PBL Celebrates Pride Month: An Interview with David Denson

On August 15, 2015 David Denson made history while playing for the Helena Brewers in the Pioneer Baseball League. The Brewers were in the midst of a Saturday double header against the Idaho Falls Chukars, but that had nothing to do with David Denson’s story. That day Denson’s interview with Tom Haudricourt became public, announcing to the world that he was gay and in doing so he became the first active, openly gay player part of a Major League Baseball organization.

Denson was set to play college baseball at the University of Hawaii after finishing up high school at South Hills High School in West Covina, California, but decided to opt out of college in favor of pro ball after being selected in the 15th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

He spent his first season of professional baseball in 2013 with the AZL Brewers in the Arizona Rookie League. In 2014, Denson split time between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the Class A Midwest League and with AZL Brewers. Denson started his 2015 campaign with the Timber Rattlers, but was moved from Wisconsin to Helena where he would join the Helena Brewers in the Pioneer League. He made his Pioneer League debut on June 20, 2015 against the Great Falls Voyagers, going 1-for-4 at the plate.

Denson hit .242 with six home runs in 51 games for the Helena Brewers during his 2015 stint in the Pioneer League. He was selected for the Northwest-Pioneer League All-Star Game and was given the MiLB Top Star award for his 2-for-3 performance that included a pinch hit home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored.

Denson retired from baseball during spring training in 2017, so while his baseball career was over, the courage he showed and the impact he left remained prominent in people’s minds. Denson never set out to become a pioneer for the game of baseball, but was just a kid who wanted to play the game he loved.

He talked about the feeling of being a phony before coming out because he wasn’t being his true self.

The story of David Denson coming out to his teammates was not glorious. During a rain delay, the Helena Brewers all escaped back to the clubhouse and Denson, not even really thinking about what he was saying, came out to his teammates. He remembers saying “Did I just say that?”, but just like that the secret that Denson has been keeping to himself all those years of playing baseball was out.

After coming out, Denson talked about many of the issues he faced internally while playing. He spent many hours talking with Billy Bean, who had come out a few years after finishing his MLB career. Bean helped give Denson the courage to come out publicly after battling with the thought for years.

Billy Bean was quoted, saying “Baseball is proud of the way it was handled. There is a collective supportive environment. If you're a baseball player, we have that in common. And the world has changed dramatically in the way we talk about these other issues.”

In fact, Denson said there were multiple times that he almost quit because the stress of hiding his sexulatity was too much. He was a completely different person while at home versus the ballpark. At home Denson was able to be himself, but as soon as he stepped in public he felt the need to become a totally different person.

One problem Denson constantly faced was his relationship with his partner while he was playing in Helena. Denson shared that he saved his partner Freddy under a different name in his phone and was coy with messages on social media. His partner knew the messages were for him, but to outsiders no one would know who they were intended for.

The largest concern for Denson while coming out was how he would be treated by the public, his teammates, and within the Brewers organization. Then Brewers GM, Doug Melvin, called Denson’s father who was concerned for his son and assured him “our objective and our goal with David is not going to change. It is to get him to the big leagues. He is not going to be viewed any differently.”

When Denson would play in a new city he talked about how he would “read everything off of the first day, if there was no reaction that first day, then I was like, 'OK, I can be calm here.” This was a far cry from what Denson had imagined in his head so many times before coming out.

He said that he feared, "That my teammates would neglect me. That they wouldn't want me around. That I would make them feel awkward, that they wouldn't feel comfortable around me in the locker room because of that whole stereotype that somebody is gay and they're looking at me, something like that. That other teams would feel some type of way toward me, like me being on the field is disrespectful. That coaches won't be ok with it because of the saying that goes around in the locker room, that if you're a distraction to the team, they want to get rid of distractions.” And of all these fears, it turns out that none were true.

In recognition of LGBTQ+ Pride Month we felt it was important to highlight the impact David Denson had on the game of baseball and thank him for the time and effort he put in during his time in the Pioneer League.

Just last week, Las Vegas Raiders player Carl Nassib came out as gay, becoming the first opening gay, active player in the NFL. People like Denson, Nassib and many more are paving the way to a more accepting and inclusive sports community in the years to come.