Think women will ever play major league baseball? Something reminded me of Babe Didrikson, Olympic and world track and field record holder, hall of fame golfer, and pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics, and other major league teams in exhibition games. So, when do you think well find the next Babe Didrikson? Heres what the historian for the Philadelphia Athletics wrote: Shortly after completing my latest book on the Philadelphia Athletics a friend passed along one of those baseball compendiums and in it, of all things, was a paragraph that stated that “The Babe” pitched an inning for the Philadelphia Athletics in spring training 1934. Had I know that, of course, she’d have been included among the 1,205 bios in the bookl. But try as I might, I cannot find much about her inning’s work, but what I did learn was that Ms. Didrikson also pitched against the A’s and also for the Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians that spring. All, history suggests, were one inning stints to attract fans and the media to, otherwise mundane, exhibition games. When pitching for the Cardinals, against the A’s, in spring training 1934 the media of the day tells how she allowed the A’s to get two men on base and then got Al Simmons to line in to a double-play. With one on and two out Jimmie Foxx came to the plate and drilled one of her fast balls deep in to center field where Paul Dean (Dizzy’s kid brother), of all people, flagged down the ball for the inning-ending out. After the game the Babe said, “I had good control and threw a fast one with a hop on it”, suggesting that she didn’t walk anyone and that the A’s got on base on hits, not walks. Cardinals pitched Burleigh Grimes was quoted in the press that day as saying Babe would be one of the best prospects in baseball if she were a boy. Would we be as patient with the first woman as weve been with some of the blossoming Mariners?
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 17:36:31 +0000
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