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Billy Bean, former Dodger and MLB ambassador, dies at 60

FILE - Billy Bean, Major League Baseball vice president of Social Responsibility & Inclusion, throws out the ceremonial first pitch to Seattle Mariners' Felix Hernandez before a baseball game between the Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers Friday, Aug. 19, 2016, in Seattle. Bean said he doesn't think the absence of an openly gay player is the right way to evaluate inclusivity in the major leagues, just like he doesn't think the sport should be evaluated by a comment that might not be supportive. Bean came out after his playing career. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
Billy Bean throws out the first pitch before a game in 2016. (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)

Billy Bean, who played parts of six seasons with the Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers and was Major League Baseball's senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, died Tuesday after a yearlong battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He was 60.

In 1999, Bean became the second former MLB player to come out as gay. Glenn Burke was the first.

“Billy was a friend to countless people across our game, and he made a difference through his constant dedication to others. He made Baseball a better institution, both on and off the field, by the power of his example, his empathy, his communication skills, his deep relationships inside and outside our sport, and his commitment to doing the right thing," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Billy’s husband, Greg Baker, and their entire family.”

Bean joined MLB in 2014 as an ambassador for inclusion. As a senior advisor to Manfred, Bean’s role focused on player education, LGBTQ inclusion and social justice initiatives.

Bean, a Santa Ana native who played at Loyola Marymount, broke into the majors in 1987 with the Tigers. On July 17, 1989, Bean was traded to the Dodgers, with whom he played 51 games. After two seasons in the minors and one in Japan, Bean returned to the U.S., playing for the Padres from 1993 to 1995 before retiring.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.