Women in baseball

Women have a long history in American baseball and many women's teams have existed over the years. Baseball was played at women's colleges in New York and New England as early as the mid-nineteenth century; teams were formed at Vassar College, Smith College, Wellesley College, and Mount Holyoke College. An African American women's team, the Philadelphia Dolly Vardens, was formed in 1867.

A number of barnstorming teams have existed, and women have played alongside major league players in exhibition games. On April 2, 1931, 17-year-old Jackie Mitchell (originally known as 'Virne Beatrice Mitchell Gilbert') of the Chattanooga Lookouts struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game. Commissioner of Baseball Landis voided her contract as a result.

Women's baseball during World War II

During World War II, while the soldiers were away fighting, the baseball players were forced to join the army as it was not fair that other men were dying on the battlefield while others were swinging bats and hitting balls out on the diamond. While the original players left for war, the teams were left with no one. Philip K. Wrigley suggested that women were to replace the males, and play on the teams.

Women executives in baseball

Margaret Donahue is known as the first female front office executive in Major League Baseball who was not an owner. She worked for the Chicago Cubs from 1919 to 1958 and introduced concepts such as the season ticket and reduced prices for children under 12, both still used today. Since then, many women have held executive positions in business and financial areas of Major League Baseball. However, there have not been many women who have broken the plains of the player personnel. Though there are many women who have been hired as GM's for Minor League affiliates, these positions are not responsible for player personnel moves. This is handled at the Major League level.

One woman who has acquired a position in Player Personnel at the Major League level is Kim Ng. She first worked for the Chicago White Sox, where she successfully presented an arbitration case. After working for the American League as director of waivers and records, she was hired as Assistant GM by the New York Yankees. When she left the Yankees in 2001 for the same position with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees hired another woman to replace her, Jean Afterman. Afterman still holds the same position as of July 2015. Kim Ng has since moved on to work for Major League Baseball as Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations.

Women broadcasting in baseball

In 1989, NBC's Gayle Gardner became the first woman to regularly host Major League Baseball games for a major television network.

In 1990, CBS Sports' Lesley Visser became the first female to cover the World Series, serving as their lead field reporter. In addition to working the World Series from 1990-1993 for CBS, Visser covered the 1995 World Series for ABC Sports via The Baseball Network.

On August 3, 1993, Gayle Gardner became the first woman to do television play-by-play for a Major League Baseball game. It was the Colorado Rockies vs. Cincinnati Reds on KWGN-TV in Denver.

Also in 1993, CBS' Andrea Joyce became the first woman to co-host the network television coverage of the World Series. Joyce co-hosted that particular World Series with Pat O'Brien.

In 1995, NBC's Hannah Storm not only became the first female to serve as solo host a World Series game, but also the first female to preside over the World Series Trophy presentation.

Also in 2009, New York Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman became the first woman to work a World Series game from the broadcast booth.

On August 24, 2015, Jessica Mendoza was the first female analyst for a Major League Baseball game in the history of ESPN, during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

John Kruk, Dan Shulman and Jessica Mendoza called the 2015 American League Wild Card Game on October 6, and Mendoza became the first female analyst in MLB postseason history.

Women playing and coaching baseball in modern times

In 2008 Eri Yoshida, at 16 years old, became Japan's first professional female baseball player to play in a men's league by signing a professional contract with the Kobe 9 Cruise of a new Japanese independent league. In April 2010, she signed a contract with the Chico Outlaws and became the first ever to play professionally in two countries. In 2009 Justine Siegal became the first female coach of a men's professional baseball team. In 2011, she was the first woman to throw batting practice to a MLB team, the Cleveland Indians at Spring training. She also threw BP to the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and New York Mets. In 2015 Justine Siegal became the Oakland Athletics guest instructor for their Instructional League Club, thus making her the first female coach in professional baseball history.

See also

• Women's baseball
• All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
• The Colorado Silver Bullets (1994-1997)
• Baseball
• Baseball Hall of Fame
• Mo'ne Davis
• Women In Sports
• Women In Sports Timeline
• Jackie Mitchell

References

• Cahn, Susan K (1995). Coming on strong: gender and sexuality in twentieth-century women's sport. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-14434-1.
• Gems, Gerald; Linda Borish; Gertrud Pfister (2008). Sports in American History: From Colonization to Globalization. Human Kinetics. ISBN 0-7360-5621-1.
• Ring, Jennifer (2009). Stolen Bases. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-03282-0.

External links

• The American Women's Baseball Federation
• Photographs of the Colorado Silver Bullets, 1994-1997