PHILADELPHIA -- A rainbow flag fluttered from a flagpole in center field at Citizens Bank Park on Monday. Billy Bean, Major League Baseball's vice president of social responsibility and inclusion, threw out a first pitch.
That was both fitting -- it was the inaugural Phillies Pride Night -- and a little misleading, since it was also the 15th consecutive year the organization has recognized the local LGBT community.
It all started when a fan named Larry Felzer approached the Phillies with a question. If he sold 500 tickets, could the LGBT fans get the same recognition on the scoreboard and elsewhere that any other group did?