First openly gay baseball player Sean Conroy mak history - ESPN

Contents:

• FIRST OPENLY GAY PRO PLAYER, SEAN CONROY, GETS SHUTOUT HISTORIC START
• DTY BAKER’S SUPPORT OF GAY BASEBALL PLAYERS GO BACK TO GLENN BURKE
• ATLANTA BRAV’ ORGANIST TROLLS ANTI-GAY CUBS PLAYER DANIEL MURPHY WH LGBTQ-THEMED SONGS: WATCH

FIRST OPENLY GAY PRO PLAYER, SEAN CONROY, GETS SHUTOUT HISTORIC START

-- Baseball history was ma Northern California we untry Thursday night when the sport's first active profsnal player to e out as gay pched a shutout before an enthiastic crowd that seemed more imprsed wh his performance than his role as a Conroy, 23, led the Sonoma Stompers to a 7-0 victory durg his first start wh the 22-man team that is part of the pennt Pacific Associatn of Baseball Clubs. "The atmosphere at Arnold Field, the Stompers' 370-seat home field, was low-key, wh no obv signs was a historic game or even gay pri night at the ballpark -- except for the rabow-striped socks and arm warmers some players (but not Conroy) Stompers did not make a special announcement or ll attentn to the tone so Conroy uld foc on his pchg, general manager Theo Fightmaster the startg lp was announced, however, Conroy got the loust cheer. "We've had gay people here forever; 's not like 's a big al, " said Barry Bosshard, who along wh his wife, Lra, is puttg up Conroy and another player at their home durg the Stompers' 78-game season.

DTY BAKER’S SUPPORT OF GAY BASEBALL PLAYERS GO BACK TO GLENN BURKE

Fightmaster says Conroy privately shared his sexual orientatn wh teammat and management before agreeg to e out publicly time for the team's gay pri night. "His goal has always been to be the first openly gay baseball player, so he was very much favor of tellg the story, of rryg that torch, " he Do, 67, attend the game wh 25 iends om a lol group for LGBT senrs and was one of three fans picked to throw out a first pch. "Major League Baseball historian John Thorn nfirmed Conroy is the first active profsnal to e out as gay.

"While this pcher who was unknown to me before your ll may not be a prospect for Major League Baseball, he certaly serv our applse, " Thorn, who had earned four sav as a closer for the Stompers before takg the mound as a starter for the first time, said he told his fay he was gay at age 16 and was open wh his high school, summer league and llege teams.

"I am fely surprised that no one else has been openly gay baseball yet. "It don't matter if he pch the big leagu or not; he's gog to bee a lear (tonight) many ways, " Bean 's history-makg start me at a watershed moment for gay rights, wh the U.

ATLANTA BRAV’ ORGANIST TROLLS ANTI-GAY CUBS PLAYER DANIEL MURPHY WH LGBTQ-THEMED SONGS: WATCH

Supreme Court schled to le any day now on whether to make same-sex marriage legal across the Vogler, 50, -owner of a lol pany that sponsors LGBT tours and events we untry, marveled om behd a fence not far om the tcher as he watched Conroy throw some of what turn out to be 140 grew up another part of Sonoma County and left as soon as he uld bee the anti-gay hostily was so high. Huggg durg a game agast the LA Dogers went viral, homophob had to sound off wh their disfort that two men uld be affectnate towards each other. I don\u2019t want to gay bash, but those two need to get a room...

1532892884However, others have fired back, noticg the homophobic unrton of people's disfort wh somethg as simple as two guys huggg. Ben Niara, an Atlanta rint, attend the 2016 LGBT Night as part of the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chos, which was ved to sg at the event.

Brav players also ma the news after g on the field followg an cint wh a Toronto Blue Jays player who ed a homophobic slur on Atlanta’s pcher.