This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE — MLB Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig reflected this week on the life of trailblazer Billy Bean, the league’s senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, who passed away at 60 after an 11-month battle with cancer.

Long before DEI was part of the national lexicon, it was Selig who hired Bean in 2014 as “Ambassador for Inclusion,” part of MLB’s effort to combat sexism, homophobia and prejudice in the sport. After Selig retired, Bean continued in his post under MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred as a senior advisor focused on player education, LGBTQ inclusion and social justice initiatives.

Bean, who played for the Tigers, the Dodgers and the Padres, was the only living openly gay Major League player (current or former), having come out in 1999.

“I knew that we had to hire somebody who understood diversity and what it really meant,” Selig said. “Everybody recommended Billy, and I met him and I liked him immediately. You couldn’t help but like him. Somebody called him a hero in the paper, and that’s true.

“He believed in his causes — multiple causes — and he wasn’t afraid to tell you, and he wasn’t afraid to do something about it. Not always easy in this world, but Billy did it. So to me, he’s a hero, and I’m grateful for everything he did.”

Hiring Bean was a natural extension of one of Selig’s beliefs about baseball: That the sport’s strength is in its diversity. One of Selig’s strongest memories is boarding a train to Chicago on May 18, 1947 to see Jackie Robinson play for the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. Selig was 12 years old at the time, and his travel companion was his neighbor, a future U.S. Senator and NBA franchise owner, the late Herb Kohl.

Here’s what Selig said at the 2014 All-Star Game beside Bean and Lutha Burke, the sister of the late former Major League outfielder Glenn Burke:

“Diversity is a hallmark of our sport, which is fortunate to have an inherent ability to bring people together,” Selig said. “The people of our sport have a responsibility to act with a kind of respect and sensitivity that our game’s diverse players, employees and fans deserve.

“I wish that our game had someone in place to whom Billy and Glenn could have turned to when they played: a friend, listener, a source of support. That’s why I am so delighted to make this announcement today.”

When Bean joined MLB, there wasn’t a guidebook for what his role would entail. Selig urged Bean to do the job as he saw fit, and as the years went by, his role grew. Bean became a friend and sounding board for MLB and club employees, players and others throughout the industry — and much of his most critical work was never publicized.

Brewers fans probably remember Bean’s role in counseling then-Milwaukee closer Josh Hader after insensitive social media posts came to light in 2018. Bean was by his side as Hader gave a tearful apology for those posts.

“I hired him because he was the right guy,” Selig said. “He knew what he wanted to do, I knew what I wanted him to do, and he went and did it.”