Ms. Baseball?

[kusojiji]

http://www.japantoday.com/category/sports/view/schoolgirl-signs-pro-baseball-contract

[kusojiji]

Schoolgirl signs pro baseball contract
Wednesday 03rd December, 05:42 AM JST

TOKYO —
A 16-year-old Japanese girl signed with a regional baseball team Tuesday, becoming the country’s first female professional baseball player.

Eri Yoshida, a knuckleball pitcher, will play for the Kobe 9 Cruise in a new independent league starting in April 2009. The team selected her last month along with 31 male players in the league draft.

“I still don’t feel like I’ve really become a pro baseball player, but I want to do my best,” Yoshida said at a news conference after signing her contract. “My specialty is the knuckleball, so I really want to be able to get batters out using it effectively.”

The Cruise are more like a farm team and a far cry from Japan’s mainstream pro teams such as the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. But the 152-centimeter, 52-kilogram Yoshida has broken a barrier in baseball-crazy Japan, where women are normally relegated to amateur, company-sponsored teams or to softball.

Yoshida, who started playing baseball when she was in second grade, said she wants to emulate Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who has built a successful major league career as a knuckleballer.

The fledgling Japanese League, which is based in western Japan, is hoping to find enough success to eventually challenge the likes of the long-established Central and Pacific leagues. Those leagues, home to the best Japanese players, have become an increasingly fertile ground for talent headed to the U.S. major leagues.

[snailpoo]

I always wondered: what took so long in Japan and what is taking so long here? I'm still surprised that no woman has tried to force her way into the MLB (or at least A or AA ball) as I'm sure there's got to be more than a few who are good enough, and I can't see owners actively fighting it given the publicity opportunities (and consequences).

Baseball doesn't even have the excuse of being as confrontationally physical like football (though, there's got to be a few women who could qualify for the NFL).

[kusojiji]

I really don't think there are any women who would qualify for the NFL.

[snailpoo]

I really don't think there are any women who would qualify for the NFL.

Do you remember watching the old Soviet bloc Olympians?

[kusojiji]

I do, but it doesn't change my opinion. No disrespect to the ladies intended.

[BillBlythe]

a woman might qualify as a kicker, but that's about it.

but honestly i wish women would stick to women's leagues. that's so much more interesting than seeing the sports page plastered with news about a woman qualifying to play in a mens' tournament. there's nothing wrong with womens sports, i enjoyed watching the wta back in the days of steffi graf and martina hingis, women's gymnastics was a big part of my olympic viewing when i was a kid, swimming, track, even soccer. Some of the women were even more interesting than the men.

[snailpoo]

Well, whether we agree or disagree on the NFL, there's got to be more than a few women who can locate at least an 85 mph pitch or who can consistently hit and field.

Personally, I think mixed sports would be a great thing. Pro sports are supposed to be about watching the best compete, and segregating talent defeats the purpose.

[kusojiji]

I'm gonna have to go with 'I'll believe it when I see it' regarding the whole theme.

[BeTheReds]

Actually there have been a few women who have played minor league baseball. I don't remember details, but I watched a documentary about baseball and it said that there were instances of this happening.

As for why there have not yet been females in baseball at the major league level yet...

Many reasons, but biggest has to be that boys go to little league, and the equivalent for girls is softball. While the two sports are similar, they differ in many aspects, such as requiring underhand pitching in softball, a bigger ball, shorter distance between the bases (and thus between the pitching rubber and homeplate) a smaller outfield, and sometimes, a 10th infielder depending on rules.

After a girl has started playing softball, the skills can't easily translate to baseball, where the pitching is overhand (and thus faster), the ball is smaller (and thus faster and harder to hit) and gameplay is generally more fast paced. There's a bit of adjustment to be made.

I'd love to see a woman play in the major leagues. That would be cool. To get that, we need to first have girls encouraged to join the little league teams with the boys.