Billy Bean, who turned the second former Main League Baseball participant to return out as homosexual in 1999 earlier than turning into the game’s senior vp for range, fairness and inclusion, has died. He was 60.

MLB launched an announcement confirming his loss of life. Bean died at house on Tuesday after a yearlong struggle with acute myeloid leukemia.

The California native performed in six massive league seasons from 1987 to 1995, making his debut with the Detroit Tigers in a four-hit efficiency that tied a file for a participant in his first sport. He additionally performed for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. He was a two-time All-American outfielder at Loyola Marymount, main the staff to the NCAA Males’s School World Collection in 1986.

Bean wrote a guide titled “Going the Different Manner” and was additionally a keynote speaker at many occasions. He publicly got here out as homosexual in 1999, the second former main leaguer to take action after Glenn Burke.

Bean joined the commissioner’s workplace in 2014, when he was employed by former Commissioner Bud Selig to be MLB’s first Ambassador for Inclusion. He spent greater than 10 years working for MLB, finally being promoted to senior vp.

Bean labored with MLB golf equipment to “advance equality for all gamers, coaches, managers, umpires, workers, and stakeholders all through baseball to make sure an equitable, inclusive, and supportive office for everybody.”

“Our hearts are damaged right now as we mourn our expensive good friend and colleague, Billy Bean, one of many kindest and most revered people I’ve ever recognized,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned in an announcement. “Billy was a good friend to numerous folks throughout our sport, and he made a distinction by his fixed dedication to others.”