Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle believes Major League Baseball will break another barrier one day.
“I still believe firmly,” Hurdle said, per John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times, via ESPNW.com‘s Matt Eisenberg, “there is going to be a day where there is a female player in the big leagues.”
Friday was MLB‘s annual day during which the league honors Jackie Robinson for his legacy both on and off the baseball field. Hurdle said before Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers that the celebration of the contributions Robinson made extends beyond race.
“This isn’t just an African-American celebration,” Hurdle said, per Perrotto. “This is about the opening of doors for everybody.”
As years have passed, women have made breakthroughs in male-dominated sports. Naismith Hall of Fame player and coach Nancy Lieberman is currently an assistant with the Sacramento Kings in the NBA, as is former WNBA star Becky Hammon for the San Antonio Spurs.
Jen Welter also made NFL history last year when she joined the Arizona Cardinals as a coaching intern, and the Buffalo Bills hired Kathryn Smith to be the first full-time female NFL coach ever.
On the playing field, however, there has been less progress. Women have played predominantly male sports on the high school and college levels with men, but nothing in the professional ranks yet. Last June, 16-year-old Melissa Mayeux, a French shortstop on the under-18 junior national squad, made headlines when she became the first woman on MLB’s international registration list.
There is some evidence of progress in the major leagues, but it may still take years before a female player or coach becomes a reality.
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