Stingl: The Brewers hit a home run by adding LGBT Pride Night this season

I'm giving Hilary McCabe at least some of the credit for nudging the Milwaukee Brewers toward adding LGBT Pride Night to their special events at Miller Park for this upcoming season.

She sent me an email last June 13 saying she's a huge Brewers fan and how it hurt to tell an out-of-town friend at Milwaukee's Pride Parade that the Brewers never tried to connect with the gay community by offering a promotion during a game, as most other Major League teams are doing.

I forwarded her note to Tyler Barnes, vice president of communications for the Brewers. Days later, the club joined the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce and now has scheduled the very first Pride Night for June 21 in partnership with Aurora Health Care.

McCabe, an office manager who lives on Milwaukee's west side, is thrilled and proud of the Brewers.

"There's some great things going on in our city, so it's fitting that our major sports teams reflect that same 414 solidarity," she told me.

Rick Schlesinger, Brewers chief operating officer, had this to say: "The schedule for our theme nights has expanded to at least 16 events this season, and we are excited that Pride Night is one of the new additions. The inclusion of Pride Night is a result of fan feedback and our ongoing work with and support of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Similar events have been very successful in other Major League markets, and we know that this will be a very entertaining night at Miller Park."

Fans who buy tickets as part of the Pride Night package will get a T-shirt that combines the rainbow flag and the Brewers ball and glove logo. I'm hoping the Johnsonville sausages spice things up with a drag race.

"They aren't doing this because they have to. They are doing it because they want to," said Jason Rae, president and CEO of the LGBT chamber. "The Brewers want to showcase that they are a welcoming and inclusive team that truly values all members of the community. We have already seen a ton of excitement from around the community for this event, and we still have a few months to go."

The Milwaukee Bucks have a one-year head start on the Brewers. The Bucks will hold their second Pride Night on March 2 at the Bradley Center.

The Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Admirals also are members of the LGBT chamber, though they don't have pride events planned at games. The Admirals came close seven years ago when they booked the Village People to perform.

Guess which big league baseball team was the first to welcome LGBT fans. It was the Cubs in 2001 with an event that has come to be known as Out At Wrigley. It has been held every year since.

According to an article in The New York Times from last summer, the Brewers were among just four Major League teams that had not offered a gay pride event, along with the Yankees, Angels and Reds.

Now, we can count the Brewers among the more welcoming ballclubs.

Tony Snell, interim executive director of Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, said sports can provide an important mirror, particularly for young people.

"Look at the Olympics right now. I believe in the last winter Olympics, there were seven OIympic athletes out. Now we have 13. Out of 3,000 athletes, 13 are out at this time. That's still a long way to go. You know there are a whole lot more there, but we're making progress each day," he said.

Snell is looking forward to being at Miller Park for Pride Night, which comes during LGBT Pride Month.

"Our community has faced many great challenges. But we're also resilient and we know how to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate than at a Brewers game and feel that you belong and that the rainbow flag is flying."

Contact Jim Stingl at (414) 224-2017 or jstingl@jrn.com. Connect with my public page at Facebook.com/Journalist.Jim.Stingl