The seven-time All-Star was asked about Michael Sam, the Missouri football star and potential NFL draftee who announced he is gay on Sunday. Young believes MLB teams wouldn't have major difficulties adapting to openly gay players.

"I guarantee you I've had a gay teammate," Young told ESPN 103.3 FM in Dallas. "This may be the first openly gay player in the NFL, but clearly we know there have been tons in every sport — male, female, there have been tons in every sport.

"We just don't know about them or who they are. They're out there right now. They're out there in the NBA, in the NHL, in the big leagues and in the NFL. Hopefully players are just comfortable being themselves."

Young said he was impressed with the way Sam and his Missouri teammates dealt with the situation. Sam came out to the team before this past season.

"If a college program can pull it off, you'd like to think a bunch of paid professionals can do the same," Young said. "For me, it comes down to, 'Can this guy help us win? Is he a winning piece? Can he execute on the field and be a good teammate in the locker room?' I'd like to think it wouldn't be an issue at all, and all the teams I played on, I know it definitely wouldn't have been an issue."


MLB READY FOR GAY PLAYER


While the debate rages on about whether the National Football League is ready for an openly gay player after Michael Sam's public declaration, Major League Baseball continues to put out the welcome mat for a player who does not yet exist in the sport.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal talked to seven MLB general managers on Monday, all of whom said they would be glad to have any player who could help their team, regardless of sexual orientation. On Tuesday, as the Yankees held their press conference to introduce Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, New York manager Joe Girardi was asked if baseball was ready for its first openly gay player.

"I think so," Girardi said. "I think our world has adjusted to that, and I think so. Players want players who are going to help them win championships. That's what we want. You see there's a lot of different cultures that come together. There's obviously different ethnic backgrounds. There's different financial backgrounds. Players just want to win. Whoever the best players are in that clubhouse, just get them in there."

It's true that baseball already is a melting pot, and there have been gay players who have come out after the end of their careers. On Monday, former Rangers infielder Michael Young said he was certain he'd had a gay teammate at some point in his career. But for now, the number of all-time openly gay players remains at zero.

And while there still is work to do on tolerance — witness Astros pitcher Jarred Cosart's use of an anti-gay slur on Twitter in relation to Justin Bieber — the time will come when a major leaguer reveals to the world that he is gay, and it might not even be that big of a deal.


OSWALT TO RETIRE


Right-hander Roy Oswalt is retiring after 13 major league seasons.

Oswalt's agent, Bob Garber, confirmed Oswalt's retirement Tuesday and said the pitcher would come to work for his agency.

Oswalt, 36, had a 163-102 career record with a 3.36 ERA. His best season came with Houston in 2004, when he went 20-10 with a 3.49 ERA. The durable righty — a three-time All-Star and 2006 NL championship series MVP — went over 200 innings seven times in his career but dealt with injuries in recent years.

He was 0-6 with an 8.63 ERA in nine outings and six starts for Colorado last year. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in May 2013 and missed time with a strained left hamstring.

A 23rd-round pick by Houston in the 1996 amateur draft, Oswalt pitched his first nine-plus seasons for the Astros and then played for Philadelphia, Texas and the Rockies.


RYAN BACK IN HOUSTON


Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan has rejoined the Houston Astros as the team's executive advisor.

Ryan worked as a special assistant to the general manager in Houston from 2004 until he became president of the Texas Rangers in 2008. He added CEO to his title with the Rangers in 2011 and remained in that position until he stepped down in October.

Ryan will serve as an advisor to owner Jim Crane, general manager Jeff Luhnow and his son and president of business operations Reid Ryan.

The elder Ryan, who played for the Astros for nine seasons, is major league baseball's all-time strikeout leader and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. The team says Ryan will join the team at spring training in the next few weeks.

Contributors: Justin McGuire, Jesse Spector, The Associated Press