Sandy Alderson invited former ballplayer Billy Bean to Mets camp Tuesday. Bean, who is openly gay, now serves as Major League Baseball’s ambassador of inclusion.
He spent the day as a roving instructor after meeting with the entire organization prior to Tuesday’s workout.
Alderson initially wanted Bean to suit up with team and play in a Spring Training game, but Bean declined.
“I didn’t want it to be about me, or ‘Feel Sorry For Billy Bean Day at Port St. Lucie,'” Bean said.
“The Mets have a lot of fans in the LGBT community as well, and there’s a lot of fans who worship these guys. My message is the same: that everybody deserves a fair chance to be the best they can be.”
Second baseman Daniel Murphy later told reporter Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com, “I do disagree with the fact that Billy is a homosexual. That doesn’t mean I can’t still invest in him and get to know him.”
“I don’t think the fact that someone is a homosexual should completely shut the door on investing in them in a relational aspect. That’s the way I would describe it for me. It’s the same way that there are aspects of my life that I’m trying to surrender to Christ in my own life.”
“There’s a great deal of many things, like my pride. I just think that as a believer trying to articulate it in a way that says just because I disagree with the lifestyle doesn’t mean I’m just never going to speak to Billy Bean every time he walks through the door. That’s not love. That’s not love at all.”
So anyway, it was a weird day at Mets camp… Baseball game tomorrow!
