Billy Bean, a former MLB outfielder and the league’s senior vice president for diversity, equity & Inclusion and special assistant to the commissioner, died after an 11-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia at his home on Tuesday.
Billy Bean, a former MLB outfielder and the league’s senior vice president for diversity, equity & Inclusion and special assistant to the commissioner, died after an 11-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia at his home on Tuesday.
He was 60.
The baseball world, including commissioner Rob Manfred, mourned Bean, who became the second player to ever come out as gay during a 1999 interview with the Miami Herald.
“Our hearts are broken today as we mourn our dear friend and colleague, Billy Bean, one of the kindest and most respected individuals I have ever known,” Manfred said in a statement.
