The New York Times wasn’t going to publish his story until nighttime — so, Kevin McClatchy had some work to do.
McClatchy, the Pirates’ lead owner from 1996-2007, was about to come out as gay in the most high-profile news outlet in the country. Before that, though, he started a marathon phone session, calling politicians, baseball colleagues and businesspeople to tell them what was set to happen. He says he rang close to 100 people including then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig and Rob Manfred, Selig’s eventual successor.
“A lot of phone calls,” McClatchy said this week. “I remember that.