Anderson Comás is taking the next step to fulfill his major league dream. Along the way, he’s helping ensure that our dream of seeing an out active gay player in MLB comes true.
Comás is currently in White Sox extended spring training camp working on his development as a relief pitcher after converting to the mound in 2022. More importantly, to mark the start of Pride Month, Comás took time to reflect on his coming out announcement this past winter and the path ahead of him.
With the manufactured outrage over Dodgers Pride Night dying down, Comás’ words also served as an inspirational palette cleanser for baseball fans from our community.
Speaking to The Athletic’s Sox beat writer James Fegan (link behind a paywall), Comás sounded self-assured and content when looking back on his February Instagram post where he publicly announced that he was gay.
“I just felt like now is the right time. 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,” he declared.
Considering how few baseball players have come out while still active — let alone while working their way up to the bigs — it’s inspiring to hear that Comás looks at coming out as a minor league hopeful and considers it “the right time.”
Not only is that a good indication of his strong mental state after announcing that he is gay, it also provides encouragement for other LGBTQ players who might consider coming out while still climbing the minor league ladder.
Comás revealed that after his announcement, he received direct messages of gratitude from other closeted baseball players. “It’s still a little bit hard for us to be out there visible in the public area because of people’s judgement,” he admitted.
Hopefully, Comás’ testimony about the love and acceptance he’s found will serve to counteract others’ hesitancy.
It’s also important for other LGBTQ pro baseball players to hear Comás testify to the support he’s found in White Sox camp since his Instagram post.
“They really love me here because I’ve been very respectful with my teammates and all my coaches,” he said. “My teammates and coaches that knew about me, they never changed themselves just because I was gay. They treated me the same. That made me feel comfortable about it.”
Comás’ experience echoes that of former minor league pitcher Kieran Lovegrove, who came out publicly as bisexual in 2021 after being out to teammates since 2019. Once he came out to his fellow players, Lovegrove testified that he found his teammates “incredibly supportive and curious” and that “it really made me fall in love with baseball and clubhouse culture again.”
As we’ve found with other sports, when LGBTQ baseball players hear more stories of teammate support after coming out, that makes it easier for them to believe they’ll find similar encouragement if they share their true selves. This would prove to be the best kind of baseball momentum.
It also helps that the White Sox organization has stood behind Comás every step of the way. He singled out Manager of International Player Development and Education Erin Santana as “the mom of Latinos here” and named Assistant General Manager Chris Getz and Performance Coach Daniel Cobain as shoulders he could lean on while navigating the coming out process.
Following his time in extended spring training, Comás will be pitching out of the bullpen this summer for the White Sox Arizona Complex League affiliate at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix. If all goes well, we look forward to tracking his progress as he attempts to one day make history in Chicago.
