My youngest daughter came up to me a few years ago, a glove on one hand and a cap on her head, proclaiming that her goal was to play for the St. Louis Cardinals when she was old enough. Pride filled my heart as I looked down at my little mini me, her eyes filled with determination and hope. Sigh. Perhaps I was to blame. Baseball is regarded as serious business in our household. You need to ask mom a question during a playoff game? Unless it’s on how to put out a fire that is raging in a different room, you best wait until commercial break. My daughters have had to sit through lectures on why baseball is the greatest sport ever played and why we are blessed to be born Cardinal fans. My oldest daughter was coming along nicely until puberty hit. At this point, Adam Wainwright was replaced by Liam Payne and I lost her to the world of boy bands and dreamy teenage celebrities. I know it’s only a matter of time until my youngest daughter follows in her sister’s wayward footsteps, so I didn’t want to plant the seeds of baseball discontent by discouraging her dream.
But I am a realist. Madison is all of 90 lbs dripping wet, despite having a pretty good arm for an eleven year old. So we had a long talk about the struggles women face when they attempt to break into the world of professional sports historically dominated by men. It’s not completely unheard of. Of course we all know about the era in baseball history that inspired the movie A League of Their Own. And then there’s Jackie Mitchel, a female pitcher who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession during a 1931 minor league exhibition game. In 2011, a 36 year old mother convinced the Cleveland Indians she could pitch and was allowed to pitch to the team during spring training. Will we see a woman play professionally in our lifetime? I don’t know. The New York Times ran a very good article discussing this last year. I can encourage my daughter to work hard for her dreams; I will never tell her that she can’t be a professional player. But I also have to be honest with her about the adversities she will face, physical and emotional. As a woman and a female fan, you can’t deny that those obstacles are there.
So can women compete with the guys off the field? My real message to Madison and every other burgeoning female fan out there is this: just because you may never play professional baseball does not mean that you can’t enjoy the sport just as much as any man. I am lucky to have several lady friends who are fervent fans of the game. But more often than not, I find myself outnumbered by the guys when sitting around watching a game and talking baseball. Does this intimidate me? Not a single bit. I can handle the occasional eye roll and frequent interruptions when I have a game related opinion to express. And in all honesty, the random guy sitting across the bar pontificating his baseball knowledge probably hasn’t played organized baseball since before he grew his first smattering of lip hairs. Admittedly, I will never be the Rain Man of baseball stats and able to spout off who holds the 1974 single season strike out record, my brain just isn’t wired for that. (I just looked it up…it’s Nolan Ryan. Yay for Google.) But I understand the game and I love the game.
As with anything, true understanding and appreciation comes from knowledge. Watch the games, read the articles, and don’t ever be afraid to ask questions. A true fan of the game will never belittle you for what you don’t know. It’s an even playing field when it comes to being a fan and don’t ever let someone make you feel otherwise. As women, we can be every bit as passionate and educated about baseball as a man can. We all know the ladies look better in fan gear anyway.
cardinal chick 