Toronto Blue Jays Make History with Nonbinary Catcher Promotion

The Toronto Blue Jays have made history by calling up minor-league catcher Brady Deeker, who recently became the first professional baseball player to identify as nonbinary. Deeker’s promotion comes after only seven games at Triple-A and two frustrating seasons at Double-A, where the catcher struggled to hit, batting a collective.207. Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins expressed his delight at the move, saying, “Now every day can be Pride Day at the ballpark.” The Human Rights Campaign also issued a statement, calling Deeker “the Jackie Robinson of the LGBTQ+ community.” However, Deeker’s promotion will displace the current starting catcher, Alejandro Kirk, who hit.285 with 14 homers last year. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Kirk will be committed to supporting the LGBT+ community by DHing and occasionally backing up Deeker. Despite skepticism from some quarters, Atkins said, “This organization doesn’t have time for hate.” Deeker, who was drafted out of the University of Miami, came out as nonbinary in a viral Instagram post before a game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies about two weeks ago. Deeker’s locker in the Blue Jays locker room will be designated as gender-neutral, and one urinal and stall in the men’s room will be marked off as “all-gender.”