Ho hum, another biographical article of a major league player, this one appearing in the prestigious New Yorker of May 6.
Can we learn anything by reading this piece? Well, the player is a bit different from most; he wrote a book, he goes to art museums, and despite being a millionaire he sometimes takes public transportation. He had some bad things happen to him as a child; he’s got a knuckleball and a good fastball; and he’s just been sold to another team. His wife is tired of rental housing and plans to write a book about that.
Otherwise, the subject of this article does not present us with a smashing new story.
There is, however, an entirely new baseball story that could be written if the New Yorker could be persuaded to look into it. I refer to the fact that during 2012 two young women pitchers played on their college (men’s) varsity teams.
Now, that’s unique.
These young women have already played on elite women’s teams in national and international baseball tournaments. During 2012 they were the only females in the Unites States playing for varsity college teams. The subject of the New Yorker article can’t beat that.
Who and where are these unusual young women? Marti Sementelli pitched for the varsity of Montreat College in Asheville, N.C. Ghazaleh Sailors pitches for the varsity of the University of Maine – Presque Isle. Sailors is still there. Sementelli moved to the women’s softball club of her college.
I’m certainly wondering how they managed, how their teammates accepted them, and why Sementelli changed to women’s softball. Everything about the situation is new, isn’t it?
If the New Yorker wants a really unique baseball story instead of the same old male biographies of male millionaire players, a reporter could find out what happened with these two pitchers.