Brewers vs. Rays: A World Series matchup with big bats, bigger biceps and some very gay baggage
It's nice to see underdogs like Milwaukee and Tampa Bay in the Fall Classic. It's even nicer to see them without Josh Hader and Jason Adam.
Mark
There are quite a few legitimately fun narratives surrounding the 2026 World Series.
For starters, the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays represent a match-up of two small-market teams thumbing their nose at baseball’s economic doomsayers.
Jacob Misiorowski vs. Drew Rasmussen demonstrates that even in an era of relentless bullpenning, there’s nothing like two dominant aces going mano a mano to see who blinks first.
This matchup also presents opportunity to debate the eternal question: Would you rather watch Rob Manfred get his head permanently stuck inside a racing kielbasa or plummet into a tank of sting rays?
Truly there are no wrong answers.
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When it comes to each team’s relationship with their LGBTQ fans, however, the status for Brewers and Rays is “It’s complicated.”
While both teams have worked to establish a connection to our community, each one has also dealt with the fallout from some of the most virulent player homophobia in recent memory.
The two franchises have put their respective disasters in the rearview mirror but they’re still recent enough to call up some painful memories for LGBTQ fans in Milwaukee and Tampa — even as their teams celebrate all that they’ve accomplished on the field and in our community.
Photo by Ken Schultz
Milwaukee Brewers
When a baseball team breaks a lengthy postseason drought, sports media loves to write stories about what life was like the last time they won something. Who was president, how much did a tank of gas cost, etc.
Let me try to put Milwaukee’s situation into a context my fellow Baseball Gays can understand…
It’s been 44 years since the Brewers last appeared in the World Series.
That’s two Kit Connors ago.
The last time the Brewers won the pennant, Madonna had just signed her first record deal. Ever.
The Brewers’ Fall Classic drought has spanned all 15 of the Material Girl’s studio albums and all 1,572 of her personas.
To bring the metaphor full circle, if the Jackson Chourio World Series squad is the “Like a Prayer” video, then the John Jaha era is Milwaukee’s fake British accent.
Despite several decades in the MLB wilderness that alternated between forgettable and agonizing, the Brew Crew still made a significant contribution to LGBTQ baseball history during that time.
In 2015, Brewers prospect David Denson became the first player in the affiliated minor leagues to publicly come out while still active.
Several prominent figures in the organization gave Denson their unequivocal support. Leading the way, six-time All Star Ryan Braun noted, “We realize it’s a courageous decision by him, to come out and embrace his true self” while promising “he would be accepted and supported by me.”
Although Denson retired in 2017 while still in A-ball, his coming out broke a barrier for gay baseball players and the Brewers’ responses of acceptance spoke volumes.
Three years after Denson came out, though, Brewers fans and one of their star pitchers spoke just as loudly in an unsettling and ugly way.
During the 2018 All Star Game, Twitter users found then-Milwaukee closer Josh Hader’s explicitly homophobic tweets from his high school years and circulated them all over the internet.
Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Among several disturbing posts, Hader tweeted, “I hate gay people.”
As any gay man of that era would’ve replied, “You requested that haircut? CAN CONFIRM.”
A few days later, after issuing the requisite public apology, Hader made his first appearance on the Miller Park mound since his bigotry went viral.
And Brewers fans gave him a raucous standing ovation befitting a conquering hero.
We’re all aware enough to realize that baseball fans in every town will forgive even the most heinous behavior if a player is wearing their favorite uniform.
But the enthusiasm behind the Milwaukee crowd’s applause for Hader was stomach turning. Homophobia and bigotry should never get the same kind of welcome as Robin Yount.
It’s been eight years since then and thankfully, both the Brewers and their fans have evolved to the point where their loudest ovation they gave a bullpen pitcher this season was in response to Abner Uribe’s post-strikeout crotch chop.
Yes, we have truly entered a new dawn in baseball where societal progress is measured in “suck it” gestures.
Now that the Brewers are in their World Series era, hopefully the Hader ovation will prove to be as much of a relic of the past as their 44 year pennantless streak.
Tampa Bay Rays
LGBTQ Baseball Universe, Meet Rays designated hitter Yandy Díaz.
Tampa’s roster is filled with electric young stars like Party City in human form Junior Caminero and base stealer par excellence Chandler Simpson, who refers to the speed of light as “second place.”
But Díaz has two particular…qualities that are going to make him every Baseball Gay’s new favorite player. See if you can guess what they are…
Two years ago, Hurricane Milton blew the roof off of Tropicana Field. The Rays got their dome fixed — but even if they didn’t, it’s nice to know that all 40,230 people in attendance for their pennant clincher could’ve taken shelter under Díaz’s biceps.
Díaz is also the only player on Tampa Bay’s roster whose date of birth is listed as “Arm Day No. 1.”
Not only does he possess a physique that launched a thousand thirst traps, Díaz also helped the Rays rebound from their homophobic nadir as a franchise.
When you think of the Rays and Pride Night, the first image that usually springs to mind is from their 2022 fiasco when five bullpen pitchers ripped rainbow sunburst logos off of their jerseys before taking the field.
It was a jarring moment and illustrated just how deep those players’ homophobia went.
Then-Tampa Bay relief pitcher Jason Adam tried to explain, “A lot of it comes down to faith, to like a faith-based decision. So it’s a hard decision. Because ultimately we all said what we want is to make them feel welcome and loved here.”
And nothing says welcome and love for the LGBTQ community like treating a rainbow logo the way a vampire handles sunlight.
Rays Pride: It burns!
Since that awful moment, it’s felt like the Rays as an organization have deliberately tried to go the extra mile to make up for it and ensure their LGBTQ fans feel genuinely welcome at The Trop.
The year after, the Rays invited Dale Scott to throw out the first pitch on Pride Night and lit their ballpark’s roof in rainbow colors at the conclusion of that evening’s game.
They also put up a giant rainbow sunburst logo on the right field concourse where it could be seen from every seat in the ballpark. As I could personally confirm after visiting this past May, that logo is still there today.
Photo by Ken Schultz
Thankfully, Adam’s signing bonus did not include a free excavator.
Most encouraging of all, several Rays players have done a reverse Jason Adam, voluntarily taking the field during Pride Night wearing rainbow wristbands and shoes as part of their uniforms and sporting rainbow T-shirts during BP.
One of those players who chose to wear a rainbow armband during the game?
Yandy Díaz.
Told you he was going to be your new favorite.
Prediction
Either the Rays or the Brewers winning their first ever World Series would be a good story. But you know what’s an even better one? Bob Uecker pranking his own team photo shoot by holding hands with Bob Gibson. Brewers in six.
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