:: ball talk ::

AVG. WINS AVG SALARY ------------------------------------------- Jason Giambi 4.700 16.167 Todd Helton 4.467 13.600 Jim Thome 4.133 11.500 Carlos Delgado 3.700 18.500 (2004) Nick Johnson 3.367 -N/A- Derrek Lee 3.267 7.484 Mark Teixeira 3.133 -N/A- Richie Sexson 2.733 8.000 (2004) Mike Sweeney 2.233 11.000 Hee Seop Choi 2.100 -N/A- Carlos Pena 2.067 -N/A- Jeff Bagwell 2.033 13.667 Ryan Klesko 1.967 7.667 Doug Mientkiewicz 1.667 3.433 Justin Morneau 1.433 -N/A- Paul Konerko 1.400 8.375 (2004-5) Sean Casey 0.667 7.300 (2004-5)

$/Win, in millions ------------------------------------- Doug Mientkiewicz 2.059 Derrek Lee 2.291 Jim Thome 2.782 Richie Sexson 2.927 Todd Helton 3.045 Jason Giambi 3.440 Ryan Klesko 3.898 Mike Sweeney 4.926 Carlos Delgado 5.000 Paul Konerko 5.982 Jeff Bagwell 6.723 Sean Casey 10.945

In yesterday's Hot Stove Heater on ESPN.com, Jim Caple addressed the question, "when will we see an openly gay baseball player?" Despite rumors that Caple was going to come dangerously close to outing a current big leaguer, the article safely stayed away from the question of who is gay, instead focusing on what qualities a player should possess in order to weather the "coming out" storm.

Caple's article has several good points, though many of them are notions that are hashed and re-hashed in every discussion of gay athletes. Chief among these is the sentiment that a player would be better served by being a star:

Many ballplayers wouldn't care if a teammate was gay (many may already suspect a teammate is), the key question is how miserable those other teammates (and opponents and fans) could make the situation. It probably would be easier for a star player to come out, because his batting average or ERA would be sufficient reason for otherwise intolerant teammates and fans to accept him.

I don't know if this is true. A gay baseball star may be used to the spotlight (which would surely help with the media onslaught), but he would also have additional pressures that a lesser player might avoid. A star is still expected to carry his team, and a gay star would be expected to continue to perform at a high level throughout any media circus. An ordinary batting slump would be seen through a queer-tinted lens: maybe he's lost it, maybe the pressure is too much.

A star player is also much more likely to polarize his audience, since as fans we are much more invested in their performance. Think about it: how many fans would really care if Raul Ibanez came out? But how much frenetic booing and cheering would a player like Derek Jeter receive from the stands? The higher a player's profile, the more likely the insults would fly at full throttle.

That said, there is one caveat: the first gay player to come out will have an easier time of it if he is good enough to have a secure starting role. If the 25th man on a team were to come out, it would cause management all sorts of nightmares. The player in question might be easily replaceable, but any move to replace him would draw the ire of the gay community, just as keeping him on the roster might be seen as an owner's sacrifice to the wiles of Political Correctness. A gay Lenny Harris would still hit and field like a straight Lenny Harris, and would deserve to be cut if someone better came along.

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In addition to star power, Caple lists several other characteristics he'd imagine seeing in an openly gay ballplayer.

As soon as a player is good enough, strong enough and confident enough to withstand the controversy and the taunts, as soon as he feels the benefits will outweigh the considerable negatives, as soon as enough teammates won't care about his sexual orientation, and as soon as his employers are ready to back him up and say that the game's clubhouses are ready to be as open as any other office environment in the country.

These are solid qualifications, and Caple is especially right when mentioning the support needed from the front office. As one friend put it, "Jackie Robinson wouldn't have happened without Branch Rickey."

But I don't think the taunts and jeers will be the biggest hurdle. Hate can be a scary adversary, but it can also be repelled. Homophobia is irrational almost by definition, and unimaginative put-downs lose their bite when they don't hold the power of innuendo. Calling a gay man a "cocksucker" isn't an insult; it's an accurate description.

To me, the biggest encumbrance will be fame - specifically, fame within the gay community. A gay ballplayer would make nationwide news, but he would be of much greater stature among queers: he would instantly become one of the most significant gay figures in all of American history. The impact of this cannot be understated. Openly gay sportsmen and women are expected to be spokespeople, and a gay athlete in the national pastime would be acclaimed like no one before him. He would have Visa and Mastercards with his mug on them, he would be expected to pop up at rallies and parades, and cover stories would appear in The Advocate and Out, if not Time and Newsweek.

And with the fame would come criticicm. In this case, not the heckling fans and boorish teammates, but the carping from within the gay community. Martina Navratilova was seen as too "mannish" for some gays' tastes, just as there was a misplaced fear that Greg Louganis' outing would only reinforce stereotypes that all gay men had AIDS. These digs will be vastly outnumbered by the hero chants, of course, but they are the attacks that will have the greatest sting. No one expects to be bashed by the people whose cause you support.

The challenges a gay ballplayer would face may seem obvious at first, starting with the need to gain acceptance from your teammates and fans. But to an out player's surprise, the hardest audience of all may not be in the locker room or stadium. It may be the throng of Gay America that welcomes the player as he steps out the closet door, eager to embrace, herald, and scrutinize him at every turn.

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