Little league ball, big league box office

Nearly 25,000 fans attended Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Wednesday, August. 20, to see how the hometown Phillies take on the Seattle Mariners. Across the state and a few hours later, more than 34,000 came to cheer on another team from Philadelphia when they faced a team from Las Vegas.

The Phillies fighters had a better day, as they edged out the playoff contending Mariners 4-3, while the Taney Dragons succumbed to a mighty Nevada Mountain Ridge team, 8-1, in the Little League World Series in South. Williamsport. Yet hardly anyone in Pennsylvania really cared how the Phillies fared. On that day, the Dragons were the most popular sports ticket in the state of Keystone, and perhaps the United States.

The reason, of course, was Mo’ne Davis, the Dragons’ star pitcher, who became the youngest athlete and the first Little Leaguer to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Davis, 13, is a girl who competes at the highest levels (for her age group) of a sport that has long relegated girls to the stands. World War II gave rise to the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, which operated from 1942 to 1954 and was remembered in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own.” The movie was a favorite in my home when my daughters were growing up.

And Davis is far from the first girl to play minor league baseball. That distinction belongs to Kathryn Johnston Massar, who posed as a boy and called herself Tubby Johnston to play a season in upstate New York in 1950. The following year, minor league officials adopted a rule that prohibits girls from playing. They called it the Tubby Rule and it stayed on the books until 1974, when various girls across the country sued and lobbied local officials (who often provided fields for minor league use) for the right to play with the boys.

Davis isn’t even the first girl to play at LLWS; she is 18th, and one of two girls in this year’s competition. The other was Kayla Roncin of Toms River, NJ, whose squad was previously eliminated in the tournament.

But he rose to national attention last week when he threw a two-hit shutout against Tennessee on Aug. 1. 15, becoming the first female pitcher to win a game at LLWS. It was his second consecutive complete shutout in a game; the first was the game that qualified his team for the tournament.

Davis instantly became box office magic. 32,148 people were reported to have attended the August event. 17 Dragons played Texas, even though Davis wasn’t pitching. They just wanted to watch her play and cheer her on for another chance to get on the mound. The crowd got their wish when the Dragons rallied for a 7-6 victory, allowing the team to advance to the August game. 20 game against Nevada.

Davis didn’t fare as well in the next game he pitched after his shutout Sunday. He allowed a run on a pair of hard-hitting balls in the first inning and a two-run home run in the second. Her coach took her off the mound after she recorded an out in the third inning to keep her pitch count low and keep her eligible for a possible rematch against Nevada. However, the team lost to Chicago on August 1. 21, so they never got that far.

I regularly took my two daughters to Mets and Yankees games when they were little. We used to talk about who could become the first player in the majors. We conclude that whoever it is will likely be a pitcher. Although being able to throw hard is a huge advantage, and larger bodies make pitchers tougher, it is possible to be successful on the mound simply by throwing a ball with movement and precision. There is no reason why a woman cannot do that as well as a man.

The road to the big leagues goes through the American minor leagues. Very few minor league ballparks can hold as many fans as Davis attracted to Williamsport this week, and one of the hallmarks of minor league baseball is the struggle to fill even the seats they have. At least a half dozen minor league owners would likely seize the opportunity to put Davis in their club, right now, when he’s just 13 years old. But do not worry; Major League affiliation agreements will not allow it.

Still, Davis’ success and the next thing he’s drawn in shows us just how ready America is to embrace and embrace a female baseball player in the currently all-male professional leagues. His genre may be a draw to fans, but only because we want to cheer on a road breaker. Rival teammates and players have already recognized that she is a good athlete and a worthy competitor. We have also seen this recognition in other sports that have become mixed, such as golf.

Perhaps in a decade or so, we will have a chance to see Davis play in the major leagues. The odds are against it, but someone has to go first, and she has shown as much potential as anyone else. One thing’s for sure: When that first player takes the field for a Major League team, a lot of people will be watching.