Billy Bean Led a Quiet Life With His Husband, Greg Baker
Billy and his husband were adored by the late MLB star's fans.
Published Aug. 7 2024, 9:57 a.m. ET
Former MLB outfielder Billy Bean has died at the age of 60. The trailblazing athlete privately battled an acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis.
Billy was only the second MLB player to come out as gay in 1999 and advocated for diversity and inclusion. He is mourned by his husband, Greg Baker. Here's what we know about the couple.
Who is Billy Bean's husband?
Billy retired from baseball in 1995 and spent the rest of his life advocating for diversity and inclusion from the inside. In 2019, he became the MLB's first ambassador for inclusion and worked to make the league easier to navigate for other openly gay baseball players, per Queerty. When he wasn't tending to his activism duties, he enjoyed life in New York with his husband, Greg. Greg is a doctor in the city, or at least he was in 2020. It's unclear how the couple met.
Billy and Greg led a private life, as many of Billy's Instagram posts only showed him and his husband a few times. He eventually stopped posting in 2021, and his husband's final Instagram post of them came in 2019. Still, the couple was married until Billy died on Aug. 6. Following the news of the MLB star's death, the league's commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement offering his condolences to Greg and Billy's family.
“Our hearts are broken today as we mourn our dear friend and colleague, Billy Bean, one of the kindest and most respected individuals I have ever known,” Manfred wrote, adding, "We are forever grateful for the enduring impact that Billy made on the game he loved, and we will never forget him. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Billy’s husband, Greg Baker, and their entire family.”
While neither of them posted one another often, Billy's supporters were always happy to see them when they did, with many followers mentioning how "beautiful" they were as a couple.
Rest well, Billy!
