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35-497: In January 2024, the university announced that it would cut six athletic programs at the end of the 2023–24 season: men’s cross-country, men’s rowing, men’s track and field, women’s rowing, women’s swimming, and women’s track and field. The Lions have produced 30 future Major Leaguers, including Billy Bean , MLB's Vice President and Special Assistant to the Commissioner, First-Team All-American and West Coast Conference Player of

70-532: A Super Bowl party for friends and family members and introduced Madani as "just a buddy". On April 23, 1995, Madani, who less than two months earlier had been diagnosed HIV-positive , collapsed at their home. When Bean returned home after playing in an exhibition game against the Anaheim Angels , he discovered his partner unconscious. The MLB outfielder rushed Madani to the closest hospital, but changed course after recalling that he had recently appeared at

105-522: A minor league contract with the San Diego Padres before the 1993 season. He was promoted back to the major leagues. He batted .260 in 88 games for the Padres in 1993 and .215 in 84 games for the Padres in 1994. After playing for the Padres in 1995, Bean retired from baseball after the 1995 season. Bean was a panelist on GSN 's I've Got a Secret revival in 2006, and was a board member of

140-684: A state championship with the Santa Ana Saints baseball team. He enrolled at Loyola Marymount University on an athletic scholarship to play college baseball for the Loyola Marymount Lions . Bean was a two-time All-American outfielder at LMU . After his junior year, the New York Yankees selected Bean in the 24th round of the 1985 MLB Draft . Though the Yankees offered Bean a $ 55,000 signing bonus , Bean

175-460: A uniformed officer, but because women could not be in the same police departments as their husbands, she quit her job upon remarriage. Bean's extended Catholic step family grew to six children. When he was a child, Bean's grandmother divorced his maternal grandfather, and he has three aunts on his mother's side of the family. Bean attended Santa Ana High School , where he graduated as valedictorian, played football under coach Tom Nice, and won

210-705: Is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since

245-609: Is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in

280-504: The China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with

315-561: The Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation . He appeared in a 2009 episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List , showing Griffin several homes. In 2007, Bean was hired as a consultant by Scout Productions , the team of David Collins and Michael Williams, who produced Bravo 's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy , for their next project with Showtime entitled The Beard . The project

350-465: The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship game at Stanford University 's Avery Aquatic Center. In January 2024, Loyola Marymount announced that it would cut six athletic programs after the 2023–24 season: men's cross-country, men's rowing, men's track and field, women's rowing, women's swimming, and women's track and field. Billy Bean William Daro Bean (May 11, 1964 – August 6, 2024)

385-700: The 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues,

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420-740: The 1989 season. On July 17, 1989, the Tigers traded Bean to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor leaguers Steve Green and Domingo Michel. He batted .197 for the Dodgers in 51 games, and was demoted to the minor leagues. Bean played in Minor League Baseball during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. He played for the Kintetsu Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball in 1992, batting .208 in seven games. Bean signed

455-614: The 1995 MLB season, and gradually came out as gay to his parents and friends. He came out publicly to Lydia Martin of the Miami Herald in 1999, becoming the second Major League Baseball player to publicly come out as gay; Glenn Burke was the first to come out to his teammates and employers during his playing days but did not come out to the public at large until his career was over. Following Burke's death in 1995, Bean became close with Burke's family. After leaving baseball, Bean moved to Miami Beach, Florida , for 15 years. He

490-550: The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ")

525-503: The WCC conference tournament from a heart condition. LMU's current men's head coach is Stan Johnson . The Lions won their first ever West Coast Conference title in 2004, going 24-6 (13-1) while beating Gonzaga to go to the NCAA tournament . Michael Erush was a Loyola Marymount University Lions men's soccer standout, a four-time All- West Coast Conference (WCC) selection (2000, 2001, 2002),

560-543: The Year Billy Traber , two-time Major League Baseball All-Star CJ Wilson , and David Fletcher . The Lions have been to the College World Series once, in 1986, and also recorded 9 NCAA appearances, and 10 West Coast Conference Championships (three Championship Series and seven regular season). The Lions play home games at George C. Page Stadium , a 1,200 seat stadium which has been home to

595-401: The behind-the-scenes world of a MLB player. Bean and Madani kept their relationship and living arrangement secret from Bean's MLB teammates. When Bean's Padres teammates, Brad Ausmus and Trevor Hoffman , stopped by unannounced to Bean and Madani's condo, Madani had to hide in the car for approximately three hours for fear that they would be identified as a gay couple. In 1994, Bean hosted

630-641: The fans in Tiger Stadium who were chanting his name in the later inning at-bats. He spent most of the 1988 season in the minor leagues, where he led the Toledo Mud Hens in batting average; among his teammates in Toledo was the similarly named Billy Beane . Bean played in 10 games for the Tigers after he was promoted back to the major leagues in August 1988. He played in nine games for the Tigers in

665-560: The first team since the inaugural season to win its first two matches. The team entered the field of eight as the number five seed and finished the 2021 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in third place. The women's water polo team was the WWPA Champion in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007. At the conclusion the 2004 season, Loyola Marymount's women's water polo team lost to the University of Southern California , 10-8, in

700-535: The five occurred during Westhead's career, including a record 331 in the 181–150 win over United States International University on January 31, 1989. The team's last appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in 1990 , where they advanced to the Elite Eight. They would lose to eventual national champion UNLV . Prior to the tournament, Lions star player Hank Gathers died during

735-462: The gym showers at a Maryland health club. One week later, Amato and Bean separated and began divorce proceedings. Bean and his new partner Madani, who was raised in Austria and France, and spoke six languages, moved into a multi-level condo with ocean views in a Del Mar, California , gated community. Bean gave Madani a private tour of the Padres locker room at Jack Murphy Stadium , showing him

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770-464: The league's senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion. Bean was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2023. He died at his home in New York City on August 6, 2024, at the age of 60. At the time of his death, Bean was married to Greg Baker, a doctor, Manchester, New Hampshire native, and Boston Red Sox fan. Professional baseball Professional baseball

805-424: The local hospital as a member of the Padres. Fearing that he would be outed, Bean drove an extra 30 minutes to a different hospital in a different direction. The next morning, Madani died of a cardiac arrest from AIDS-related complications. Bean had a baseball game at one o'clock that afternoon. Their homosexual relationship was guardedly private, and Bean did not attend Madani’s public funeral. Bean retired after

840-570: The other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly

875-639: The postseason. He was inducted into the Loyola Marymount Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. The Lions fielded their first beach volleyball team during the 2012 season. The Lions won their first WCC Championship in 2019, which they defended in 2021 and 2022 (championships were not held in 2020 due to COVID-19). In 2021, the Lions were selected for their first NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama, where they became

910-466: The program since 1983. The Lions burst onto the national basketball scene in the late 1980s under coach Paul Westhead . His teams led Division I in scoring in 1988 (110.3 points per game), 1989 (112.5) and 1990 (122.4). LMU's 122.4 point per game in 1990 was still a record as of October 2010. As of October 2010, Loyola Marymount held the five highest combined scoring games in Division I history. Four of

945-571: The school has made the College World Series. Bean graduated from LMU with a degree in Business Administration. The Detroit Tigers selected Bean in the fourth round of the 1986 MLB Draft . He signed with the Tigers for $ 12,500. Bean made his major league debut for the Tigers on April 25, 1987, and tied the major league record of 4 hits in his debut game. He had a total of 6 bases with two doubles and won over

980-620: Was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers (1987–1989), Los Angeles Dodgers (1989), and San Diego Padres (1993–1995), as well as the Kintetsu Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 1992. In July 2014, he was named MLB's first ambassador for inclusion, having publicly come out as gay in 1999. In January 2016, he became MLB's vice president, ambassador for inclusion and

1015-539: Was gay since birth, and I just knew that there was something different about me but I couldn't quite put my finger on it until I think it was 13 years old." He continued, "I always had a girlfriend from, like, the age of 14." In 1989, Bean married Anna Maria Amato, a student at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise in Los Angeles, whom Bean had been dating since 1985. The Bean-Amato wedding

1050-588: Was held on the Bluff at Loyola and attended by 300 guests, including 20 major league baseball players. Two years into his marriage, while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers ' AAA affiliate in Albuquerque, Bean met a man at a cowboy-themed gay bar. In January 1993, while Bean and his wife were visiting her parents in the Washington, DC suburbs, Bean met his future partner Sam Madani, an Iranian immigrant, in

1085-650: Was in a relationship with Efrain Veiga, the founder of Yuca, a local restaurant, for 13 years, breaking up in July 2008. In 2003, Bean released a memoir titled Going the Other Way: Lessons from a Life In and Out of Major League Baseball . Bean was appointed MLB's first "Ambassador for Inclusion" on July 15, 2014. In this role, Bean counseled David Denson , who became the first minor league player signed to an MLB organization to come out as gay. He later became

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1120-568: Was named First Team in 2003, and served as team captain during his junior and senior seasons. He was named First Team National Soccer Coaches Association of America All Far West Selection in 2002, and was named First Team All-America by the Jewish Sports Review in 2003. During his last three years, he helped the Lions advance to the NCAA Tournament, and in 2003 finished in a first-round bye and national seeding (#13) in

1155-488: Was persuaded by his college coach, Dave Snow, to return for LMU for his senior year. During the summer of 1985, Bean played minor league baseball for the Fairbanks Goldpanners and was named Goldpanners' Player of The Year. During the 1986 college baseball season, Bean led the Lions to a midseason #1 national ranking and a berth to the 1986 College World Series , the first (and as of 2024, only) time

1190-464: Was senior vice president and special assistant to the commissioner. Bean's father, Bill Bean, and mother, Linda Robertson, grew up on the same street and were classmates at Santa Ana High School in Santa Ana, California . The couple married while Linda was pregnant, then separated when Billy was six months old. Linda married Ed Kovac, a police officer with three children. Linda initially worked as

1225-509: Was to be a romantic comedy about a gay professional baseball player who enters into a relationship with a woman to survive in the sports world; Showtime did not go forward with the series. Bean starred in a MTV episode of Made , he was an actor in an episode of the sitcom Frasier , and appeared as himself on the HBO series Arli$ $ in the 2002 episode "Playing it Safe". Reflecting on his childhood, Bean remarked, "I've always been gay. I

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