After the news of baseball player Billy Bean’s passing circulated in the media, people became confused with Billy Beane, who is also a famous baseball player.
As there are two baseball players with the exact same name, Billy, and similar surnames, Beane and Bean, people found it hard to determine which player’s demise they were talking about.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague Billy Bean, MLB’s Senior VP for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and Special Assistant to the Commissioner. Billy, who fought a heroic year-long battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, was 60.
— MLB (@MLB) August 6, 2024
Over the last 10 years,… pic.twitter.com/dCfFM6hQlE
However, for the viewer’s clarity, former MLB baseball player Billy Bean, 60, who openly came out as gay in 1999, passed away in 2024.
MLB announced Billy Bean’s demise through its official x handle, writing, “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague Billy Bean, MLB’s Senior VP for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and Special Assistant to the Commissioner.“
On the other hand, Billy Beane, 62, a former MLB player, is still alive and serving as a senior advisor to owner John Fisher and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics of MLB.
MLB baseball players Billy Beane and Billy Bean are not related to each other!
Although many people speculated Billy Beane and Billy Bean might be related due to their similar profession and name, sources confirm they have no familial connection.
Billy Beane, who is still alive, was born in 1962 in Orlando, Florida, to American parents, while Billy Beane, who passed away in 2024, was born in 1964 in Santa Ana, California.
We mourn the passing of our friend and former Padre, Billy Bean. He was a great ambassador for equality and inclusion in the game of baseball, and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this very difficult time. pic.twitter.com/D2sFHSVLhO
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 6, 2024
The only thing common in these to Billy is their professional career as a baseball player. They even played for the same league, MLB, for some years.
Billy Beane made his first MLB debut on September 13, 1984, for the New York Mets, at age 22, while Billy Beane made his first MLB debut on April 25, 1987.
Similarly, Beane retired from his baseball career in 1990, and Bean retired in 1995 after the MLB season.
Bean only came out as gay to his family, friends, and the public after ending his MLB career. Billy Bean also revealed dating the founder of Yuca restaurant in Miami, Efrain Veiga, in around 1999.
Sad news, but he's not *that* Billy Beane! pic.twitter.com/R98cG3aO6G
— Marshall Flores (@IPreferPi314) August 6, 2024
However, after some years, they separated in 2008, and since then, there has been no news of his relationship.
On the other hand, Billy Beane is married and has been with his wife, Tara Beane, for over two decades.
The couple married in 1999, and during their decade-long marriage, they had twins, Brayden and Tinsley Beane.
Additional Information
- Bill Bean passed away on August 7, 2024, at age 60, after fighting leukemia for a long time. He first revealed his diagnosis in 2023.
- According to the reports, Bill Bean had a difficult childhood as his parents gave birth to him at an immature age. His mother, Linda Kovac, was just 18 years old. Just after six months after his birth, Bill Bean’s father left him, and his mother raised him alone, working two jobs.
- Brad Pitt’s 2011 movie Moneyball is based on the life of the professional career of Bill Beane. They made the movie after the popularity of the subject of Michael Lewis’s 2003 book on baseball economics, Moneyball.
- According to Celebrity Net Worth, Bill Beane has a net worth of $20 million, while Bill Bean might have had a net worth of around $5 million.
