While most minor leaguers are wondering where they’ll be heading this upcoming season, Milwaukee Brewers prospect David Denson knows exactly where he’ll be in 2017.
Home.
The 22-year-old slugger, who made news in 2015 as baseball’s first openly gay player announced on his Facebook page that he was retiring in order to pursue a career as a personal/athletic trainer.
“Leaving the game has nothing to do with my coming out,” Denson said. “My feelings weren’t in the game anymore. My passion for the game and drive for the game wasn’t there anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I love baseball. Baseball will always be in my heart, but wanting to do it as a career was no longer there for me anymore.”
In his four minor league seasons, Denson hit .229 with 29 home runs and 135 RBI. In 2016, he appeared in the Midwest League All-Star as a member of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
Denson will always be known as “the gay baseball player” and as he’ll tell you, he’s totally fine with that. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to see that changed.
“As we all know, there’s still some people on edge about people’s sexuality,” Denson told The Hall after receiving the prestigious Glenn Burke Memorial Courage Award back in July. “Honestly, I feel like the last hurdle is people not really caring (about someone’s sexuality) and judge people about their play on the field and not what they do off of it.”
Don’t we all.
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