Chicago White Sox Minor Leaguer Anderson Comos revealed via Instagram on Feb. 19 that he is gay.
Comos said that he came out so as to be an inspiration to others.
"This may be my most personal thing I ever share and it's that I'm proudly and happily part of the LGTBQ+ community. … 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," Comos wrote.
Only two previous minor league players, David Denson and Solomon Bates, have come out as gay. No active major league player has come out publicly, though some have done so after they have retired from the sport, among them Billy Bean and Glenn Burke.
White Sox officials voiced their support for Comos.
In a Feb. 19 statement, Chris Getz, the team's assistant general manager of player development, said, "Anderson first shared his news with us last year. And I was very pleased that he was comfortable sharing with us in player development.
"I also was happy at the reaction across the organization, which as you would expect was to support, help and congratulate a teammate. With his social media post today, we all are so proud of Anderson and that he is comfortable sharing such an important personal part of his life so openly."
Bean, who is now MLB's senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, added, "I'm proud of Anderson's courage in sharing something so personal with the baseball community, and I'm grateful that the Chicago White Sox have provided Anderson with an accepting and inclusive environment allowing him to pursue his dream of becoming a Major Leaguer while being his true and authentic self."
A native of the Dominican Republic, Comos signed with the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 2016.
