MLB mourns the passing of former player and pioneering executive

The Major League Baseball family is mourning the loss of one of its own today.

Billy Bean, one of the first openly gay players in baseball, and the league's Senior Vice President for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, died at the age of 60 on Tuesday .

Bean had been battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia over the past year.

Commissioner Rob Manfred called Bean "one of the kindest and most respected individuals I have ever known" and said he was someone who "made Baseball a better institution, both on and off the field."

“We are forever grateful for the enduring impact that Billy made on the game he loved, and we will never forget him,” said Manfred. “On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Billy’s husband, Greg Baker, and their entire family.”

Bean had been with the Commissioner's office for a decade, working with teams on player education, LGBTG inclusion, and social justice initiatives.

Selected by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round of the 1986 MLB Draft, Bean spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues with the Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres.

He also spent two seasons overseas playing for the Kentetsu Buffaloes in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League.

Bean finished his major league career with a .226 batting average with five home runs and 53 RBI.

Following his retirement after the 1995 season, Bean came out as gay to his parents in 1996 before coming out publicly to the Miami Herald in 1999, becoming the second Major League Baseball player to come out as gay (former Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Glenn Burke announced that he was gay in 1982 after his career ended).

Bean was appointed as MLB’s first “Ambassador for Inclusion”  in July 2014 by then-commissioner Bud Selig and was tasked with providing guidance and training related to efforts to support the LGBTQ community throughout the league.

"MLB continues to lead by example with its social conscience and vision," Bean said at the time. "It is our mission to create an equitable working environment, free of discrimination and prejudice for every player, coach, umpire, and member of the MLB family.”

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