Photo Credit: TimeInc.com
Although Little League dugouts and diamonds are slowly clearing out as fall approaches, there remains a lingering issue that has yet to hit home. In 2014, Philadelphia Taney Dragon Little League baseball player Mo’Ne Davis took the world by storm with her unique curveball and 70 mile per hour fast ball silencing the notion that girls can’t throw or compete with the boys. But why is Davis and many other girls competing with boys instead of competing in a league of their own? On one hand, there aren’t any baseball leagues for girls so they’re forced to play with the boys. On the other hand, girl’s softball leagues are lacking because many girls are playing baseball. Furthermore, the difference in the two games hurts girls once they get to high school and have to play softball, although many girls choose to continue to play baseball with boys in high school. These young ladies will likely experience some challenges once they make it to the college level. However, some colleges allow women to play baseball with the men. But this run will eventually come to an end, as there isn’t a professional baseball league for women. Many coaches and female players don’t consider softball to be equivalent to baseball because the dynamics of the game are different – different pitching styles, different distance between bases, different number of innings and different sizes of balls and fields. Many females prefer to pitch overhanded opposed to the unorthodox, underhanded pitch. The 1992 film “A League of Their Own” depicts the women of the 1940’s All American Girls Professional Baseball League pitching overhanded with baseballs instead of the larger softballs. So, if women had their own baseball league over 50 years ago, why are girls and women being limited to softball today? Continue reading “Softball or Female Baseball Players?”
Brittany Young 