Offering a safe and accepting environment for those who feel they have nowhere to go, officials from Major League Baseball announced Thursday the formation of The Outfield, a new support group for players who identify as inter-league. Not everyone views themselves as just American League or just National League, so we want them to know theyre not alone, said The Outfields leadership coordinator and former inter-leaguer Orel Hershiser, adding that though the number of inter-league players in the MLB has tripled since 1997, many are still bullied and harassed by their peers. There is, frankly, still a large stigma associated with the inter-league label. It can be incredibly difficult for designated hitters, for example, when they first realize theyre inter-league, thinking that theyre weird or abnormal. The Outfield community can encourage them to have the confidence to stand up and say, I am inter-league, and theres nothing wrong with that. MLB officials also confirmed that a similar group for homosexual players would be unnecessary, noting that no gay men have ever played professional baseball in the history of the sport. 