The bases were loaded with two outs in the ninth inning when Nelson Figueroa, pitching coach for the Staten Island FerryHawks, waved to the bullpen for a reliever. A right-hander answered with a nod, jogged to the mound and four pitches later was out of the jam, getting the batter to pop out.
Similar scenarios play out in professional ballparks across the country every night. This at-bat, before a crowd of 735 on the banks of New York Bay last month, was historic because it made Kelsie Whitmore the first woman to pitch in the Atlantic League — a 10-team independent professional league on par with the highest level of minor league baseball.
Three days earlier Whitmore, a ponytail covering the blue No. 3 on the back of her uniform, had become the first woman to start in an Atlantic League game, playing left field and reaching base once in three plate appearances.
Taken together, the two milestones raise an interesting question: If a woman can pitch and play the outfield in the country’s top-ranked independent league, will we soon see one in the major leagues?
“Yeah, I think it’s a definite possibility,” said Mike Scioscia, who spent 32 years in the majors as a manager and All-Star catcher with the Angels and Dodgers. “I don’t think it’s a far stretch to see some girls be able to develop and pitch.”
“I think it’s highly improbable,” countered Tom House, a former big league reliever who has gone on to become an expert on pitching mechanics. “It would have to be a unique set of circumstances for a female to get on a roster on a major league level.”
Ila Borders, who arguably came closest when she pitched three seasons in the independent Northern League, says they’re both right: It’s possible, if improbable, for a woman to reach the top level of professional baseball right now. The fact the question is no longer being met with disdain is progress.
“The biggest thing in my mind is they’re trying,” said Borders, who had a 2-4 record with a 6.60 ERA in 47 games from 1997 to 1999. “When I was playing it was an uphill battle. They were trying to do everything to not let me play.
“The tide has turned,” said Borders, who in 1994 became the first female pitcher to start a college game when she pitched Southern California College — now Vanguard University — to a 12-1 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
While Borders went it alone, Whitmore is part of a movement. In January, 17-year-old Genevieve Beacom, a 6-foot-1 left-hander, became the first woman to pitch in the Australian Baseball League, throwing a hitless inning in her debut. Last month Anaheim High’s Jillian Albayati became the first girl to start a CIF Southern Section championship game on the mound — she also drove in her team’s only run — and 20 girls have played in the Little League World Series.
That’s drawn the attention of people at the highest levels of the sport.
Five years ago, MLB started the Trailblazer Series, an instructional and introductory initiative for young female players. With the help of USA Baseball, it recently expanded that outreach through three other programs designed to identify and groom female players in the states, as well as in Puerto Rico and Canada. In addition the commissioner’s office has added girls’ leagues to its Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities project.
This season, the San Francisco Giants’ Alyssa Nakken became the first woman to coach on the field during a major league game.
“Women playing baseball is an important part of our sport’s history. That legacy is also significant to the game’s present and future,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said. “We are committed to ensuring that any young woman who chooses to play baseball … will have the opportunity to do so.”
The role women play in many other top-tier men’s professional sports has increased in recent years: Becky Hammon was an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA, a league that has six female referees. The NFL had a record 12 women assistant coaches last season and recently promoted its third female official. This fall, six women will officiate soccer’s World Cup for the first time.
Major League Baseball has struggled to keep up, although Rachel Balkovec did debut this year as the first woman to manage an MLB affiliate — the minor league Tampa Tarpons. Nine other women are serving as minor league coaches and seven are working as scouts.
