How many openly gay MLB players have been there? Honoring LGBTQ icons of baseball on Pride Night

As the world becomes more progressive, so does the baseball community with clubs, fans, and teammates embracing openly gay MLB players. This season, 29 of the 30 MLB franchises hosted pride night to honor and celebrate Pride Month. The Texas Rangers are the only team who did not participate in the festivities.

As the MLB continues embracing the LGBTQ community, the players have also taken steps towards inclusiveness with Chicago White Sox pitcher, Anderson Comás, coming out as openly gay.

"mark canha - mets. canhas been an outspoken ally his whole career. every year during pride month he hasexpressed his support for lgbtq+ people and pride night!! he also supported minor leaguer anderson comas when he came out!!" - @Pearl_exeee

The 23-year-old pitcher from the Dominican Republic hopes the revelation of his sexuality encourages other gay players to come out. In his first interview with the media following his announcement, Anderson said that he "wanted to open that door for those people that are fighting for their dreams.”

Although Anderson Comás is only the second openly gay MLB player to come out while actively with an organization, the Chicago White Sox, he is far from the first openly gay player to play professional baseball.

"Anderson Comás became the second known player to come out as gay while actively affiliated with an MLB organization. Today, he spoke publicly for the first time since the announcement. “I just felt like now is the right time." @JRFegan" - @TheAthletic

Former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Glenn Burke was the first MLB player to come out as gay, however, he did so following his retirement. While he told his teammates and family about his sexual orientation, he did not share the information with the public until he retired.

However, given the time in which he played (1976-1979) Burke shared how his mistreatment surrounding his sexual orientation became too much to handle, which led to his retirement. After retiring he embraced his sexuality, becoming the first openly gay MLB player. "They can't ever say now that a gay man can't play in the majors, because I'm a gay man and I made it."

"I say it all the time about Tommy Lasorda but this is a great time to give a very big fuck you to Billy Martin for what they did to Glenn Burke" - @quetzalponk

Billy Bean continues to fight for the rights and inclusion of openly gay players in the MLB

One of the most important icons in the fight for the LGBTQ community in the MLB is Billy Bean. The former Detroit Tigers outfielder came out as gay in 1999, becoming the second former MLB player to do so, following in the footsteps of Glenn Burke.

An advocate for the inclusion of homosexuality in baseball, Bean was named as the MLB's first "Ambassador for Inclusion". He also helped David Denson, who became the first openly gay minor league player signed to an MLB organization.

"Former Player of The Day - Billy Bean - Outfielder, #Padres #Tigers #Dodgers #PlayerOfTheDay" - @GayBaseballFan

It has been a long road, but thanks to pioneers such as Glenn Burke, Billy Bean, David Denson, and Anderson Comás, baseball is becoming a more welcoming place for everyone.