Baseball dreams

February 4, 2013

Cleveland native and lifelong Indians fan Justine Siegal has been a pioneer in finding opportunities for girls and women in baseball. She was the first woman to coach at the college level and the first woman to work as a coach for a professional team (the minor league Brockton Rox). At the 2010 Winter Meetings, she spoke to a number of teams about pitching batting practice at Spring Training. The Cleveland Indians were the first team to take her up on the idea. She recently gave a TED x talk about following dreams.  It’s bloody cold in Cleveland this morning, and pitchers and catchers don’t report until next week. If you need an inspiring lift on a cold February Monday, here it is.  And it doesn’t hurt that Justine is wearing her Cleveland Indians uniform for the talk.

2 Comments

  • Lisa Courcy says:

    Susan, just read your article about your experience at the one day Cleveland camp. Although you were the only woman there that day, I can tell you from experience that most baseball camps currently have a few women on the roster. Its great to see that women who love baseball (like Justine) are taking advantages of opportunities to play. I have played at Sports Adventures Boston Baseball Camp for a number of years, and women have at times comprised 10% of the camp…and they are all GREAT ballplayers! I have actually played several times there with my daughters…so it won’t be long before you will be doing that, too!

  • Susan Petrone says:

    Lisa, thanks for your comment. I’m told that the most women the Indians one-week fantasy camp has had at one time was four, which would be something like 5% of participants. It is heartening to see more women taking advantage of opportunities to play. Hope you have a good season!