Billy Bean ~ Ambassador For Inclusion By: Jennifer Kate
Well, guys, I'm back with another LGBTQIA blog, but this time I'm doing something a little more unique, just like i did when i first started writing LGBTQIA blogs; I'm going to be telling the story of Billy Bean. If you don't know who he is, that's ok. I'll be telling you in the next paragraph. Here is another quick introduction for those of you who are new here. Hi, I'm Jennifer Kate. I'm a producer for Fruity Serial here on the Empty The Bench Podcast Network.
Let's talk about the story of Billy Bean, shall we? Billy Bean was selected in the 24th round of the 1985 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. The New York Yankees offered Bean a $55,000 signing bonus. Bean went back to college at Loyola Marymount for his senior year. Bean appeared with the Lions in the 1986 college world series.
The Detroit Tigers selected Bean in the fourth round of the 1986 MLB Draft, where he signed with the Tigers for 12,500. Bean made his Major League debut on April 24th, 1987. Bean spent most of the 1988 season in the minor leagues. Bean led the Toledo Mud Hens in batting average. However, he played ten games for the Tigers when he was called up in August 1988. Bean played nine games for the Tigers in the 1989 season. On July 17th, 1989, the Tigers traded Bean to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He then went on to sign a contract with the San Diego Padres in 1993. Between 1989 and 1993, he was in and out of the minor leagues.
Now that I told you about his story in the MLB, let's talk about how this story ties into the LGBTQIA part of this story. Bean married his college sweetheart when he was 24 years old. He left the marriage after four years after meeting his partner Sam. Bean came out to his parents in 1996. He came out publicly to Lydia Martin of the Miami Herald in 1999, becoming the second major league baseball player to come out as gay publicly. Glenn Burke was the first to come out to his teammates and employers during his playing days but only came out to the public once his career ended. Bean was appointed MLB's first "ambassador for inclusion" on July 15th, 2014. In the role, Bean counseled David Denson, who became the first minor league player signed to an MLB organization to come out as gay. He is now the senior vice president of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Well, that's it for this blog. Thank you so much for reading this blog, and I hope you guys learned something new while reading this blog. Have a great day, and I'll catch you all in the next blog.