This question is about sports, so I’m putting it here. It’s twofold:
Are women permitted to compete in Major League Baseball, or is there a rule specifying “men only?”
Are women capable of competing at the same physical level in Major League Baseball, even in only one position? That is to say, maybe there’s a future for women to pitch in the MLB, in the American League where pitchers don’t bat … or as a catcher, where you’re principally there to call the game and throw out guys trying to steal second.
Didn’t Coors do some kind of promotion with an all female baseball team? Seems like they tried to play exhibitions against minor league teams, and got beat pretty bad…
Are you sure about that? There are about 1,200 active players in the majors at any given time. Estimating really roughly, the woman in question would basically have to be one of the 100 best players in the world at her position, or one of the best 500 pitchers, and that’s a pretty tall order - I don’t even know what the biggest and most competitive women’s baseball league is.
I think it would be tough. They could play outfield, but I don’t think their arms would be strong enough to throw people out. Also, outfielders generally have to hit for power. First base is not too demanding, but they are expected to hit as well. They could probably handle the infield and if they could hit for average they might be OK. Catching is a really demading position physically. It would be interesting to see one of those great softball pitchers pitch. The underhand motion could throw the batters off until they see her enough times to get the timing down.
If we see a woman I’d guess it would be as a 2nd basewoman or SS.
My Prediction of the near future:
The First Woman baseball player will be a lefty specialist with a nasty sidearm motion. It will probably happen in the next 10-20 years. This is the best place to break the gender barrier. Their is a shortage of lefty pitchers and a lefty specialist with very good control makes the most sense.
Middle Infield is not out of the question but relief pitching is the likeliest break through point.
The motion could throw batters off (I’m assuming the pitchers could manage dealing with a baseball), but softball pitchers stand much closer to home plate than baseball pitchers do. I suspect their throws would end up looking pretty slow. This article says that Jennie Finch’s top pitch is 71 mph. That’s substantially slower than some breaking pitches.
Possibly, but only an extraordinary woman could reach that level. Throwing, pitching, and hitting require much upper body strength. Atheletic men have the natural advantage in this area over athletic women.
Likewise, men cannot fast pitch softball with the whirlwind underarm technique as women in softball do; men’s arm muscles and tendons are too bulky to permit that motion.
Ila Borders was a competitive pitcher in men’s college baseball and in minor league baseball (independent league), but she was not a MLB caliber player.
I do think it’s possible (though probably not all that likely) that a woman could reach that level in the future.
I thought underhand pitches weren’t allowed in baseball? That is to say, the ball is required to go “down” to the strike zone, not “up” to it. Or at the very least, it goes in sidewways, like some of the sidearm pitchers.
Great point, anyone who can come close to perfecting a knuckle ball could make the majors. Considering how hard it is to learn however, I will bet on a southpaw sidearmer.
Strange arm angle + desperate shortage = Barriers breaking down.
I don’t see that in the rules. You couldn’t get enough speed on an underhand pitch to be successful, but I remember a few pitchers called ‘submariners’ who threw at an even more extreme angle than sidearmers do.
Is that really true? I can’t think of that many knuckleball pitchers out there right now, and I can’t think of many who were very successful.
There have been some great KnuckleBallers.
The greatest in recent memory was Hoyt Wilhelm. He had great control and rarely grew tired, as the proper throwing of a good knuckleball is nearly effortless.
He was an extremely good reliever and occasional starter.
For some reason the knuckleball has nearly died out. Wakefield is probably the best in the game currently he is not nearly as good as Phil Niekro was. Phil had a lot more control and consistency. It has always been a rare pitch however. A bad knuckleball is not worth having. Too many pass balls.
Wilbur Wood was another very good knuckleballer. He is famous for being the last pitcher to start both games of a doubleheader.
If a woman could learn the pitch, there would be no questions of stamina. It is an easy pitch to throw, just nearly impossible to control for most people.
I always wanted the Yanks to hire a few old Knuckle Ball pitchers to run a school for failing prospects. Figure you run 6 players through it a year and see if you can develop 1 or 2 successful Knuckleballers over a 5 year period.
Females’ whirlwind underhand delivery in fast pitch softball would not work well in baseball because it would impossible to hold the runners on base. Baserunners would take off during every wind-up. Underhand pitches are legal in the MLB.
Yep. ‘Submarine’ pitchers (such as the late Steve Olin) release(d) pitches below their waste line. It’s not a sidearm pitch and not an underhand pitch; it’s somewhere in between. The release is a quick so some pitchers make it work in the MLB.
I agree with What Exit?. A woman’s best chance at the MLB is to be a knuckeball pitcher or a south paw relief pitcher (or both).
Not quite, if anyone came near perfecting a knuckleball they would get a minor league contract immediately and the GM probably would not care if they were Male or Female, Lefty or Righty or One Armed. A very good knuckle-ball makes most great hitters look dumb. Steve Sparks, when he was on would give the Yankees a fit. Phil Niekro went to the Hall of Fame on the strength of his Knuckle Ball. Hoyt Wilhelm is one of the few early relievers to still be remembered.
It is not a matter of fashion, it is a matter of the pitch being too hard to perfect and apparently few players having the patience to attempt it.
I am a 40 year old, out of shape, short Lefty. If I could learn to consistently throw a great knuckleball. I could probably get a great paying job with lots of travel. The problem is, I cannot learn to throw a knuckleball.