I was able to even work all postseason games at Globe Life Field. Interactions remained the same, and I still was my same awkward self, just more comfortable with who I was. I was sitting on my bed crying, this time in pure joy. Interestingly, when baseball writer Alex Plinck, who covers the Rangers, came out as gay a year ago, he was most worried about the team’s reaction and was pleasantly surprised, he wrote in an essay for Outsports.Įmployees of the Rangers - the group I was worried most about - sent their best wishes. We deliver on that promise across our many programs to have a positive impact across our entire community.” “That means in our ballpark, at every game, and in all we do - for both our fans and our employees. “Our commitment is to make everyone feel welcome and included in Rangers baseball,” said Executive VP for Communications John Blake. In a written statement, the team pointed to its work internally on topics surrounding diversity and inclusion. The Rangers haven’t done an external, public facing event, akin to the 29 other MLB franchises. The Rangers declined to speak about their stance on hosting a pride day and the franchise’s work supporting the LGBTQ community. The Rangers haven’t publicly spoken about their specific internal initiatives to promote LGBTQ inclusion, instead highlighting their overall work on broader issues such as diversity and inclusion. Sam Blum of the Dallas Morning News tried and failed to get an answer from the team. What’s surprising is that the Rangers won’t address why they refuse to have a Pride night. Their opponents on Wednesday, the Rangers, also play in a gay-supportive market in Dallas-Fort Worth, yet the team’s distinction as being the only MLB team to never hold an official Pride night stands out more as each year passes. Houston is very LGBTQ-friendly and it’s great that the Astros are back with a Pride night (one was planned for 2020 but canceled due to the pandemic). “We recognize this is one of the most diverse cities in the country and we recognize the city has one of the strongest, if not the strongest, LGBTQ communities in the state,” Astros’ senior vice president for marketing and communications Anita Sehgal told the Houston Chronicle before the 2020 season. The Astros held their only previous Pride night in July 2010 and sold 1,000 tickets to the event that was understated for such a promotion (the city’s mayor at the time, Annise Parker, was openly gay, and yet she threw out the second pitch. Their opponent is the Texas Rangers, the only Major League Baseball team to never have an official night to honor their LGBTQ fans. The Houston Astros will give away a rainbow-colored hoodie on Wednesday as part of their first Pride night since 2010.