Los Angeles! Show your pride and join the LGBT community on Friday, August 22 for the second annual LGBT Night Out when the Dodgers take on the New York Mets.
Arrive early for special pregame activities, including a performance of the National Anthem by Mary Lambert and a ceremonial first pitch by Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
Stay after the game and enjoy a Friday Night Fireworks show from the field, set to the music of DJ Manny Lehman.
And, if you’re doing a night of baseball you’ve got to do this – there’s an All-You-Can-Eat seating option which includes unlimited Dodger dogs, nachos, popcorn, peanuts, Coca-Cola products and water!
Plus, there’s the Bud Light Bar, Think Blue BBQ and Tommy’s Trattoria are just a few steps away.
Click here to buy tickets – a portion of these proceeds will go to benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA).
OutSports’ Cyd Zeigler is reporting today that Major League Baseball has recruited out athlete and former MLB player Billy Bean to head up a new program designed to add support to MLB’s commitment to inclusion and diversity as related to sexuality, race and gender.
A major focus of Bean’s work with the League will be to help end homophobia in the locker rooms, front offices, on the fields and in the stands. Bean will visit all 30 MLB teams within the next year and talk with players, coaches and front-office executives about steps they can take to end homophobia in their ball clubs. He will also be tasked with building partnerships and developing a complete program that will make baseball a model for LGBT inclusion.
“It’s ironic that I am returning to baseball to help erase the same reason I left,” Bean told Outsports in an exclusive interview. Bean left baseball in 1995 shortly after his then-partner passed away. Bean skipped his partner’s funeral to play in a game for the Padres, lest someone discover he was gay.
Asked if having the support of an “Ambassador For Inclusion” would have helped him during his time with the San Diego Padres, Bean said: “It would have allowed me to believe that I did belong in the majors. It would have meant I could achieve my full potential as a player. It would have allowed me to feel pride for realizing my childhood dream, instead of a never ending disappointment of what I threw away. I would have never quit.
“My baseball talent got me to the big leagues, my inner struggle is what got in the way. Those days are over.”
As Rockies star Troy Tulowitzki’s home run made its way to the stands in left field, a father holding his baby was making his way back to his seat.
As the man emerged from the tunnel, he reached out and casually caught the home run with one hand with the baby in his other arm. Then he calmly headed up the steps as if it wasn’t a big deal.
Three-time All-Star Grady Sizemore has apparently inked a deal with the Red Sox to the tune of $750,000 that can be worth up to $6 million based on performance bonuses.
In addition to his baseball skills, Sizemore has developed a talent for the ever-popular “internet selfie.” And let’s face it when you look like he does, why not?
The Los Angeles Dodgers has announced its first LGBT night, to be held September 27, 2013.
The Dodgers’ LGBT Night OUT will feature “a celebrity First Pitch” and “the National Anthem performed by a surprise guest with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles,” according to an announcement on the team’s website. There will be fireworks after the Friday night game, in which the Dodgers play the Colorado Rockies.
The Dodgers are partnering with Tom Whitman of Flip Events for the event. He said the Dodgers “have been standing on the right side of history from the days of Jackie Robinson through today.”
Dodgers executive Lon Rosen issued a statement saying, “We welcome all fans to Dodger Stadium throughout each season. We are especially proud to welcome and recognize the LGBT community of Los Angeles, an integral part of the city and of the Dodgers community.”
Other major league teams have hosted similar events.
All-Star Mets pitcher Matt Harvey asks New York fans what they think about Matt Harvey — and they don’t realize they’re talking to the ACTUAL Matt Harvey.
Harvey handles the folks really well. Good sense of timing.
And then there’s my favorite pic of Harvey from the ESPN Magazine Body issue:
