"You Play Like a Girl"...

[godwulf]

Two-time All-Star Steve Finley likes what he sees of pioneering girl at MLB development camp

PARIS (AP) — As a two-time All-Star, Steve Finley knows more than most what it takes to shine in Major League Baseball. So having run his expert eyes over the sport’s pioneering 16-year-old girl at a training camp this week, can he hazard a guess at whether she’ll go on to become MLB’s first female player?

Short answer: Too early to tell.



Not because Melissa Mayeux is a girl. But because “I couldn’t say that about any 16-year-old in the United States, anywhere in the world,” Finley said Friday, speaking by phone to The Associated Press at the end of the pitching and hitting camp in Germany.

“It’s an unfair label to even try to put on a 16-year-old kid — boy or girl — that’s in this position: Are they the ‘real deal?”’ he said. “She just wants to play baseball and be good at it.”

Still, it is fair to say that Finley certainly doesn’t seem displeased by what he saw, having worked with the shortstop on her swing.

“She’s very coachable, which I like,” he said. “She’s got good baseball I.Q.”

The 16-year-old player on the French U-18 junior national team, made history when she became the first woman on Major League Baseball's international registration list, making her eligible to be signed by Major League teams.

The 16-year-old player on the French U-18 junior national team, made history when she became the first woman on Major League Baseball's international registration list, making her eligible to be signed by Major League teams.

As of Thursday, Mayeux became eligible to be signed by pro teams, having been added to MLB’s international registration list, in a first for women.

In an AP interview earlier this week, Mayeux said she wants to “reach the highest level I can” in baseball and dreams of becoming MLB’s first woman, but also realizes that goal is still a long way off. She has already proven that she’s a fighter: she successfully got a “no-girls-allowed” rule abolished in her native France so she could keep playing baseball with French boys beyond the age of 15.

“Where it will take me and when, I don’t know,” she said. “Having my name on that list blazes a trail for girls, and I hope girls will come forward to accomplish big things, too, because I don’t think I’m alone at this level.”

Yet all the other 28 kids at the MLB clinic were boys. Finley, who won the World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, insisted Mayeux was there on merit.

“I don’t really try to rank them,” he said. “They’re 16, they’re 15, they’re 17. I think back when I was in high school, where would I have been ranked? Probably not very high.

Steve Finley says Melissa Mayeux is 'very coachable' and has a high baseball IQ.

“She wouldn’t be here if she was a bad player. She’s not going to be here just because she’s a girl. She’s a baseball player and she’s a good baseball player.”

Mike McClellan, MLB’s International Game Development director, told the AP: “She’s got great baseball action. She can really play the position. She knows what she’s doing. She knows to be always in the right position. ... She makes her plays defensively. She’s a good base runner.”

“There’s no pandering involved,” he said. “This is not a gimmick we’re trying to pull.”

Mayeux plays for the French junior national team in baseball and the national softball team — with other women — at a senior level. In all her youth teams, Mayeux was always the only girl who stuck with baseball.

She hopes to catch team scouts’ eyes at another MLB European camp in August where she’ll work with Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin.

“It’s going to be fun to see how she develops,” said McClellan.



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[godwulf]

A couple of women - Ila Borders, Eri Yoshida - have played in independent league baseball in America, but so far no MLB affiliated team has ever signed one. Most people are unaware that Team America has a women's baseball team, in addition to a women's softball team - I didn't know it myself until a few years ago when I met two of its members at the All-Star Fan Fest in Phoenix. I once asked Jenny Finch if she thought a woman would ever play for a Major League team and she surprised me by saying, "No". I hope she's wrong.

[ironmanfan]

Don't forget about the Silver Bullets team that was managed by the Niekro brothers that played in the mid 1990's.

[coxfan]

My observations over the years have suggested that MLB players are as likely to have athletically gifted mothers as athletically gifted fathers. The movie " A League of their Own" was encouraged and inspired by a MLB player whose mother had played in it. There are many other cases of star male athletes who had athletically gifted mothers.

Thus, some genetic components of athletic talent don't seem to be gender-biased. But social bias must be overcome.This past season, the South Carolina Lady Gamecocks, who made the Final Four and missed the Final Two by one point, averaged over 12,000 fans per home game. By contrast, their Elite Eight Team of 2002 drew only about 1,000 per game. People were finally finding out how highly athletic women can be.

I hope the entry of women into MLB isn't far off.

[godwulf]

Unfortunately, many self-identified "Old School" fans will view any attempt to bring a female player into the ranks - regardless of how good she is - as "just a social experiment". If her performance isn't great from Day One, or if she has a slump like any other player, they'll mock and rag on her mercilessly and say, "I told you so".

[Mark17]

Unfortunately, many self-identified "Old School" fans will view any attempt to bring a female player into the ranks - regardless of how good she is - as "just a social experiment". If her performance isn't great from Day One, or if she has a slump like any other player, they'll mock and rag on her mercilessly and say, "I told you so".

Sounds a bit like Jackie Robinson, except the first woman who gets close to making it in the Big Leagues won't have to deal with death threats, segregation, outright hatred and bigotry, and all that.

But you're right, the pressure will be way more than what a normal prospect endures.

[gingi79]

I just want to watch the best players play.

[coxfan]

The NCAA announced officially that South Carolina's women's basketball team, which made the Final Four, led the nation in attendance by far, with over 12,000 per game. This is in stark contrast to the Elite Eight South Carolina womens' team of 2002, which averaged only about 1,000 per game despite its high success. My wife and I've been faithful attendees since the late 1990's.

This is a traditionally conservative state where political correctness has little appeal. The team is all African-American. So the only explanation for the enormous surge in interest is that people have finally opened their minds, and seen that women's athletics has long since progressed to an impressive level.

I hope that the same growth in attitudes will occur many places.

[camarokids]

As long as she showers with the guys, no problem.....

[sox83cubs84]

Women in MLB would be fine with me. One phone?internet provider is currently airing a TV commercial in which a fictitious first woman in the Majors (identified only as "Cortez" faces off against the White Sox.

Dave Miedema