True Colours?
Backlash widens over Pride stance by Giants’ pitchers
MLB waded into a McCovey Cove-sized mess this week when it decided to issue what seemed to be a meaningless, non-disciplinary “warning” to the three Giants pitchers at the centre of a row over defacing their team’s Pride Night rainbow caps.
In a statement, MLB said:
“To be clear, this routine verbal warning not to wear the hat in future games is not disciplinary and had absolutely nothing to do with the content of the message. We respect players’ right to free expression,” reads the statement. “However, writing of any kind, with any message, is prohibited per Major League Baseball’s Uniform Regulations which provides in part that, ‘[a] Player may not write, attach, affix, embroider or otherwise display nicknames or messages on apparel or playing equipment…”
With something of a swing and a miss by Giants management in handling the immediate fallout, things probably inevitably escalated to involve VP JD Vance and other Republican figures, even Rob Schneider.
While one poster described Vance’s intervention as “probably the clearest and most annoying example of the Trump admin trying to portray their election as a cultural project rather than any attempt to improve public policy,” CNN said:
“Vance’s reaction – “Trump won” – is essentially accurate. In the past year, both registered Republicans and independents have become more likely to say that society’s “level of acceptance” has “gone too far.” So it’s not surprising to learn that any number of baseball players are willing to make a performance out of ensuring everyone knows some of their fanbase isn’t welcome at the ballpark. But it was a performance, not a sacrifice. They didn’t suffer for taking their stand at all.”
For the administration, though, momentum was building. The Guardian reported that “On Thursday, assistant US attorney general Harmeet Dhillon wrote a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred saying the justice department had referred the league to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate whether the discipline amounts to religious discrimination.”
The situation with the Giants came just a few days after two Los Angeles Dodgers players chose not to wear the rainbow-logo hat for their team’s Pride night. Last year, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw had similarly inscribed a bible reference on his hat.
But as Bill Shaikin wrote at the Los Angeles Times, MLB’s cap condemnation “isn’t the anti-Christian crackdown conservatives claim.”
“In 2023, the year after five Tampa Bay Rays players declined to wear rainbow logos for Pride Night, Manfred said the league would no longer compel players to do so.
“We have told teams, in terms of actual uniforms, hats, bases that we don’t think putting logos on them is a good idea just because of the desire to protect players: not putting them in a position of doing something that may make them uncomfortable because of their personal views,”Manfred said then.”
In York, Pennsylvania this week, a minor league team chose to forfeit its Pride Night game after fewer than nine players on the 28-man roster were willing to wear rainbow unis.
But San Francisco’s fanbase and community – it should go without saying – is different. As Bill Shaikan reported, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie told the Bay Area Reporter: “I think a few people made it about themselves and not about the community. Here in San Francisco, the LGBTQ+ community is what makes this city so special.”
Brady Klopfer at McCovey Chronicles said the Giants “told fans exactly who they are,” while Ann Killion wrote at the San Francisco Chronicle that the pitchers “didn’t just deface their uniforms, they alienated their fans.”
Giants’ broadcaster Mike Krukow said that any athlete that plays in the city has to “be aware of just how impassioned the people are here” about supporting the gay community. According to SFGate:
“I think when you’re a player and you come into this environment, it’s your responsibility to know just how sensitive this city is in regards to that cultural freedom and religious freedom, and just the way that you live your life,” he said. “And I think they were in for a rude awakening with the response, and it wasn’t just from the gay community; it was from the Northern California community that supports the gay community.”
Grant Brisbee wrote at The Athletic that, at the end of the day, the pitchers’ bible verses showed “how they’ve missed the point”. He concludes:
“Pride Night is about bringing more people into the group and telling them they belong in the same stadium, rooting for the same team. By resorting to “us” and “them” instead of truly understanding the humanity of the people asking for help, those who chose to make a statement on or with their hats completely missed the point. If anyone is looking to make the world better, they might try listening and understanding. Pride Night is about support and lifting human beings. Making it about something else — yourself, say, or the idea that some people aren’t as worthy of recognition or support — shows how little some people actually care about a message of love.”
“After the game, Roupp told reporters, “I’m thankful we live in a country where, you know, we have the freedom to believe what we want … and express what we want.” I’m also thankful for this, and I’m using that same freedom to suggest that he’s only scratching the surface of what he’s purporting to believe in. Dig deeper, my dude. Dig a lot deeper. There’s a way to help people navigate this life with the respect and grace they deserve. It is a choice to ignore that on a night dedicated to people who need others on their side. Do better. That’s the only thing we’re all supposed to do around here, anyway. Do better.”
As for the game, the Cubs won 5-1. Landen Roupp took the loss and fell to 5-7 on the season. The Giants are 17 games back of the division-leading Dodgers.
See Also:
Dodging The Elephant (From April 2025)
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Batting Around
Meanwhile, in Chicago…
Definitely beloved outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hit for the 13th cycle in Cubs history – and the first in reverse – as the home team came back for a walk-off walk capping a 5-4 win over Colorado.
Unfortunately even since that highlight, inconsistency and injuries have once more proved the Cubs’ constant companion. As Michael Johnson wrote at WGN:
“We’re still weeks from the Fourth of July, and Cubs fans already have whiplash over following a team that began the season with expectations of making the playoffs for a second straight year, at the very least…
“Everyone, from the players to manager Craig Counsell to team president Jed Hoyer, has seemed to be at a loss for words for why the Cubs have struggled so much with RISP. And what can they really say, other than the usual things about water finding its level, players performing to the stats on the back of their baseball cards, and other cliches in the realm of “that’s just baseball?”
And the extent of the rollercoaster was obvious once more just last night…
The past few days, however, have built towards an uplifting Juneteenth in Chicago, as the city prepared to celebrate the opening of the Obama Presidential Center.
See Also:
Celebration and Honor (From June 2025)
You might also like to read ‘Crossroads’, my Q&A from a couple of seasons back with Chicago writer John W Fountain.
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No Scotland, No Party
With the FIFA World Cup now well under way (and proving with each game that football can rise above even the most challenging organisational circumstances) the last-place Boston Red Sox guaranteed themselves thousands of new fans this week when they embraced the visiting Tartan Army, in town for Scotland’s games against Haiti and Morocco.
According to Scottish paper The National, Red Sox historian Jerry Thornton was among the many fans happy for the distraction from their own team’s form.
“Struggling Boston crashed to another defeat, but Red Sox pundit and superfan Thornton reckoned their fans fell in love with the Tartan Army. He said: “You don’t need me to remind you just how far the Boston Red Sox have sunk.
“Fenway Park has gone from ‘America’s Most Beloved Ballpark’ to an overly expensive bore. Just another tourist trap locals avoid. But we can be grateful to the tourists who did go to Fenway.
“The Tartan Army had us at hello. From the moment they set a kilted foot at Logan Airport with bagpipes, they won the cold hearts of everyone in Massachusetts, and they took it to entirely new heights on Sunday.
“There are times when guests wear out their welcome. But nobody in Massachusetts wants The Tartan Army to leave.”
Amid talk that Glasgow and Boston may even become “twins”, sadly for Scotland defeat to Morocco on Sunday means they’ll have to go to Miami this coming week and get something from their final game, against Brazil.
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Ouch…
Zack Meisel at The Athletic had a painful – and literal – story on why catchers are getting hit below the belt more often.
“Around the league, more and more often, catchers need a minute. It’s become routine to see the umpire call time as the catcher lies in agony, doubled over after yet another foul ball or spiked pitch caroms into a sensitive area.
“Guys (are) keeling over,” said Detroit’s Dillon Dingler.
“There is no data on the specific phenomenon, but the dozen current and former catchers The Athletic spoke to agree that it is happening, and they agree on why it’s happening. Without hesitation, several pointed to the advent of the one-knee stance, a postural tweak that has swept the league in recent years.”
In other ball-strike news, this may have been a first, or just an off-night…
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Finally, you know how they always tell you ‘never leave before the end’…?
This flashback to 1989 is a reminder why.
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Tickets, Please
Previously on Tickets Please
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As always, thanks for reading. No Game Notes this week (and I’ll catch up Reading The Field next time too) as I’m back in Belfast now for a couple more weeks, but will be back in the US for a very special July 4 celebration and am looking forward to getting to some more games after that.
During the regular season I’ll try to write a baseball-related post midweek and then a politics wrap at weekends. I do my best to keep them separate but as you might expect, one has been way more sane than the other, especially at this confusing and crucial moment.
There’s a full States of Play archive here, and a ‘Just Baseball’ index for this season here.
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Finally, if you think you might like to take part in a simple Q&A for the project, reflecting on your memories of baseball and politics; along with where you think the country stands right now and where it might be headed, I’d love to hear from you, and you can email me at steve@statesofplayproject.com.
You can see the ones I’ve done over previous seasons here.
Here’s how it works:
You send me a brief bio – a few paragraphs telling me who you are, what you do, why you love baseball – as well as a couple of pics of yourself, ideally at a ballgame, and in return I send you nine questions, one per inning. You take as long as you like to email your answers back, then I’ll make sure you’re happy with the final draft before it’s published.
The first two questions are always the same for every participant: what was the first ballgame you went to and what do you remember about it? And then what was the first election you voted in and what do you think have been the most significant changes in our politics since then?
I’ll round out the other questions based on your interests and what you tell me in the bio, as well as anything else you might like to talk about. It’ll finish up with your thoughts on where things might be headed. Obviously, you’ll get final approval before it gets posted.
Sound good? Drop me a note. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully see you at a ballgame.
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