The St. Louis Cardinals say they are taking allegations from a former pitcher that he quit baseball because of anti-gay comments "very seriously."

Tyler Dunnington told Out Sports he did not come out while he was pitching for the Cardinals in rookie and Class A baseball in 2014, but eventually left baseball after overhearing derogatory comments from teammates.

"I was also one of the unfortunate closeted gay athletes who experienced years of homophobia in the sport I loved," Dunnington wrote in an email to the website. "I was able to take most of it with a grain of salt but towards the end of my career I could tell it was affecting my relationships with people, my performance, and my overall happiness.

"I experienced both coaches and players make remarks on killing gay people during my time in baseball, and each comment felt like a knife to my heart. I was miserable in a sport that used to give me life, and ultimately I decided I needed to hang up my cleats for my own sanity."

The Cardinals said they will look into Dunnington's allegations and work with MLB ambassador for inclusion Billy Bean.