Pittsburgh Pirates Clint Hurdle Says Gender Barrier Will End

Players of many different ethnicities and nationalities are currently part of Major League Baseball’s group of players, and outside of their profession, they all have one thing in common; their gender. Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle recently stated that he expects that to change.

In a recent interview with John Perrotto, Hurdle said that he expects the day to come when female players are a part of MLB.

"“I still believe firmly there is going to be a day where there is a female player in the big leagues. I got that. Where it goes, I don’t know. I don’t believe I’ll be in the dugout to see it.”"

We’ve already seen Justine Siegal pitch batting practice to the Cleveland Indians and become MLB’s first female coach, as she was a guest instructor for the Oakland Athletics at an instructional camp last fall.

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On Feb. 14, Sarah Hudek of Bossier Parish Community College became the first woman to record a win at the collegiate level. Hudek also represented the United States of America in the 2015 Pan Am games, pitching 3.1 innings for the gold-medal team. Hudek is attending the school on a baseball scholarship.

Baseball fans probably know who Mo’Ne Davis is as well, the Little League phenom pitcher who regularly embarrassed the male opponents who took the plate against her. Girls in Little League are nothing new, but all-girls teams like Seattle’s Rockford Peaches, are becoming more prominent.

While the Pan Am games, community college and Little League levels are one thing, MLB is another. It’s a hotly competitive landscape, where players rise and fall daily. There is always someone in the minors working to take the place of major-leaguers and playing time is given out based on performance in a “what have you done for us lately” situation.

Add to that the heckling that a female player trying to break the gender barrier will likely receive. Last season, ESPN made Jessica Mendoza a guest analyst on its Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts, and this season Mendoza is a regular. The reaction by ignorant misogynists has been ridiculous, as they have perceived their fragile masculinity being challenged. Female players would have to deal with this like Jackie Robinson had to handle the racial slurs when he broke the color barrier.

Despite these challenges, Hurdle isn’t alone in the belief that eventually there will be a female player in MLB. A poll of veteran members of the media who cover pro baseball produced several responses to the affirmative.

For a woman to reach the majors, the doors will have to open up for her in baseball’s developmental stages. That is happening as I type. Many men who are in bigs came to be there through playing Little League, then high school, then college, lower organized leagues, and so on.

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The woman who eventually breaks the gender barrier, perhaps a present-day member of the Peaches or some similar team, will face many challenges in her ascent to The Show. When that day comes, however, she will definitely have earned her place and have those who are currently opening the doors for girls like her to thank.

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