Pete and Chasten Buttigieg found love on a first date minor league baseball game

Welcome back to Talkin’ Gaysball where if any gay can find his soulmate in Indiana, there’s hope for all of us…

Chances are that when you think of great gay meet cutes, you probably assemble a mental checklist featuring the characters from “Heartstopper,” “Red, White, and Royal Blue” and “Love, Simon.”

You’d likely have to scroll down for a while before you come to the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

But this past week, Pete Buttigieg reminded us that he’s also got a delightful gay first date success story — and it’s even better because it includes baseball.

Luttigieg took to Instagram to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his first in person meeting with his husband, Chasten, posting a photo of the two of them from that night with South Bend Cubs mascot Stu D. Baker.

Get off the sidelines and into the game

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Buttigieg wrote, “Ten years ago tonight, I went on a first date, arriving at the pub with tickets to that night’s (South Bend) Cubs game in my pocket in case our chat over beer went well. Which it did.”

That’s a really sweet and specific detail. It’s giving slice of Americana with just enough Casey McQuiston vibes to stay on the right side of the thin line between swooning and nausea.

But also…someone who walks into a first date thinking, “If I hit it off with this cute guy, we’re going to a baseball game” is kind of EVERYTHING YOUR VERY SINGLE FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD BASEBALL GAY IS LOOKING FOR.

What do I have to pay to activate that setting on Hinge?

As someone who is used to dreading that moment on first dates where I have to answer “What do you write about?” with some variation of “Sports but also mostly gay stuff but don’t worry I still know all the words to ‘Please Please Please,’” I admire the chutzpah.

Also perhaps just as importantly: kudos to Chasten for recognizing that the date was going really well and being open-minded enough to keep a good night going with a baseball game.

As Chasten has retold the story, the detail that he remembers most was that the ball game ended with literal fireworks.

Of course someone who made his career wonking out over bureaucratic logistics would schedule a first date on Fireworks Night. Well played, Mayor Pete.

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Crazy Crab was a deliberate failure in mid-1980s San Francisco and that’s what made it campy and delightful.

This story is the best example of Buttigieg being his most likable when he’s embracing every ounce of his nerdy authentic gay self and representing our community to all of his followers.

He’s not trying to live up to anyone’s image of what he thinks a midsize town mayor in “Real America” should be.

You would be completely right to wonder where that support of community was when Buttigieg hemmed and hawed about “serious fairness issues” when discussing his views on transgender athletes. 

We had no enthusiasm for that focus group-obsessed Mayor Pete in 2020 and nobody’s asking him to come back this year.

Instead, let’s have more of the Buttigieg who’s enthusiastically sharing this photo: gay, proud, and the honest version of himself. The kind of person any of us would join for a baseball game.

MLB Thirst Trap of the Week

Certain rookie pitchers turn heads when they debut in the big leagues.

Mets right-hander Jonah Tong certainly did that during his first MLB start last Friday. Not necessarily because of his six strikeouts in five innings or his first major league win, though those were all well and good.

Instead, it’s already apparent that the source of Tong’s mound wizardry is making every hitter who faces him start uncontrollably humming “‘Cause baby U smile, I smile…”

As an upstanding Canadian like Tong can attest, it’s impossible to square up 97 mph with The Biebs running through your head.

If the Mets are hoping to usurp the Phillies at the top of the NL East, they’re going to have to have to neutralize Philadelphia’s biggest strength: wet postgame celebrations.

Let’s just say Tong is already playing that game at a Bryce Harper level.

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