CHICAGO — When it comes to baseball and LGBTQ+ inclusivity, Billy Bean often flashes back to his playing days.
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FILE - Billy Bean, Major League Baseball vice president of Social Responsibility & Inclusion, throws out the ceremonial first pitch to Seattle Mariners' Felix Hernandez before a baseball game between the Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers Friday, Aug. 19, 2016, in Seattle. Bean said he doesn't think the absence of an openly gay player is the right way to evaluate inclusivity in the major leagues, just like he doesn't think the sport should be evaluated by a comment that might not be supportive. Bean came out after his playing career. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
FILE - The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence show their support during the gay pride parade in West Hollywood, Calif., on Sunday, June 12, 2016. The Los Angeles Dodgers have faced criticism for including the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in the team's upcoming 10th annual Pride Night. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
FILE - Former Major League Baseball player Glenn Burke sits in a Castro District restaurant in San Francisco in 1993. Burke's sexual orientation was known within baseball, but the former big league outfielder did not come out publicly until 1982. Burke, who died in 1995 at age 42, felt he was blackballed by the sport. (AP Photo/Mark Hundley)
MLB teams celebrate LGBTQ+ community with ballpark Pride Nights
Washington Nationals relief pitcher Thaddeus Ward prepares to throw during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A rainbow adorned Boston Red Sox logo is displayed on the center field video board as Colorado Rockies players warm up on Pride Night prior to a baseball game at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
A image of Harvey Milk is displayed on the video board during San Francisco Giants' Pride Day as Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks, bottom, warms up during the third inning of a baseball game against the Giants in San Francisco, Saturday, June 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Guests, who bought tickets for Pride Night, pose with mascots Wally, right, and Tessie, left, on the roof top deck prior to a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Members of the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus perform the national anthem at Pride Night before a baseball game between the Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Tara Bush, a bartender at Club Q during a massacre in the gay club in November 2022 in Colorado Springs, Colo., throws out the ceremonial first pitch during a Pride Night at a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies Friday, June 9, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Jaymee Conway, of Greenfield, Mass. poses with her rainbow "Boston" cap on the roof top deck prior to a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Nadine Bridges, executive director for One Colorado, wears a cap before being introduced during Pride Night before a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies Friday, June 9, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Tampa Bay Rays' Yonny Chirinos loosens up in the outfield in front of a sign Rays to honor the team's Pride Day before a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Saturday, June 10, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
Guests who bought tickets for Pride Night gather on the roof top deck prior to a baseball game, between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies, at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
San Francisco Drag Laureate D'Arcy Drollinger gestures before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch as part of the San Francisco Giants' Pride Day before a baseball game between the Giants and the Chicago Cubs in San Francisco, Saturday, June 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
People hold a pride themed Toronto Blue Jays flag to celebrate Pride Weekend before the Blue Jays play the Minnesota Twins in baseball game in Toronto on Friday, June 9, 2023. (Mark Blinch
Fans receive San Francisco Giants Pride Jerseys as part of the team's Pride Day promotional giveaway as they enter Oracle Park before a baseball game between the Giants and the Chicago Cubs in San Francisco, Saturday, June 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Kit Welch, left, kisses David Martin after they threw out ceremonial first pitches at Pride Night before a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Gamechangers A. Nzere Kwabena, executive director, LGBT Detroit, from left, Rachel Crandall-Crocker, co-founder and executive director Transgender Michigan; Darin Deweese, artistic director PRISM Gay Men and Allies Chorus of Metro Detroit and Andrea Norton, community engagement and partnership coordinator, Saginaw VA Medical Center are recognized on Pride Night before before a Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves baseball game, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Tara Bush, a bartender at Club Q during a massacre at the gay club in November 2022 in Colorado Springs, Colo., wears a button in support of the club before she throws out the ceremonial first pitch during Pride Night at a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies Friday, June 9, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
A group celebrating San Francisco Giants' Pride Day walks on the field before a baseball game between the Giants and the Chicago Cubs in San Francisco, Saturday, June 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Jalen Beeks warms up near a "Baseball is for Everyone" banner on the right field wall before a game against the Minnesota Twins, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Almost 80 years after Jackie Robinson broke the majors’ color barrier in a landmark moment for the American civil rights movement, the dueling expressions of LGBTQ+ support and seeming rejection recalled the question of when the big leagues might welcome their first active openly gay player. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
A rainbow adorned Boston Red Sox logo is displayed on the center field video board on Pride Night prior to a baseball game at Fenway Park, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Boston. Almost 80 years after Jackie Robinson broke the majors’ color barrier in a landmark moment for the American civil rights movement, the dueling expressions of LGBTQ+ support and seeming rejection recalled the question of when the big leagues might welcome their first active openly gay player. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
A image for the Pride Parade is displayed on the video board during San Francisco Giants' Pride Day as Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks, bottom, warms up during the third inning of a baseball game between the Giants and the Chicago Cubs in San Francisco, Saturday, June 10, 2023. Almost 80 years after Jackie Robinson broke the majors’ color barrier in a landmark moment for the American civil rights movement, the dueling expressions of LGBTQ+ support and seeming rejection recalled the question of when the big leagues might welcome their first active openly gay player. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A rainbow colored logo is shown on a San Francisco Giants hat during the team's Pride Day in a baseball game between the Giants and the Chicago Cubs in San Francisco, Saturday, June 10, 2023. Almost 80 years after Jackie Robinson broke the majors’ color barrier in a landmark moment for the American civil rights movement, the dueling expressions of LGBTQ+ support and seeming rejection recalled the question of when the big leagues might welcome their first active openly gay player. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
AP Sports Writers Will Graves and Steve Megargee, AP Baseball Writers Janie McCauley and Stephen Hawkins, AP National Writer David Crary and AP freelance reporter Ian Harrison contributed to this report.
