November 17, 2008

Sixteen year old high school student Eri Yoshida was drafted by the Kobe 9 Cruise, a pro team in the Kansai Independent League that will launch in April.

With a side-armed knuckleball in her arsenal, Yoshida took part in a tryout held earlier this month and passed with flying colors. She threw a hitless inning against male batters during a tryout this month and was among 33 players picked in the draft.

“I always dreamed of becoming a professional,” Yoshida told a news conference Monday. “I have only just been picked by the team and haven’t achieved anything yet.”

At five feet, 114 pounds, Yoshida says her inspiration is fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox.

A female professional baseball federation existed for a few years in the 1950s, but Yoshida will become Japan’s first-ever woman to play alongside professional male players.

No doubt we’ll be hearing much more about this young phenom in the future.

October 28, 2008

Most Phillies fans know that starting pitcher Jamie Moyer is a local guy who attended Souderton High School.

But many would be unaware of the other locals who take the field for each game at Citizens Bank Park.

The Bucks County Courier Times reports that three Phillies ballgirls have ties to the area and, though they may not be household names, they’re having the time of their lives.

Twenty-somethings Justine Pletnick, Laura Litzenberger and Lauren Economou have to pinch themselves whever they take to the field.

Pletnick is a physical therapy major at Temple University. This is her second season as a ballgirl. Litzenberger is a fourth-grade teacher at Durham-Nockamixon Elementary in the Palisades district. Economou, another teacher by day, ballgirl by night teaches art at Hatboro-Horsham High School.

“It feels like a dream come true,” said Pletnick. “I feel like a part of the team. I know it’s crazy, but I feel like I’m in the World Series.”

The group of 17 Phillies ballgirls were selected among 600 candidates. They work the foul lines during games and participate in various charity events, including softball games.

Aside from their duties on the field, the ballgirls travel to team charity functions and play in several softball games throughout the year.

On the other side of the field, the Ray Team rally the Tampa Bay fans. You won’t find these ladies - and two men - catching foul balls, though. Their duties include greeting fans, giving away prizes and sometimes dancing on the dugout.

Not everyone can play major league ball - and we certainly don’t want to discourage you from trying - but if you’re a fan who wants to be part of the action, or you want to tell your grandkids you were in the World Series, being a ballgirl might just be a way to fulfill your fantasy.

In this segment, Nyad recounts the Women’s Sports Foundation recent celebration of the great female athletes who served as the inspiration for Penny Marshall’s 1992 film A League of Their Own. The tribute sounds like it was heartfelt and even a few tears were shed.  But wait…there’s no crying in baseball. 

September 22, 2008

Julia Ruth Stevens (92), daughter of legendary slugger Babe Ruth, tossed out the ceremonial first pitch in front of 54,000 nostalgic fans. Ruth hit the first home run on the stadium’s opening day in 1923

“I’m very sad to see Yankee Stadium will not be in existence any longer,” she told reporters. “I will always have memories of my father hitting towering home runs into the grandstands. He was very honored that the writers nicknamed it ‘The House that Ruth Built.”‘

According to MLB.com

Ruth Stevens still has memories of her father slamming long home runs, starting with 1927 in Yankee Stadium. And even though it’s terrible to think the ballpark has reached its final days, she understands that this moment had to come at some point.

While it was fitting for the daughter of the greatest player in franchise history to open the final game in the house her father “built,” Ruth Stevens knew the Babe would have been amused by the sight of the ball falling well short of the catcher’s glove.

When it was completed in 1923, the Bronx landmark, Yankee Stadium, cost a whopping $2.5 million.  The new Yankee Stadium, to be built across the street, is estimated to cost  1.3 billion dollars!

RIP Yankee Stadium. 

The “girl throw” refers to a wimpy style a lot of girls seem to have. Girls often face the target with their forearm cocked back and the ball in their upturned palm. Then they throw with just the arm (rather than the whole body). The action is usually limited to a quick extension of the forearm. Essentially, girls tend to “push” the ball rather than hurl it.

Well, before we go any further - let’s get one thing straight. Girls can throw. In fact, many girls can throw harder and faster than a lot of guys. Softball players like Jennie Finch can pitch a ball close to 90 miles per hour.

Some people think the reason for the “girl throw” is based on physical differences between guys and girls. Not. If you ask an orthopedist, an anatomist, or a coach of a women’s softball team, they’ll tell you that there is no anatomical reason why boys and girls throw differently.

(more…)

Four female umpires, working Tuesday’s New York Mets’ exhibition opener against the University of Michigan, may have contributed to the most obscure Major League Baseball history ever made.

The unique crew consisted of  Perry Barber calling balls and strikes at home plate, Mona Osborne at first base, Theresa Fairlady at second base and Ila Valcarcel, a Girl Scout leader from Pine Island, at third base.

Fairlady reached the Double-A level in the late 1980s and Barber and Valcarcel went to the Harry Wendelstedt umpiring school in 2005 and work college games. Barber, who lives in New York and Clearwater and has helped find spring-training umpires for the Mets for 25 years. Osborne is a former college umpire.

Female umpires are rare, but not unheard of, since they legally won the right to participate in professional baseball in 1972. No woman has ever worked a regular-season major-league game, but last March, Ria Cortesio became the first woman in 18 years to umpire an exhibition game.

What’s it really like for the gals calling the game?

Full story

Jan. 27, 2008

Now, she’s teamed up with G-III Sports to add several more sports franchises, including the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), to the collection.

Milano explains: “Female fans are loyal, passionate, stylish and feminine. It’s these core principles that are behind my design philosophy. I am very excited to bring TOUCH apparel to female sports fans everywhere.”

Now, even Jessica Simpson can get cute Dallas Cowboys’ gear!

What You’ll Need:

• Incrediball or Rag Ball Softball
• Rolled up pair of large socks
• Masking Tape
• Mattress
• Regular Softball
• Glove
• Sock Softball

(more…)

Cortesio is the only female umpire in pro ball. She will be in her fifth season at Class AA and ninth overall. “I was kind of expecting it,” she said. “Umpires with my seniority usually get picked. I’m looking forward to it. There will be a lot more people in the stands than I’m used to.” 

It’s good for baseball, too. and it’s about time.  (more…)