Anderson Comás is Hitting It Out of the Park 

Coming out is always difficult; it’s perhaps even more difficult when LGBTQ+ people are experiencing a visceral backlash nationwide. But Anderson Comás’s coming out might be even more complicated. Not only did the minor league baseball player come out amid the biggest waves of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation America has ever seen, he also shared that he was gay while playing baseball, a sport known colloquially as America’s pastime. 

Comás shared the news of his queer identity in an Instagram post in February. He opened the coming-out note, which was accompanied with a photo of him on a baseball diamond, with a disclaimer: “If you’re homophobic this post is [maybe] not for you or [maybe] yes so you can see we all matters [sic] and we all are the same.” 

“This may be my most personal thing I ever share,” Comás wrote. “I’m proudly and happily part of the LGTBQ+ community 🏳️‍🌈.” 

Comás was born in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, in 2000. He signed with the White Sox as a free agent, according to the Minor League Baseball database, in 2016 and made his debut on the field in 2017. 

Comás’s coming out occurred between two high-profile incidents of homophobia in baseball. In June 2022, five players for the Tampa Ray Rays declined to wear pride jerseys for the team’s annual Pride Night. According to the Tampa Bay Times, five players — Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson — “peeled off” the rainbow logo from their hats and chose to wear the non-LGBTQ+ affirming team logo instead. “A lot of it comes down to faith, to like a faith-based decision,” Adam told the Times. “So it’s a hard decision. Because ultimately we all said what we want is them to know that all are welcome and loved here.”

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A post shared by Anderson Comas (@andersoncomas10)

That Comás came out in the months following this show of how casual homophobia can play out in Major League Baseball is an even greater testament to his courage and lends an even greater meaning to the words he shared in his coming out post. “I’m also a human with a great soul, I’m respectful, I’m a lover, I love my family and friends and that’s what really matters, he said. “I’m Gay and I’m a professional athlete so that didn’t stopped me to make [sic] my dreams come true.” 

Just a few short weeks after Comás shared this very intimate part of himself with the world, the MLB was rocked with another major-league queer scandal. After inviting the drag troupe The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to be honored at their annual Pride Night, the Los Angeles Dodgers first revoked the honor and then later, after backlash from the LGBTQ+ community, decided to reinstate the honor. Politicians from the other side of the country, including Florida senator Marco Rubio, had pressured the Dodgers to rescind the invite, saying that the Sisters mocked Catholicism. 

Comás is a prospect to play for the Chicago White Sox and, as of earlier this month, is training to be a relief pitcher for the midwest pro team. In an interview with The Athletic, he reflected on coming out earlier this year and shared what it was like to celebrate his first pride since being an out and proud gay person. 

“I just felt like now is the right time,” Comás told The Athletic. “Now is when I feel good with myself. Now I accept myself. I love myself enough to tell people and feel great about it. At first I was afraid to say it, for people to know about me. Now I feel strong enough to say it to people without caring what they say about me.”

Related:

The LGBTQ+ Community Deserves Better Allyship Than the L.A. Dodgers

The Dodgers’ action shines a light on what’s to come with the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and sentiment sweeping the nation.

Not only did Comás’s coming out come at a time with some high-profile homophobia happening in his own sport, he also joins a small number of baseball players who have ever come out. When minor league player Bryan Ruby came out in 2021, he was the only professional baseball player in America to be out as gay. And while some former baseball players have shared their queerness with the public, it’s still seen as a sport where homophobia is an ongoing problem. 

Some closeted players reached out to Comás after his public post, he told The Athletic. “It’s still a little bit hard for us to be out there visible in the public area because of people’s judgment,” he said. In that sense, and in many others, Comás is a pioneer, one who will make it easier for others to live out and be proud as themselves in the world of professional sports, which is exactly what he wanted when he came out. 

“I’m doing this cause I wanna be an inspiration for those like me out there fitting for their dreams,” he wrote in his February post. “Please don’t listen to those stupid things that people say about us, fight for your dreams, believe in yourself and go for it.” 

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