Sean Conroy pitched a complete game shutout on Thursday night. Conroy struck out 11 batters while only allowing three hits, to lead the Sonoma Stompers to?a 7-0 victory over the Vallejo Admirals. But real history was made when Conroy became the first openly gay active professional baseball player.
The team’s radio broadcaster, Tim Livingston, had this to say,
?He wanted to be that guy, and coming out here and doing this shows you what kind of man he is. To see this little field here in the middle of nowhere, when we look back it will have been the perfect setting for this.?
The Stompers play in Pacific Association of Professional Baseball in a stadium that houses only 350 people.
After divulging his sexual orientation in May to the team manager, Conroy explained why he didn’t mind when the information was made public.
“It’s not that I wanted it to go public, but I didn’t care if it was open information. It’s who I am,? Conroy said. ?I am definitely surprised that no one else has been openly gay in baseball yet.?
Conroy is the first to come out while actively playing, but Glenn Burke made history in the early 1980s. Glenn Burke came out in 1982, three years after his career had concluded. Burke spoke about his?leaving the sport at age 27, and that it?had been?caused by the growing pressure to conform to norms.
Another player named?Billy Bean retired in 1995 after playing 6 seasons in the majors. Bean came out four years later in 1999. Bean was named the MLB Ambassador of Inclusion last year.
Sometimes it is more than just a game. Sometimes it can be?a vehicle for progress and change.
