Minor league pitcher Soloman Bates came out!
Bates is sharing his truth to show positivity during a rocky time. On the same week that Bates was released from the Giants network, the pitcher came out to his Instagram following. Despite being released, Bates stayed optimistic and thankful for the opportunity. The athlete also shared that this isn’t the end of his career and story.
“Being gay in this sport you don’t know what comes at you!” Bates wrote on Instagram. “I thank the Giants for giving me the opportunity to be myself and go out there and play the game that I love the most. I’m still in shock on what just happened. But I’m not giving up on what I want to do. I’m still going to open up doors for gay athletes like me. Still will strive to be one of the greatest to do it.”
He added, “I ended on a high note from getting hurt to going out there and pitching my ass off. Baseball I’m not done with you. I’m leaving on my terms and my terms only. Gay men can play a manly sport if you give us a chance to. Thank you giants, you guys made a new fan. But gave me a chip to keep going. I love all the new friends that I’ve made. I’m not going to cry. I’m going to keep pushing.”
Bates’ release comes after a season with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a Double-A Minor Leagues team in Virginia. The athlete also pitched for the Giants in Spring Training. And how did he get here? 25-year-old Bates began his professional baseball career in 2018 when he was an eighth-round pick out of USC. Since then and until now, Bates remained in the Giants’ system. Bates pitched in 23 games with the Flying Squirrels this season. He posted a 4.02 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings.
As for his future, Soloman Bates is hopeful.
“I’m just thinking about my next team. Life is good right now,” he shared with OutSports. “I’m confident I’ll be with a new team in the next few days.”
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Thank you Soloman for coming out gay. We need guys like you to be brave to make it easier for other gay guys in sports to come out. I was on a minor league team and there was one other gay guy on the team but we both remained in the closet until we were a couple years finished with playing and we ended up marrying each other 5 years ago at age 30.