Transgender woman throws out first pitch at Blue Jays game, makes history
Rachel Lauren Clark is the first openly transgender person to throw the first pitch at a Jays game
A transgender woman pitched her way into history at the Blue Jays game Thursday night.
Rachel Lauren Clark threw the ceremonial first pitch before Toronto took on the Baltimore Orioles for Pride night at the Rogers Centre.
She is the first openly trans person to throw the first pitch before a Jays game.
"I'm really proud to be doing this," said Clark, board secretary for Pride Toronto. "There are so many people in our community that have fought for so long and so hard and I wish I could have them all out here with me."
Clark threw the pitch to starter Marco Estrada, who autographed the ball for her and posed for a picture on the field.
She says there was a feeling of acceptance in the stadium and that the crowd gave her a warm welcome but admits transgender people still have a long way to go.
"It's 2016," Clark said. "I hope by me being here at the park baseball players who have been pretty transphobic in the past can look at me and say maybe I'm changing my mind about trans people and the way they are."
Toronto's first ever Pride Month kicked off last week and will run through the rest of the month until the annual Pride Parade hits the streets on Sunday, July 3.
with files from Greg Ross