Proplayer baseball6/27/2023 Especially at RPI, where he went 21-7 with a 2.05 ERA in four seasons. What there was instead was lots of dominance. It's like, 'OK, I was friends with them before, and then I came out, and nothing's changed.'"Īpart from one ugly moment -the book tells of a vanquished batter saying "I can't believe that f-t struck me out" -Conroy's amateur career passed without incident. And I always made friends first and then continued to be myself after I came out to them. "But if I had any overarching advice, it would just be to be yourself. I could write a book on my own experience and how I got through what I went through," he says. "I think everyone's experience is different. And when I asked about the tragedy at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, he had nothing he wanted to share publicly.īut wisdom based on his own experiences for anyone who might need it? That's ground he'll tread. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage, saying in a TV interview that his preference is to be in the spotlight for baseball. He was fine with losing his Pride Night spotlight to the U.S. Later, he would do the same in college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.ĭescribed by those who know him well as "quiet" and "cerebral," Conroy's not the spokesperson type. Rather than stay in hiding, he came right out to his high school teammates. "'It's just a better life, because I know what life was like when I was in high school.'"īut Conroy had a better idea. "I said, 'I think you should kinda keep it in your back pocket until you get through high school,'" Conroy's mother, Terry, told Lindbergh. They were immediately accepting but also worried. It's already put him in the Hall of Fame, and it's still offering a glimpse at a brighter, more inclusive future for professional baseball.Īs recounted in Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller's book about running the 2015 Stompers, The Only Rule Is It Has to Work, Conroy came out to his parents when he was a teenager. So far, though, Conroy's story has been different. Before becoming the first openly gay player in Major League Soccer, Robbie Rogers' coming out originally coincided with his retirement. Jason Collins and Michael Sam were celebrated for coming out but then swiftly nudged aside. Glenn Burke and Billy Bean had unhappy and short-lived careers as major leaguers who were not out publicly. The precedents for Conroy's experience aren't encouraging. The Stompers are one of only four teams in the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, where players make only a couple hundred bucks a month in a three-month season. The moment may have been surreal, but what happened last June was very real. I know we will all come through this difficult time together.Photo credit: Conroy family photo, courtesy of the Sonoma Stompers. Thank you for your continued support and understanding. You are always encouraged to contact me directly either on my cell phone at 90, email at or Facebook messenger.įamilies are at the heart of everything I do here at Pro Player Indoor Training Facility. Should the length of time need to be longer than three weeks, I will continue to share updates and stay connected through Facebook and my website. During this time, I will be cleaning and disinfecting the facility and continuing to monitor the progress of the virus and the updated guidelines for safety. To ensure the health and safety of the community and to support the efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, I am implementing safe distancing and I have temporarily closed the facility for at least the next three (3) weeks, starting Thursday, March 19, 2020. As the novel Coronavirus remains ever-changing, the health and well-being of you, my customers, your families, and the community, has remained my top priority. The spread of the coronavirus (CO VID-19) across our country has created a very stressful environment for all Americans and especially children, older adults and those with underlying health conditions who are at heightened risk.
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