva
Over the past decade, I have watched with bated breath as our community fought to repeal the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy that would finally allow the members of our armed forces who happen to be gay or lesbian to be honest about who they are as they fight courageously for our freedom. One of [...]
Los Angeles gay rights group slams Bud Selig for speaking before Boy Scouts gala
The Boy Scouts of America does not allow gays or lesbians to serve as scouts or scout leaders, saying it “believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed.” Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is speaking tonight at [...]
Texas Rangers complete epic choke, lose World Series to Cardinals
Update: Game 7 was so blah that it’s not worth a separate item. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2, and are the World Series champions. The series, though, basically ended in Game 6. Previous: The headline might seem harsh but there is no other angle to explain the Texas Rangers blowing two-run [...]
World Series, Rangers vs. Cardinals: Do you have a rooting interest?
The World Series starts Wednesday with a matchup few expected — the Texas Rangers vs. the St. Louis Cardinals. I can’t say this is one to excite the senses. I will be rooting for the Rangers, the first World Series loser to make it back since the 1992 Braves. I can’t stand baseball allowing wild [...]
Outsports It Gets Better: Billy Bean, Major League Baseball player
The latest video in Outsports’ partnership with the It Gets Better Project™ is from Billy Bean, who played baseball with the Tigers, Dodgers and Padres from 1987-95. Bean is a gay sports pioneer, becoming one of the few pro athletes who publicly came out. I met Billy this weekend and we did a terrific interview [...]
Brad Pitt does not play gay Billy Bean in “Moneyball,” he plays straight Billy Beane
Billy Bean and Billy Beane could not be more different. Yet they also have a lot in common. For many people, though, confusion reigns. I got this text a couple of days ago. “Hey Billy, I’m sitting here watching a movie called “Moneyball” with Brad Pitt. Is he you?” Sigh. Even my own friends are [...]
Red Sox complete greatest Sept. choke in baseball history; Braves a close second
The Boston Red Sox led the Tampa Bay Rays by nine games on Sept. 4. And last night the lead went poof and the Rays completed the biggest September comeback for a playoff spot in Major League Baseball history. Not far behind were the Atlanta Braves, who blew an 8 1/2 game wild card lead [...]
Moment #7: Major Leaguer Billy Bean comes out; still regrets retiring early
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Baseball, 1999: A restaurant review in the Miami Herald changed Billy Bean’s life. The article, in an oh-by-the-way fashion, mentioned that Bean and his partner in the restaurant were also partners in life. The item caught the attention of the New York [...]
Philadelphia Phillies release anti-bullying video for It Gets Better project
Thanks to Joe in Philly for alerting us that the Philadelphia Phillies have released a video for the It Gets Better project featuring Chase Utley, Roy Halladay, Hunter Pence, John Mayberry, Jr. and Michael Stutes. The Phillies, with the Major League’s best record, join the growing list of baseball teams that have produced the anti-bullying [...]
Huntington Beach beats Japan on last at bat to win Little League World Series
Most athletes at some point pretend as a child that they’re a pro player, the championship is on the line, and they make the winning shot/run/catch/throw…. When I was 12 I was Larry Bird shaking off a defender and hitting a fadeaway jumpshot to win the NBA title. For Nick Pratto of the Huntington Beach [...]
Moment #54: Former Los Angeles Dodger Glenn Burke comes out
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Baseball, 1993: By the time former Major League Baseball player Glenn Burke came out publicly in interviews with Sport magazine and the “Today” show, the gay community in San Francisco had long known he was gay. Burke was a fixture in [...]
Moment #55: Jim Bouton’s ‘Ball Four’ TV show includes gay ballplayer
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Baseball, 1976. Major League pitcher Jim Bouton had caused quite a stir with his 1970 book, Ball Four. The book chronicled his 1969 season in the Major Leagues and brought to the public eye the rampant womanizing and drug use taking [...]
Tip: It’s not smart to streak a Little League game while carrying your cellphone
Oliver S. Sullivan, 18, of Hingham, Mass., thought he had pulled off the perfect crime. But he forgot one key detail: Don’t bring your cellphone with you when you’re streaking. From MyFoxBoston: On Monday, August 1, 2011 local police received multiple calls reporting a naked man, with a shirt covering his face, running through Lynch [...]
Baltimore Orioles do It Gets Better video
The Baltimore Orioles became the fourth Major League Baseball team to produce a video for the It Gets Better Project to fight teen bullying. The Orioles were proactive in getting the word out, sending us this background on the video: The Orioles today announced that they have released an 80-second anti-bullying video public service announcement [...]