9 Baseball Players Who Came Out As Gay [2023 Update]

Contents:

• THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE REFLECTS ON G OUT, COORS FIELD AND THE ‘ROBO-UMPIRE’
• ‘DALE, WE KNOW YOU’RE GAY. WE DON’T RE.’ HOW A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE ME OUT
• BILLY VAN RAAPHORST IS AGA A GAY UMPIRE WORKG THE COLLEGE WORLD SERI
• CELEBRATG LGBTQ SPORTS HISTORY: MLB UMPIRE DALE STT OUT AS GAY
• MLB UMPIRE DALE STT RETIR, SAYS G OUT AS GAY UNBURNED HIM
• THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
• QUEER READG: GAY FORMER MLB UMPIRE PENS MEMOIR
• UMPIRE DALE STT SAYS HE'S GAY
• YOUNG GAY BASEBALL UMPIRE, SPIRED BY DALE STT, AIMS FOR THE MAJOR LEAGU
• 9 BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO CAME OUT AS GAY
• A LONGTIME UMPIRE SAYS HE IS GAY
• FAMEWATCHER SEARCH PRIMARY MENU SKIP TO NTENT HOMECELEBRY HAIR TRANSPLANTCELEBRY PLASTIC SURGERYCELEBRY LEATHER JACKETBODY SHAPER SEARCH FOR: GAY MALE ATHLET, HOT BASEBALL PLAYERSGAY BASEBALL PLAYERS LIST: MLB AND MOR LEAGUERS
• GAY MOSW · CY GUI
• MLB UMPIRE DALE STT: ‘I WASN’T TIMIDATED BY THREATS TO OUT ME AS GAY’
• GAY MLB UMPIRE TALKS NEW BOOK, D.C. PRI NIGHT OUT APPEARANCE

THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE REFLECTS ON G OUT, COORS FIELD AND THE ‘ROBO-UMPIRE’

Stt was ducted to the Natnal Gay and Lbian Sports Hall of Fame 2015 and has sce wrten a memoir about his reer. On the rponse he’s gotten om the gay muny after umpirg the majors for more than three s and penng a memoir “The Umpire is Out: Callg the Game and Livg My Te Self”: SCOTT: The people I’ve talked to on this book tour, tellg me my story changed their life, my story gave them the urage to do this, or … this one lbian uple San Francis, she was, I gave her a big hug bee she said, “You don’t know how much hearg about you a game I love …” and that kd of stuff. In a perfect world, everyone gay would e out and blow away the stereotyp and prenceived notns of who, what, and how many we are.

I heard om police officers, firemen, members of the ary, mothers, fathers, om those who were straight, gay, bi, out, closeted.

‘DALE, WE KNOW YOU’RE GAY. WE DON’T RE.’ HOW A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE ME OUT

Closeted gay ach, police and fire personnel, teachers, and many others said this took them another step closer to walkg through that closet door. I wonred how thgs would have been different if I’d had an umpire to look up to, a role mol dog what I was strivg to do and who, oh by the way, happened to be gay?

BILLY VAN RAAPHORST IS AGA A GAY UMPIRE WORKG THE COLLEGE WORLD SERI

Here's a list of those the profsnal and llege baseball world proud enough to wear a rabow p wh their pstrip and e out as gay. An outfielr for the Los Angel Dodgers and the Oakland A's between 1976 and 1979, Glenn Burke beme the first Major League Baseball player to e out as gay to teammat and owners while still active, though the team asked that he keep his sexualy secret om the public and he plied.

"They n't ever say now that a gay man n't play the majors, bee I'm a gay man and I ma , " he told The Philalphia Inquirer. @billybeanballThe only livg Major League Baseball veteran who has e out as gay, outfielr Billy Bean played for the Tigers, Dodgers, and Padr over a reer that spanned om 1987 to 1995.

CELEBRATG LGBTQ SPORTS HISTORY: MLB UMPIRE DALE STT OUT AS GAY

He me out four years after retirg om the field, and wrote his 2003 book Gog the Other Way: Lsons From a Life and Out of Major League Baseball that the bullyg and homophobic world of baseball led him to walk away om pro ball.

"Beg gay don't change anythg about the way I play or teract wh teammat, " he said a team statement released for Pri Month. @_DavidD_41A first baseman for the Helena Brewers, rhe Milwkee Brewers' rookie affiliate team Montana, David Denson 2015 beme the first player affiliated wh Major League Baseball to e out as gay. @DunngtonTylerA pcher for rookie and Class A teams affiliated wh the Cardals 2014, Dunngton told Outsports he left pro ball bee of homophobia.

MLB UMPIRE DALE STT RETIR, SAYS G OUT AS GAY UNBURNED HIM

"I experienced both ach and players make remarks on killg gay people durg my time baseball, and each ment felt like a knife to my heart, " he said.

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Durg an 11-year mor league reer, John Dillger would vis bear gathergs on the road but kept his gay sexualy secret up until his retirement 2005. @tampaMarkJWhen Mark Johnson and teammat won a champnship for the Universy of Tampa 1998, he still was nial about his gay sexualy, he told Outsports, but he beme more nfint over his adult life. When Tyson Lk, director of baseball operatns at the Universy of South Carola, cid on Natnal Comg Out Day 2016 to publicly reveal he was gay, he beme the first person Divisn I llege baseball to ever e out as LGBT.

An umpire for Major League Baseball most notable for a rather famo row wh Pete Rose, Dave Pallone would eventually be ducted to the first class of the Natnal Gay and Lbian Sports Hall of Fame.

He later wrote his 1990 memoir Behd the Mask: My Double Life Baseball that he believed he was fired bee he was gay. Billy Van Raaphorst is the most rated gay umpire llege baseball, and he’s now workg yet another College World Seri.

QUEER READG: GAY FORMER MLB UMPIRE PENS MEMOIR

Van Raaphorst me out publicly 2010 after a team manager engaged a homophobic tira agast Van Raaphorst durg a game. Other succsful gay sports officials clu former MLB umpire Dale Stt, NBA referee Bill Kennedy, llege football official Steve Strimlg, football official Amanda Ser and former NBA official Vlet Palmer.

Today, we’re revisg December 2014, and the public acknowledgement by our iend, MLB umpire Dale Stt, that he was a married gay man, as reported by -founr Jim Buzski.

UMPIRE DALE STT SAYS HE'S GAY

Yet is unrstandably the one that most people will notice, bee Stt is the first Major League Baseball umpire to publicly say he is gay while active (and the first out active male official the NBA, NHL, NFL or MLB).

One Outsports rear, an active NCAA Divisn I baseball umpire who is gay but do not want his name ed, did notice and he sent this email: “Fantastic!

YOUNG GAY BASEBALL UMPIRE, SPIRED BY DALE STT, AIMS FOR THE MAJOR LEAGU

He wasn’t seekg attentn for beg gay and was also worried that would e a distractn jt as baseball’s postseason was startg.

Stt is a classic example of someone who is openly gay wh his workplace and social circle but, until now, not publicly out. “The first 10 years of my Major League umpire reer, I would have been horrified if a story had e out that I was gay, ” he said. I unrstood that there was a game that had to be played the game of life as a gay man 1979, but I also unrstood who I was and what I was and wasn’t like some long-drawn out procs.

Stt says that addn to never havg a negative exchange wh anyone the umpirg ranks over beg gay, he believ he has changed some mds. While he has no tentn of wrg a book when he retir, he jok that if he did would be lled “Out at Home, ” a reference to him always beg openly gay his private life. Jt a few months earlier December 2014, a story on Outsports, Stt had discsed for the first time beg an openly gay umpire, the first the sport’s history.

9 BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO CAME OUT AS GAY

"I didn't really thk about this or expect this, ” Stt told Outsports this week, “but when I walked onto the field for the first time sprg trag and throughout the season [as an openly gay man], there were tim when I thought there was a burn lifted off of my shoulrs and that I'm totally a ee man now.

A LONGTIME UMPIRE SAYS HE IS GAY

But by gog public, he was able to spire others, both and out of baseball, who never would have known that MLB had a gay umpire and that was a non-issue.

"Bob Costas mentned was Pri night and mentned nonchalantly, 'Oh by the way, the home plate umpire is Dale Stt, a veteran umpire who me out as gay December. Billy Bean, a former player who is gay, was named the league’s first Ambassador for Incln and was given greater rponsibili this season. “Before, if 40, 000 fans would have Googled me and found out I was the gay guy, that would have horrified me, ” he said.

If only Dave Pallone uld be remembered solely for beg the major leagu' first publicly acknowledged gay umpire, he'd probably be a lot better off. When fans would tnt him between ngs, Pallone would mimic their gtur back at them—a hab that did ltle to enar him to players or patrons about his homosexualy were rampant major league clubho, supplyg the subtext to Pallone's famo fger-jabbg shovg match wh Reds star Pete Rose May of 1988.

FAMEWATCHER SEARCH PRIMARY MENU SKIP TO NTENT HOMECELEBRY HAIR TRANSPLANTCELEBRY PLASTIC SURGERYCELEBRY LEATHER JACKETBODY SHAPER SEARCH FOR: GAY MALE ATHLET, HOT BASEBALL PLAYERSGAY BASEBALL PLAYERS LIST: MLB AND MOR LEAGUERS

Gay umpire Billy Van Raaphorst is an ternatnal hero for, well, jt dog his job—where honty, tegry, pri and sportsmanship are of the utmost importance. Van Raaphorst, who is gay but was not out to managers and players the league, was shocked, to put dly. I didn't know what he was thkg when he started [ the anti-gay ments] and I still haven't tried to read his md, " the umpire said.

GAY MOSW · CY GUI

"I thk Major League Baseball needs someone at that level which now do not have, nor did have [ years ago when I was umpirg profsnal baseball], and that is, a role mod who jt happens to be gay, " Van Raaphorst said.

MLB UMPIRE DALE STT: ‘I WASN’T TIMIDATED BY THREATS TO OUT ME AS GAY’

And uld be a big way, bee there are lots of players, managers, [ team] owners and umpir who have gay and lbian iends or relativ. "The first gay player or umpire will be sort of like Jackie Robson, [ who was the first Ain-Amerin to play Major League Baseball] —and there will be plenty of qutns surroundg that person, [ such as, ] n we protect him? —Has played the annual Gay Super Bowl for the past four years, and his San Diego team advanced to the champnship game the 2009 tournament, held Washgton, D.

It's great to be re-nnected to sports and be able to play wh a bunch of guys who jt happen to be gay but also love sports. —In the closet: "I didn't [ e out while the mor leagu] bee I didn't tst a lot of the [ fellow] umpir; I didn't know how they would react [ if they knew I am gay. The qutn MLB should have been askg is why is still the one major Amerin men's profsnal team sport that still has not had an active openly gay player?

In 2013, Robbie Rogers of the Los Angel Galaxy beme the first out gay athlete to play Major League Soccer or any men's top level profsnal team the Uned Stat.

GAY MLB UMPIRE TALKS NEW BOOK, D.C. PRI NIGHT OUT APPEARANCE

In 2021, Carl Nassib of the Las Vegas Rairs revealed he was gay, beg the first active NFL player to do so, though the Rairs released him on March 17, reportedly bee of his big salary, per a story on NBC News. Gay former player Billy Bean beme MLB's part-time ambassador for cln 2014 before beg promoted to vice print of social rponsibily and cln early 2016.

Umpire Dale Stt says he's news servicDec 2, 2014, 12:21 PM ETVeteran Major League Baseball umpire Dale Stt revealed an terview that he is gay and married to his partner of 28 years. ''Acrdg to the publitn, Stt is the first male official the four major sports leagu to announce he is gay. NBA referee Vlet Palmer announced she was gay 2007 and said she was marryg her longtime partner big league player or manager has been openly gay durg their active reer.

Glenn Burke and Billy Bean are among the players who later said they were gay, as did umpire Dave Pallone. At the All-Star break last summer, MLB hired Bean as a nsultant to help the game achieve greater awarens and equaly for the gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr 's Jerry Crasnick and The Associated Prs ntributed to this report. Many gay men and others of the LGBT muny have e before me and ma sacrific, some wh their liv, others wh their reers, so that I uld have the opportuny to live my life openly.