With the lockout in full swing, news from the world of baseball is rare these days. Branch outside the scope of North America, however, and there’s still progress being made.
Genevieve Beacom made history by becoming the first female professional baseball player in Australia, tweets Andrew Riddell, the National Player Development Manager for Baseball Australia. The 17-year-old southpaw took the mound for the Melbourne Aces today, tossing a scoreless inning.
Beacom features a fastball that sits between 80-84 mph, complemented with a curveball that is her feature pitch. She also throws a changeup, notes former MLB pitcher Peter Moylan on the Farm To Fame podcast. Moylan, the head coach of the Aces, signed Beacom to a development contract with the Aces. He pitched for 12 years in Major League Baseball for the Braves, Royals, and Dodgers, last appearing with Atlanta in 2018.
Per the Aces release announcing her signing, Moylan spoke on Beacom making the roster, saying, “I have watched this young lady develop as a baseballer from her junior days, including playing for Victoria and Australia, and doing more than holding her own against the top baseballers in the Country and from around the world. If anyone thinks this is just a token selection, then they need to think again because she has 100% earned her spot on the development list with the Melbourne Aces.”
Try and get a chat with her. I’d be most interested to hear her perspective. Christian Colon and the other fodder doesn’t exactly do anything for me. Chipper though, that’s legit. Well done.
Really? To me the fringe guys who aren’t superstars are a lot more interesting to hear from.
Was it just me or did Chipper seem to answer a lot fewer questions than the other guys? There’s nothing wrong with that and I was super glad to see the chat. I hope he comes back. I just didn’t know if it was shorter than usual or was it just me reading it too fast?
I didn’t know Moylan was managing a team. That guy does a ton of interviews and post game shows. I’m surprised he has the time. He pops up on YouTube and TV pretty much every day. He should let this girl come to the majors so she can test out that 84 mph smoke against MLB hitters. No knock on her because it’s always impressive to throw a scoreless inning against any pro hitters but I know several guys who didn’t even play in highschool but throw harder than that without warming up. Her curveball must be a beast. She must be able to throw it for strikes consistently.
“I know several guys who didn’t even play in highschool but throw harder than that without warming up.”
Totally calling BS on that statement. Even if they can, let’s see these several guys put it in the strike zone. Good luck with that.
You’re one of those Neanderthals who can’t deal with a woman getting good enough at something to compete with the men.
Go run a 100 mile ultra. See how many women are right up there. God forbid one of them wins. Oh, but that doesn’t count because it’s not a manly man’s sport.
Chipper’s answers were longer, in more detail, which is why he answered fewer questions. And the questions were better than prior chats. In the Sewald chat somebody asked which hitter he hated facing, that was a silly question for an active player.
Verdugo would be a great chat, as would former players like Swisher and Millar and Oil Can Boyd and Schilling … the guys who always liked talking and getting attention.
Ther guy made a valid point and now he’s a Neanderthal? You know nothing of BB if you think 84 is non-attainable for an 18 yr old who didn’t make the HS squad. Regardless, the subject was baseball, not ultra-marathons.
Hammertoe just likes to hear himself talk. Never seen anybody type so many words without actually saying a damn thing.
“No Knock on her”
*Immediately insults her*
I love seeing her in baseball. Especially professional baseball. I said “no knock on her” and I called her “impressive.” I don’t know if the guys I know could hit the strike zone or not but I promise it’s not BS. I am certain they can’t throw a curve like her but I’ve been to batting cages other other places with pitch clocks. I know several guys who can pick up the ball and hit 85-86 on their very first throw. It wasn’t a knock on her at all. Throwing a shutout inning while not being able to hit even 85 on the radar is actually more impressive to me than someone doing it with the god given ability to reach triple digits.
You don’t need heat to win a Cy Young. R.A. Dickey did it almost exclusively with the knuckler. Bartolo Colon is still pitching with a rubber arm in Mexico and he’s going to be 49 this season. I’d love to see this girl succeed.
@lucas: How is me pointing out that I have met guys that can pitch over 84 mph “immediately insulting her?”
We talk about pitchers pitch speed on this site all the time. When someone throws over 100 we talk about how fast it is. When someone can’t hit 88 we talk about how slow it is. Why is it all of a sudden offensive to say it when a girl is pitching? If anyone is overly concerned about gender it’s you guys who think it’s insulting to point out the fact that a lot of professional pitchers throw harder than 84. No one would find my comment slightly insulting (which it wasn’t) if I were talking about a male.
Let me spell it out for you.
1) You diminished her achievement by suggesting she now has to prove it against MLB hitters, as if what she did isn’t valid until she faces “real” professionals.
2) You immediately insinuate that she’s no better than a guy that didn’t play high school ball and wouldn’t need to warm up.
You then try to cover your tracks by offering compliments at the end with saying her command and her curve must be great.
In your eyes, you think you said nothing wrong, but you detracted from her milestone twice before complimenting her.
Easy dragon breath. Nice conclusion about the guy. Don’t assume. Ask.
She is 17. With coaching and conditioning, she may be about to get her fastball up to about 88.
At 88, she would be a typical soft-tossing LHP that typically gets taken in later later rounds, and those players very often have success in the minors and often break into MLB as AAAA players. Sometimes, they become regulars, and occasionally turn into Mark Buerhle.
And if she never makes it past Australia, bravo for still being one of the best baseball players on the planet.
The fact that you or others are ripping into her and diminishing her talent does in fact make you a Neanderthal.
No one is diminishing her amazing accomplishments… many here are just reacting to the absurdity of folks speculating on her becoming a major leaguer. She’s played for a hot second in a league not exactly known for producing major leaguers. It’s remarkable and inspiring yet it’s still being exaggerated to a ridiculous level. It is was it is and it isn’t what it isn’t.
Pointing out someone’s velocity isn’t diminishing or ripping into them at all. Pitch speed isn’t that important. Tom Glavine made it into the hall of fame throwing in the 70’s. When people point that fact out about Glavine do you think they are diminishing his achievements? They are pointing out how good of a pitcher he must have been to win so many games pitching that slow.
Me acknowledging that I know people who can throw harder is not anywhere near the same thing as saying “she’s no better than” them. They aren’t even pitchers. How could she not be better than them? If you want to make up all these “insinuations” and attach them to my comment that’s on you. If you want to live your life whining and complaining and pretending it’s offensive if someone talks about pitch speed if it’s a female pitching that’s on you. Comparing pitch speed of different pitchers is very common in baseball. Especially when the speed is either very high or very low. You don’t have to stop doing that because of someone’s gender. So you think writer’s should stop telling people the pitch speed when it’s a girl because people may find it “offensive?” It’s not that big of a deal and the importance of pitch velocity is way over emphasized by anyone who thinks it’s “ripping on” someone to point it out.
When male pitchers only pitch 70 or 80mph people point it out and no one finds it “offensive.” I was treating her the same way I would treat anyone else. You are the one obsessed with her gender acting like there’s something wrong with talking about her pitch velocity and comparing it to other people just because she’s a girl. I know guys who didn’t pitch in high school that can throw harder than Tom Glavine, RA Dickey and Phil Niekro without warming up. Did I just rip on them? Did I just detract from their accomplishments?
You never make that specific comment about a 17-year-old male. You know it, I know it.
All the tldr backtrack posts in the world won’t make up for that.
maximumvelocity: what are you talking about? Of course someone would say that about a 17 year old male. What wouldn’t be said about a 17 year old male is that they are in the conversation for a future major league career simply because they threw 80 mph. Whatever it is you think you know.
I have made virtually the exact same comment about males. I don’t know if they were 17 or not but that’s because they don’t talk about a lot of 17 year old males on this site in reference to pitch speed unless the speed is around average. I have pointed out low pitch speeds for plenty of pitchers and I did it not to long ago regarding Josh Tomlin. If MLBTR ever posted an article about a 17 year old male with a top pitch speed in the low 80’s you bet I would talk about it. You just proved my point. You are the only one with hangups regarding gender. I couldn’t care less what her gender is and I treat her just like anyone else. My guess is she would prefer that. Do you think she would rather have people treat her like everyone else or have people like you coddling her stats and acting like, “Oh no! She’s a girl! You can’t talk about her velocity! You can’t even reference it or compare it to anyone else! She’s a girl! It might hurt her feelings if you compare her velocity to other people!”
I guarantee you she compares her stats to other people all the time and isn’t even slightly insulted by it. She knows her pitch speed and she knows she bases her pitches off her curve ball. It doesn’t matter what her fastball velocity is.
You are way too hung up on gender and you need to stop projecting that in other people. Nobody is singling her out for being female but you so please stop making asinine assumptions that other people are. You make the assumptions like, “You and I both know you would never say that about a 17 year old male” which are completely untrue just to give you an excuse to bash on people who do nothing wrong. It’s sad and more than anything it shows that you are the one focused on her gender.
Glavine did not throw in the 70s, at least not his fastball, if that’s what you meant.
@gbs42: Technically you are right if you are talking about Glavine in his prime. After Glavine last major league season he signed a non guaranteed contract with the Braves. They put him in AAA and his ERA and other numbers were pretty good. He wanted and expected them to call him up to the bigs. Frank Wren wouldn’t do it and cut him because his fastball was topping out in the low to mid 70’s. That was about 10 mph less than Beacon can do right now. It was all over the sports news at the time and Glavine was even quoted as saying “That’s the best I can do.” His run prevention numbers were still good and he really thought he could still contribute in the majors. 70’s wasn’t Glavine in his peak but he definitely pitched highly competitive baseball with expectations to make it in the majors when his hardest fast ball was in the low to mid 70’s. I haven’t looked it up in awhile but I’m sure if you research when the Braves released Glavine you will find articles on it. The year before that he was a major league starting pitcher and was trying to get back there. He did it as a AAA starting pitcher.
This AJC article says 76-78 in spring training, 83-86 when he was released:
ajc.com/sports/report-braves-release-glavine/sAyxY…
Not that it matters in the big picture.
The article I just read was on Talking Chop. It says after his release “he couldn’t get his velocity above the 70’s mph range.” Either way you’re right. It’s just semantics at that point. The point was comparing any pitchers velocity isn’t an insult. The website moderated the link when I tried to post it before so I will try to post it again separately as a reply to this. It’s worth a read. It was the same time Frank Wren made that dumb trade to get Nate McClouth.
Here’s the link that says Tom Glavine was pitching his fastball in the 70’s:google.com/amp/s/www.talkingchop.com/platform/amp/…
Here’s the link. It’s worth a read regardless of this conversation: talkingchop.com/2009/6/5/900007/glavine-says-relea…
A matter of preference I suppose. If I were to liken it to something else I’d say it’s the difference in getting the perspective of an A list actor/actress in a great film vs. getting the perspective of an extra or someone with like one or two scenes/lines.
“Fodder” is a rather insulting term for any player who made the majors.
Watched the game, she did very well. She has a bright future
Curious, what are you watching to get access to games like this?
wait, the ABL is playing?
Southern Hemisphere.
they had cancelled the season due to covid at last check.
Yep, you’re correct. These are exhibition games. They were going to play the Auckland Tuatara until Omicron put paid to that.
Sad and frustrating. I’ve been hanging out for a Tuatara season. I’m just down the highway – can’t wait until I can get to games!
bit of a Tuatara fan myself by virtue of following Kyle Glogoski’s baseball journey. they certainly have had it rough so far as a franchise.
Yep, season ticket holder (when they play). Not that I want summer to pass too quick, I’m looking forward to October when the season starts. The only issue is that the US players have to go back for spring training just as the finals start…
Yes it’s summer over there
see above…
The ABL is the Australian Baseball League and yes, we’re playing a full season down here.
Awawra, no we are not playing a full season here, its been cancelled. These are just exhibition games. If you look at the referenced game you’ll see Tim Atherton (a Brisbane player) started for the Giants against Steve Kent (a Cavalry player) for the Aces.
Very cool! Next stop MLB! (Ive always thought if a woman ever made it to MLB it’d be with a knuckleball… maybe that’s kind of sexist?). But low 80s heat with a nasty curveball? Guys have survived careers with that just fine. Good luck!
That’s not sexist. I agree with you
Well, that’s a relief that his politically correct membership is still intact.
Adam Wainwright has stolen over 155 million in his career doing just that.
@JimmyForum – “stolen?” Have you actually looked at what Wainwright has accomplished?
He’s been a very good pitcher for a long time.
Some Japanese league sent a girl to Sox ST one year to work with Wakefield one year with her knuckleball. don’t remember the exact year, but remember it drew fair amount of Japanese press because of the oddity.
I remember her, Eri Yoshida. She was a side-arm knuckleball pitcher. She played a few years in indy leagues in the US, but never made it past that.
is she still playing in the Japan indy leagues? I know she was playing for them at one point.
I don’t think so. She doesn’t have anything past 2012 recorded on Baseball Reference.
BBREF doesnt have anything on Japan’s indy leagues like the Baseball Challenge League. Wikipedia says she was playing as recently as 2017 but sparce info on those leagues suggests a lack of signing info doesnt mean she is inactive.
I always thought the same thing, but if someone else can make it a different way that’d be cool too
I can’t think of any MLB surviving careers with 80 mph fastballs, unless they played in the dead ball era. I would be great to see a woman make MLB, but it’s going take more than an 80 mph fastball.
Not true Darren O’Day Nestor cortes and a couple of other relievers only throw around 85-86 mph and have done ok in mlb. Also in the 1980’s average fastball was only around 88-89 mph
85-86 isn’t low 80’s though. I think people here are reverse-exaggerating a bit. I don’t think you’ll be able to legitimately name many successful pitchers who have had fastballs that sit in the low 80’s. Not in the modern era. It’s a great story, but reality is reality. And I don’t think the average fastball in the 80’s was below 90. Again, reverse-exaggeration, or whatever you call it.
If the curveball is good enough (the article states it’s her signature pitch) then 80-84 could work just fine.
Plus she’s 17; as people have mentioned she has room to grow and maybe 86 isn’t out of the question… so once again low 80s and a nasty curve could work just fine. Best of luck to her!
I don’t see any indication that an 80-84 mph fastball is workable in the MLB. I mean, if players like that exist, it’s incredibly rare.
She is 17. There is plenty of time to add at least 4 ticks in speed with conditioning and training.
Which also applies to every 17 year old who can throw 80 mph but we’re not having any delusions about hitting them for a MLB uniform in a few years. What’s remarkable is that she’s accomplished this as a female. In general she’s not some standout star.
Hey RobM, Jamie Moyer says hi.
Moyer is an outlier, and he didn’t start out at 80 mph.
Is it just me or doesn’t one else think it’s more impressive that she’s only 17 years old?
that’s not terribly uncommon in the ABL
She’s a legitimate prospect. This is good for the game.
Not bad, not bad at all. My daughter will be tickled when I tell her. And my son might as well.
Was just taking about this the other day that it’s just a matter of time before women are playing pro ball! If they can compete then why wouldn’t they be able to play! Way to go Genevieve! Hope to see you in MLB one day!
I could play pro ball in Australia if an 80mph heater gets you on the roster
Little more to it than just throwing 80 MPH, 2nd pitch, location, movement, etc. have a lot to do with it.
Jamie Moyer would make a great pitching coach for her! His fastball sat at just about the same mph!
Mix in some finesse, maybe a crafty knuckleball into her arsenal, we may see her in a MLB uniform one day!
I was gonna say. Moyer made a 25 season career out of throwing below 85 MPH. I’ll be generous and say he maxed out at 88 in the very first years of his career.
She only 17 in time hitting the weight room she’ll get stronger and maybe get in the 90″s mph
With a woman’s muscle structure and connective tissue, the unlikely 90 mph would result in a catastrophic injury, and may very well realize that result with her present speed. With all due respect, there’s a lot of ignorance presenting itself on this site in an effort to be one of the gang by posturing as all-inclusive, regardless of the logic. Assuming her hormone levels are normal, she’s still a woman and her physical structure is radically different than a man’s. If she can ever seriously compete, it would be due to massive expansion.
WhoNoze-With all due respect,you are being politically incorrect.
Logic,knowledge,and reason play no part in this discussion.
I do not doubt that this young woman is a fine athlete and a good baseball player.
We’re not talking MLB though.
As a comparison,and I am eliminating football and hockey as they are much too physical sports,look at the WNBA..Those women are very fine athletes and basketball players at the height of their profession..
Has anyone ever mentioned that anyone wanted to play in the NBA?
Why would anybody want to be politically correct. What’s wrong with speaking your mind and believing in what you say?
You took my statement literally but if you read it all you shouldn’t have.
Say what you mean and mean what you say so I agree with you.
But a few posters on here do not like it if someone has a different opinion.
And sometimes they call them names.
There’s also a lot of deleted comments on this one. Not sure why it’s so difficult for people to understand biological differences.
Tyler Rogers’ (SFG) fastball is 82-85 and his career so far is going pretty well. True, he has the rising slider, but this young woman’s fastball speed is not an impediment to a pitching career if her offspeed pitches are effective. I wish her nothing but success.
The stress on Roger’s arm from throwing breaking pitches would be a LOT less than it would be on her’s.
At 17? Dang, she will throw even harder if the arm holds up as she gets older. As Moyer was mentioned above, I can think of Maddox and Hendricks as two pitchers who never throw terribly hard. As well as every pitcher who once threw hard then got hurt pre 90’s.. Gubizca, McCaskill, Vuckovich, Heridia and so on. To lazy to googler the right spelling
I think that’s something everyone is overlooking. She’s 17 y.o and is averaging 82-83 MPH. Not saying that she’s going to grow into a flamethrower, but when she’s 22-23, she might be up to 85-86 MPH. There are a ton of good soft tossing major leaguers who rely on command to get outs. When Bartolo Colon made the All-star game in 2016, he averaged just 87.6 MPH with his sinker, his primary pitch. Heck, Sergio Romo had an ERA below 3.50 up until September and his sinker only hits 85 MPH
Look at Darren O’Day tops out around 86 mph and has a long MLB career
I think guys like O’Day and Rogers are major outliers because of their deliveries, but there are still plenty of 88-and-below pitchers who have found success in the majors. I think one of my favortes is Dan Haren. His twitter handle is literally @ithrow88
Female physiology doesn’t work like that, my friend. She’may be able to build more muscle-mass with training, but the bones and other support structures necessary to add strength and ultimately velocity/bat speed/etc. are done forming in this gal. Guys typically top out at around 18 but still have slower growth for a few more years, which is why you see young male prospects change so much from their teens to early twenties.
I’m not a doctor or physiologist, but I think she could add 1-3 MPH just with the proper coaching alone. She’s now working with professional coaches, trainers, etc. Like I said before, I’m not saying by the time she’s 22-23, she’s going to be hitting 95-97 MPH. She’s already topping out at 85 MPH now. I don’t see why averaging 85 MPH over the course of the next 3-5 years is unlikely with just experience, coaching, and conditioning alone. She’s still high school age and now gets the opportunity to focus on just a baseball career.
Elephants are being born without tusks.. I’m sure there are girls who will continue to develop and throw harder after 17. This pitcher will no doubt have a chance to do so with health science being at its best and only getting better every day. It’s just part of evolutionary change. But yeah she probably throws like a girl
@ One Standard: You’re risking a ban by presenting a logical argument on this site…
@Noze– Then please, take all of your infinite wisdom elsewhere. Believe it or not, most of us could deal without your know-it-all, condescending BS that is void of any substance whatsoever. Above, @Lloyd said @Hammer just likes to hear himself talk; must be @Lloyd didn’t scroll down far enough to see your groundbreaking take on “men and women having different physical body structures.” Wow. Insightful. Please let us know when your book on basic anatomy is published.
Raltongo, since he hurt your feelings so much, maybe just block him? Or if you believe he’s wrong (he’s not), show us otherwise
I just called him out for having a lousy take. Not every disagreement has to be a result of “hurt feelings,” you know. I was commenting on the fact his entire assumption–
“there’s a lot of ignorance presenting itself on this site in an effort to be one of the gang by posturing as all-inclusive, regardless of the logic.”
–is itself based on ignorance, as he cannot just blindly characterize everyone’s support for this player as a broad generalization. The logic is actually quite clear, really, as there is an entire article here about how her pitching repertoire could actually play in professional baseball, regardless of her gender.
It’s not a lousy take. It’s reality. If you choose not to live in the real world where men and women are different then that’s on you.
Yeah but she’s already hitting 85 MPH at 17-years-old. Before having ample opportunity to focus on baseball and just baseball and before having the opportunity to work with professional level coaches, trainers, etc. everyday. Again, nobody here is saying she’s going to be the next Aroldis Chapman. But can she be averaging 83-85 MPH, maybe topping out around 86 MPH by the time she’s 22-24 years old, which would mean she would have 5-7 years of experience focusing just on baseball and working with professional cocahes etc? I don’t think it’s impossible, even given the fact men and women grow differently and the fact she’s already hitting 85 MPH makes it even more possible. We’re not talking about a 10-12 MPH increase. I’m talking about a 1-3 MPH increase, which can happen with just simple mechanics clean-up, conditioning, or experience.
What makes this story notable is her gender. Being a 17 year old who can hit 80 mph doesn’t make her a good bet to even succeed in the minors. It’s not that unusual outside of the gender factor. It’s getting way ahead of yourself to speculate on her even reaching A ball on that basis. Gender aside, this is not someone with an indication that they are on their way to becoming a prospect. Otherwise, that’d mean there’s an awful lot of future players headed here from Australia, and that’s not the case. People are getting ridiculously over the top here.
Bob Tewksbury was an amazing dart thrower. Injuries shortened his career. Hell of a pitcher.
I fail to see how a 80 mile an hour fastball is Major League material in a prospect unless it is a knuckleball. No woman will ever make MLB unless it is a publicity stunt. I’m sure some nut will make that happen. Surprised it hasn’t already. Some dude drafted his daughter some years back which was a joke.
yeah because you can’t develop a higher velocity…
Darkside if you truly knew anything, then you’d know developing velocity might happen for 3-5 mph. That’s it. So basically, you have it or you don’t. Even 85 MPH won’t cut it in MLB unless you also have superior movement and control.
that’s complete garbage. plenty of pitchers have added well more than that. I followed along with Ramon Rosso’s path as he was rising to the Major Leagues. he sat at ~90 when he signed with the Dodgers at 19, but by the time he was in the Majors he was hitting the high 90s. Beacom is even younger. there’s no reason to believe she cant hit the 90s eventually and it’s clear that she has good movement on her pitches as well.
No mention of Mark Eichorn?
I was a big fan of that dude as a kid! Never new his story, good call out. Apparently you can comment on BR as there is a page called “I love Mark Eichorn”
I think women are capable of playing in the MLB fairly soon. And I don’t mean someone that was named Joe or Hank just 3 years ago either.
Do you mean transgender or hormonally unusual women? That’s about the only way that’ll happen.
There’s no way a one armed guy will ever make the majors too, right?
I think a woman could make an MLB team. Especially in a relief pitcher role. There are so many openings on MLB teams, someone will one day give a woman an opportunity. Same with women in NFL and the NBA. Lusia Harris-Stewart was drafted by an NBA team. Women have made college football teams… it’s just a matter of time. It will happen.
Comparing a one armed man to a female is an invalid comparison.
Capable doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen. The number of females being developed for the majors is so unbelievably tiny that the probability of it happening soon is next to zero.
LOL
You go girl!
Throwing a scoreless inning is more than many Pirates relievers have achieved in their careers.
Good for her.
Only a Pirate fan would fully appreciate this fact.I saw some shots of her pitching and noticed the stands which did not have a lot more people than a good high school game.
Then I realized what stadium the attendance reminded me of.
You’d think we’d all be able to realize that professional sports are largely meritocracies. If she can keep getting batters out, she will continue to get opportunities, If she can’t, she won’t hold a roster slot. I’d like to see her succeed. She’s not a threat to our daily lives or the natural order of things, no matter what some cranky commenters might say. Those folks should be honest with themselves….if it was their daughter, they wouldn’t be just a little bit proud?
No one sees her success as a threat to their daily lives or anything else, stop straw-manning. Some of us are just pointing out that, as terrific of a story as this is, she hasn’t exactly become a prospect because of this. All this talk of 80 mph being good enough for the majors and what not and speculation on her making the majors after the briefest of success in a foreign league is just a bit over the top for some of us.
Almost nobody is a genuine prospect at age 17, and no predictions about the future can be more than laughingly made one way or another for a player that young. The vast majority of players never make it, and few major league players have ever come out of Australia. So the odds against her are steep, just as they are for everyone else. But that isn’t what I am seeing in some of these comments. What I am seeing in some of them is it’s basically impossible for a woman to compete with men in baseball, and that reads as something else entirely.
I’m not getting that sense. Women are at a huge physiological disadvantage in these type of athletics; that combined with the low volume of women even trying to reach the goal makes it incredibly unlikely that we’ll see a female in the sport anytime soon. But what I’m seeing is a lot of posters declaring this person a viable prospect based on very little, and that’s just absurd. We’re at least a generation away from seeing a female pitcher in MLB, and she’ll have to do better than an 80 mph fastball.
Well I think it’s absurd to judge anyone’s athletic abilities when they are 3-4 years from physical maturity. Male and female, same thing. I’m not going to quote back any of the comments that make this argument, but I see quite a few faux experts saying it’s more or less impossible for women to play the sport with men. Women are doing all sorts of things today that at one time were said to be impossible, so this prejudice is easily dismissed for what it is.
The pool of women in the sport is probably always going to be smaller than for men if only because girls are not encouraged to play the game. Organized baseball for girls is practically nonexistent, so it will be the rare young woman who will even try. Still, baseball is unique in the types of physical abilities it requires, and if you look at the variety of shapes and sizes playing the game professionally it’s difficult to escape the possibility that women could play at that level some day, especially if they are encouraged in greater numbers to take up the game when they are young enough to develop the skills.
I basically agree with you, but I will say that organized baseball for girls is just going to have to be little league and high school ball. Females are generally less capable of competing in those leagues and definitely, for the moment, less interested. But any girl that wants to play in little league with the boys is welcome to if she can make the team. (I’ve seen fans hold the misconception that girls aren’t allowed to play in little league but this simply is not true). The physical disadvantages that a woman faces means women will always be a rarity in the sport, if they ever make it. Yes, there are some interesting physical specimens in the sport, but they’re generally overweight, very tall men, which doesn’t lend itself to the argument that a woman is likely to succeed in the sport. But it’s possible, and if the number of females training to be players increases dramatically, the sport will, in all likelihood, have a female player, but it will always be the exception and there will really only be certain areas where it could work.
Nowhere did I suggest she’s in any way likely to reach and keep a Major League level, including internationally. But I think the story is encouraging to those girls who want to try. We’ve had two women milers break 4:13, 100 years ago that would have been the fastest men in the world. A woman has run a 2:14 marathon. That would have been the winning time, among men.by 6 minutes, at the 1968 Olympics. You think Serena Williams can’t beat a lot of men? This girl can throw 84, maybe there’s another one out there who can manage 87. We don’t know, but there’s no harm in exciting other girls to try, building a fan base. and. who knows, it’s a low probability event, but baseball is a game of refined skills as well as brute force.
Good heavens, could we get a new CBA already. Help!
All the examples of lower-velocity pitchers (e.g. Tewksbury, Moyer, Maddux, O’Day, etc.) and the one-armed player given by the posters in support of the claim women would/should/could one day play at the MLB level ignore one common fact that is right under their noses; ALL their examples are men.
I once saw a presentation at the FBI Academy where the most physically fit woman in a New Agents class was asked to prevent a fellow male Agent trainee from taking her gun from her. The woman was in super condition. She was fast, in great cardiovascular condition, could do a zillion sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, etc. and the male was a former Buffalo State University football player who was once offered a shot at the Buffalo Bills training camp. The result of the “confrontation? He tossed her around like a rag doll and took her gun in spite of her desperate attempts to prevent it. She didn’t have a chance. The display was given for a purpose. The lesson imparted by the trainers’ “Nature will not be denied.”.. It is irrational to believe that women can physically compete at the highest level of MLB when even so many male athletes cannot. If my daughter wanted to play MLB I would encourage her to pursue her dream and do what it took to help her succeed, but I would also temper our joint efforts with the reality that the challenge is monumental. It’s not raining on someone’s parade to face reality. Beacom’s feel-good story is likely just that and only that; a story which sounds great but is only likely a fairy tale.
It’s ridiculous. People here are talking about her as if she’s already one of the top young players in Australia, rather than someone who’s basically notable for simply having played at all, which really the case.
Her inning of work is on You Tube. Good form and balance. Hats off to this young lady. I hope she has continued success.
No one has answered my question about WNBA players who make a fraction of what their male counterparts make.
I believe it was said thirty years ago that John McEnroe said that the #100 ranked man Derek Tarr would beat Martina Navritalova in singles.She is arguably the greatest female tennis player in history.
Why haven’t women competed against men in these two sports as they have clearly been accomplished athletes and trained in a similar manner for the last thirty-forty years?The money is much higher in men’s sports,and everyone should have a chance at it.
And for those who think that arguers on this topic who go against your points,and who are “ripping”the young woman from Australia accordingly,do not compare others to a Neanderthal.as your intelligence level would come in second to him or her.
Yea the reality is that if there was a WNBA player who was capable of competing in the NBA, she would be playing in that league right now.
Which would only be fair as the money is that much better.
Unfortunately,logic and reason and historical reference are not always used as a benchmark by many posters.I always know that when they start calling other posters names that their argument is weak.
Thank you Cosmo.
I think it’s about time. MLB, for instance, has a lot of chaff playing. Imagine if women could perform up to MLB standards, how that would open up the game to more talent. Good for the ABL to offer her a chance.
It’s a nice sentiment but the main reason that there are no females in the league is a question of physiology. Adding females isn’t going to suddenly widen the talent pool. It’s a matter of nature, not discrimination that causes the lack of females in the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL.
Aussie BB is offering her a chance because they’re desperately trying to create interest in the game. Organized pro ball in Australia (and NZ) has failed more than once and the future of the current version is not guaranteed. Promoting a 17 yr old girl is nothing more than hype to put more butts in the seats along with the possibility that she could indeed compete in a league against some hitters with skills far less than that of a typical A baller. For her sake, I hope she understands the reality of that and is able to cope with the disappointment when the promoter’s hype doesn’t match her performance if the quality of the hitting improves. They’re already actively recruiting ex-US college players (with limitations for each team), and even have an all-Korean team in the ABL, so that may very well happen.
So you’re saying Peter Moylan is lying?
Moylan is her coach, not exactly an unbiased observer.
I guess I will have to take that as a yes.
No one is saying he’s lying, it’s just that it’s his job to give a positive spin and he’d be the last to admit certain things even if true. Although I see no evidence that this young woman didn’t deserve her shot, but it’s like taking the word of a defense attorney about their client, you gotta expect a certain amount of spin.
I’ll take that as second yes. People do seem to think they can be cynical and nobody else will take any notice, but I don’t know why.
Ok so just take it however you want it, don’t bother to actually try and read what’s actually being said. I guess you’re not big on nuance or details.
Peter Moylan is not lying,as his comment only pertains to Aussie baseball.
Most of this thread has to do with whether she could ever have a chance to pitch in MLB.
I was responding to a point that was made specifically about her appearance in Australian baseball. It had nothing to do with MLB nor did my response.
10-4,sorry Blue-my mistake
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