Touch 'Em All: Former Pirates owner McClatchy comes out as gay
Someday, it will happen. Maybe even in the 21st century. Somebody in one of the majors is going to come out as gay while they are actively involved in their sport. (Can't wait for those shots of the boyfriend in the stands and it's no big deal.)
Someday, it will happen. Maybe even in the 21st century.
Somebody in one of the majors is going to come out as gay while they are actively involved in their sport. (Can't wait for those shots of the boyfriend in the stands and it's no big deal.)
In the meantime, even owners feel they have to depart from the scene before revealing who they truly are.
Kevin McClatchy, 49, the former owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, said he is gay in an interview with the New York Times that appeared online Saturday and in print on Sunday.
McClatchy owned the Pirates from 1996 until 2007, and is now the board chairman at the McClatchy Company newspaper chain (where, presumably, nobody thought his sexuality was a concern).
No athlete in the four major American pro leagues - NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL - has come out while playing. (NBA exec Rick Welts, then with the Phoenix Suns, drew attention last year coming out - but it turned out to be no big deal.)
McClatchy told the Times he worked to keep his sexual orientation a secret while he was with the Bucs, convinced by rampant homophobic attitudes to stay closeted.
McClatchy noted baseball's ending of racial segregation, but said he didn't think players saw it as similar to an athlete coming out as gay.
Which is a shame, since that sexual-orientation barrier has likely been broken many times in the last 150 years of pro ball. It's just, you know, nobody can talk about it.
Reds clinch for Dusty
Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker stayed in a Chicago hospital Saturday, getting more treatment for an irregular heartbeat while his team clinched NL Central pennant with a 6-0 pasting of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
GM Walt Jocketty made sure the 63-year-old skipper was the first to know, punching the "send" button on his cellphone at the final out to congratulate Baker on his fifth division title as a manager - including two during the last three years with the Reds. The players toasted Baker before soaking the clubhouse and each other with champagne.
The 'good' Cabrera
Detroit's Miguel Cabrera put himself in position to win the Triple Crown - something no one has done in 45 years - by hitting his 42d homer in the Tigers' 8-0 win over Minnesota on Saturday.
"Looked like a golf ball that he hit," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's incredible." (We agree.)