Billy Bean, a former major-league player who played a groundbreaking role in pushing MLB to reshape its relationship with the LGBTQ community, died at his home on Tuesday after a yearlong battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He was 60.
The MLB Commissioner’s Office announced Bean’s death in a statement on Tuesday afternoon. Bean had been serving as MLB’s Senior Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Special Assistant to the Commissioner. The role was the latest in a second act that increased the visibility of LGBTQ issues in the sport and delivered education initiatives to players and front offices throughout the game.
“Our hearts are broken today as we mourn our dear friend and colleague, Billy Bean, one of the kindest and most respected individuals I have ever known,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “Billy was a friend to countless people across our game, and he made a difference through his constant dedication to others. He made Baseball a better institution, both on and off the field, by the power of his example, his empathy, his communication skills, his deep relationships inside and outside our sport, and his commitment to doing the right thing.”
Bean first joined the commissioner’s office in 2014, when he was hired by then-commissioner Bud Selig to be MLB’s first-ever Ambassador for Inclusion, a role that included other diversity initiatives. One of the main goals of the hiring was to confront the homophobia that persisted in MLB clubhouses.
Bean came out publicly to the Miami Herald in 1999, four years after appearing in his last game for the San Diego Padres. He was believed to be the second MLB player to come out as gay after their playing career, following Glenn Burke of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He first revealed the news indirectly in a newspaper story about a restaurant he was opening with his partner at the time. When the story was seen by reporters, it drew national headlines.
Bean played in the major leagues from 1987 to 1995. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round of the 1986 draft out of Loyola Marymount University. He debuted with the club in 1987 and played parts of three seasons before being traded to the Dodgers in 1989.
He finished as a .226 career hitter across 272 games for the Tigers, Dodgers and Padres. He kept his sexual orientation a secret during his playing career.
“’For nine years,” Bean told The New York Times in 1999, ”I felt as though I had one foot in the major leagues and one on a banana peel.”
In a later interview with the Miami Herald that same year, Bean said many former teammates were supportive once he came out publicly.
“When I talked to people like Brad (Ausmus) or Trevor Hoffman, it wasn’t like, ‘I can’t believe you told everybody — what exactly do you do in bed?’ It was like, ‘Next time you’re back on the West Coast, let’s go surfing again.”
In 2003, Bean published the book “Going the Other Way: Lessons from a Life in and Out of Major-League Baseball,” which told the story of his decision to leave baseball in 1995. He later became a public speaker, sharing his story with groups in and out of sports. Before professional baseball, Bean was a two-time All-American at Loyola Marymount. The MLB commissioner’s office statement said he was the valedictorian of his graduating class at Santa Ana High School.
“We are forever grateful for the enduring impact that Billy made on the game he loved, and we will never forget him,” Manfred said. “On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Billy’s husband, Greg Baker, and their entire family.”
(Photo of Billy Bean at Pride Night in Los Angeles in June 2023: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
