MLB: Can a Woman Play in the Major Leagues?
The examples of Borders and Yoshida help us consider the question of whether a woman can play in the Major Leagues. There are legitimate physical differences between men and women that come into play. We have not yet seen a woman who can throw a fastball in the 90s, like many MLB pitchers can. For that matter, we haven’t seen a woman with an arm like most MLB catchers, shortstops, third basemen, or outfielders (setting aside the occasional Johnny Damon-like wet noodle arm that some MLB outfielders possess).
We also haven’t seen a woman who can hit with the power that men at the more hitter-centric positions display. Until a woman arrives with the athletic ability to throw and hit like most MLB players, we should set aside some positions as not yet attainable and look at the most likely possibilities.
One possibility would require a team to use a roster space like the Oakland Athletics did in parts of three seasons in the 1970s when they kept a designated pinch runner on the team. Herb Washington was a world-class sprinter who used his speed as a pinch runner for the Oakland Athletics in 1974 and 1975. This was the novel idea of A’s owner Charlie Finley, who was known for his eccentricities.
Washington appeared in 105 MLB games but never came to bat or played in the field. He stole 31 bases in 48 attempts and scored 33 runs in his career. He was memorably picked off in the ninth inning of Game Two in the 1974 World Series and was released the following May, when Washington was replaced by Don Hopkins. Hopkins was also used almost exclusively as a pinch runner but did appear in a handful of games in the outfield in 1975 and had eight plate appearances in his career.
If a team were to bring back this designated runner position, with some time in the outfield as a defensive replacement and maybe as an occasional pinch hitter, perhaps it would provide an opening for a speedy, athletic woman like Candace Hill. Hill ran the 100 meters in 10.98 seconds as a 16-year-old in high school last year and is hoping to compete in the Olympics this summer. If a baseball team were to take a page from Charlie Finley’s playbook and sign a woman to play defense and pinch run, a pure speedster like Candace Hill could be a possibility. Of course, this comes with the caveat that a team could likely find a man who could outrun the fastest woman, which would once again leave the woman on the outside looking in.
Next: Finding room on the roster