WASHINGTON (AP) — Mo’ne Davis admitted she was nervous ahead of her tryout for the Women’s Pro Baseball League.
The former Little League sensation was among 600 players who arrived at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy on Friday to compete for roster spots in the six-team circuit, which is set to launch next year.
Davis, the first girl to earn a win as a pitcher in the Little League World Series, is no stranger to the spotlight. Now 24, she hasn’t played competitively in about five years, and she said her jitters subsided as soon as she reached the field.
“I’ve been here plenty of times. I’ve played here plenty of times,” said Davis, who did work in the outfield and took batting practice. “Seeing familiar faces — that kind of calmed me down a little bit.”
Justine Siegal, a WPBL co-founder, kicked off Day 1 of the league’s open tryouts by addressing the players.
“We are standing on the shoulders of other pioneers,” Siegal said. “Now, it’s your time.”
Women from 10 countries including Japan, Australia and Mexico were expected to show up for the four-day showcase, which began Friday with a series of sessions led by league adviser and former United States women’s baseball team star Alex Hugo. Exercises ranged from baserunning drills to bullpen work and will conclude with a game Monday at the Washington Nationals’ ballpark.
Participants ranged in age from 17 to 57 and included both former and current athletes with varying skill levels. There were also baseball superstars, including national team players.
Davis tried out in center field and took part in a bullpen session.
“It feels great just to see so many women come out who love the sport,” she said, “who are getting the opportunity to play the sport professionally. It’s really cool to see. I really can’t wait to just get out there.”
From softball fields to baseball dreams
Allison Dougherty was so excited for the weekend showcase that she came to to the ballpark a day before her tryout to take in the action.
“If you’re a baseball lover and you’re a woman, this is probably the biggest moment of our lives, to be honest,” she said.
A Tampa, Florida, native, Dougherty owns two restaurants but is ready to balance her business career with a potential shot at pro ball. She’ll take the field Saturday, trying out at first base.
“I was forced to play softball because I’m a woman,” said Dougherty, who played at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. “When I saw that the opportunity came to play baseball, that really spoke to me because that’s the game I prefer to play. And I’ve never had the opportunity to pursue baseball. So I’m just so excited to have the opportunity.”
Heather Strong, a 32-year-old flight attendant from Palmer, Massachusetts, heard about the tryouts through social media. Strong played Little League baseball alongside boys until she got to high school, where she was also forced to switch to softball.
“Which sucked,” added Strong, who plays in a women’s slow-pitch softball league. “I played with the boys (in Little League). All the boys went to the high school baseball team, and I had to switch to softball and learn a whole different game.”
Strong was confident about her performance Friday morning, and hopes to at least make it to Day 2. If she doesn’t, she appreciates being a part of history.
“I just came to be a part of something that means a lot to not only people before me that played baseball, but the younger generations coming up,” Strong said. “This means the world to little girls everywhere. No matter where they come from, no matter who they are.”
Veteran players help guide the tryouts
Some players who have already signed with the league — including Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato and Canadian standout Alli Schroder — were on the field Friday helping out the hopefuls.
Other coaches came from all over the baseball world.
Tamara Holmes could hardly imagine her 43-year career in baseball leading her to the first pro women’s tryouts in 80 years.
Holmes, who played for the Colorado Silver Bullets women’s team from 1996-98, was one of the coaches helping on Friday.
“I don’t think it hit me as much until I got here and saw this first group,” Holmes said after the morning session. “It’s not every day that you get a chance to be one of the first to attend something. I definitely had more respect for that when I got here and realized the extent of it.”
Holmes expects a large portion of the player pool will consist of softball players who will make the transition to baseball, which she described as a much slower sport.
“It has been my experience over the years that baseball players make excellent softball players,” she noted. “The transition the other way can be a little bit hard, but there are certainly a lot of women that have the ability to do that.”
Most of the women who try out likely won’t make the league, but Holmes said that most players were there for “an amazing experience and to say that I did it.”
“I respect anyone that would come out on the field with a moving ball and have either a little experience or it’s been 20 years,” she said. “I don’t know personally that I could do that.”
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