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.
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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!
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!