Sean spent about an hour with the girls talkin about baseball, school, and pitching.
When asked if he ever thought a woman would play baseball, he said “why not?”
Sean treated the girls like the ballplayers they were. They talked approach to pitching, they showed each other grips and he afforded them respect as fellow baseball players.
He asked @PalomaBenach what DCGB was doing in the offseason and about her efforts to make the @WilsonVBaseball team in the spring. Again, it was respect between two pitchers.
At all times, @whatwouldDOOdo has been generous, encouraging, warm and gracious. But what stands out is the respect he offers the girls. Here is a leading @MLB closer who takes his time to listen to these girls and to give them hope that the doors will open to them.
We don’t know when a woman will make the @MLB. But we do know that there will be lots of obstacles to her inclusion. But that won’t come from players like @whatwouldDOOdo
When women join rosters, players like @whatwouldDOOdo will set the tone of inclusion and respect. We are so glad he plays in our city.
@whatwouldDOOdo Sean, this sounds like a goodbye but it can not be. Because you have assumed a space in our hearts that will last forever. You reached out to us when you heard about our baseball team and you invited us into your life.
@whatwouldDOOdo You could have come out and shook some hands, but you gave our girls an hour of your time. You asked them about their pitching and their grips. You asked them about how they play baseball. And when we asked you if a woman could play MLB, you said “why not?”
@whatwouldDOOdo You treated our girls like the ballplayer they are. You respected them instantly and showed them that there are those at the highest level of the game who believed in them when dozens of armchair GMs and wannabe pros tell them they are not real ballers.
We are reminded of the saying about fighting with a pig in his slip but this sort of garbage from @nextlevelbb is pretty indicative of the barriers so many face in baseball.
So many of our players and coaches have been told that they don’t belong on a baseball diamond because they are women and girls. We have come across teams, coaches, players, players dads (and moms, oh boy, the moms) who think that baseball is for straight, white Christian males.
They will show you a photo of African American (male) ball players to prove you wrong but the numbers don’t lie. Baseball is nearly 100% male, largely white and very Christian.