I don’t play as much as everybody else, but being in the dugout, being with the family is something I’ll miss forever.”. And it wasn't just any baseball, either. THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION. Sign Up To Receive Our News In Your Inbox! Outside of Durant, Baker’s baseball career has taken her places that many young players dream of. A perfect example of the fluid nature of the game’s history can be found in the subject of girls and women in baseball. 2021 PG Invitational National Championship, 2021 Prep Class Rankings Risers Part 1: Hitters, Lee County Sports Organizing Committee (all Fort Myers, FL events), Potential very high draft pick and/or Elite level college prospect, Potential top 10 round pick and/or highest level college prospect, Potential draft pick and/or excellent college prospect, College prospect, possible future draft pick with development, Possible College prospect and/or possible HS varsity. Now Playing: Teen Girl Joins Men's Minor League Team, This 13-year-old is bringing new meaning to the phrase "throw like a girl. COVID-19 Update. Among them are fellow knuckleball pitcher Frank Viola III, who plays professionally as a minor leaguer in the Blue Jays organization. Check out Chelsea Baker's high school sports timeline including game updates while playing baseball at Durant High School from 2013 through 2015. "If I don't get any offers, I can always just go to college for school," she says. “I’ve played baseball for years and years, and I’ve never had brothers like them, people that will stick up for me. She estimates she throws the knuckleball about 45 percent of the time, but Viola says her best chance to succeed at the highest level is to make it 90 percent. This 17-year-old is already making sports history. 2021 PG Invitational National Championship, 2021 Prep Class Rankings Risers Part 1: Hitters, Lee County Sports Organizing Committee (all Fort Myers, FL events), Potential very high draft pick and/or Elite level college prospect, Potential top 10 round pick and/or highest level college prospect, Potential draft pick and/or excellent college prospect, College prospect, possible future draft pick with development, Possible College prospect and/or possible HS varsity. She’s appeared on television many times, striking out former Boston Red Sox player Kevin Millar and throwing batting practice for the Tampa Bay Rays live on SportsCenter. “The nice thing to see right now is the continued attention Chelsea Baker is getting,” says Heaphy, “which may be because writers and news stations are more attuned and looking for these stories because of Davis.”. She is seen here with (left to right) Steve Bandura, founder/coach of the Anderson Monarchs, Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson and Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, one of just three women in play in the Negro Leagues. COVID-19 Update. Forty-two years before Davis’ arrival in the Little League World Series, there existed little equality in Little League. Chelsea Baker stands next to the jersey she donated to the Hall of Fame after pitching perfect game for her youth baseball team on April 9, 2010. "I can go to Japan and play. The young person’s guide to conquering (and saving) the world. In April of 2000, Academy Award-winning actress, Teresa Wright, paid a visit to Cooperstown. The camaraderie among the Cougars is, perhaps, Baker’s favorite thing about the team. As the Museum celebrates Women’s History Month in March, we take a look at some trailblazers who left their mark in Cooperstown. On-site and Virtual Field Trip curriculum. In all her years of playing, she says she’s never played on a team like this one. The pitch requires Chelsea to grip the ball securely with the nails of her right middle and index fingers—so even though she has a habit of biting her nails, she always keeps those two immaculate. There have been numerous female baseball pioneers over the years, including pitcher-turned doctor Alta Weiss, the celebrated Jackie Mitchell (who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game) and Ila Borders, the first woman to win a minor league matchup. She wasn't supposed to … It was also Chelsea who came to the funeral viewing services and left a baseball in Niekro's open casket. Chelsea Baker Class of 2016 Perfect Game Player Profile. In order to receive a PG Grade, players must attend a Showcase to complete their full evaluation. Then, to cap off a series of stories that made her a national sensation, Davis became the first Little Leaguer to earn a place on the cover of Sports Illustrated. She's gotten to the top of the youth baseball world by throwing her signature knuckleball, a relatively slow, spin-less pitch that wobbles on its way to the plate and drives batters crazy with its unpredictable movement. Even now as a teenager, Mo’ne Davis has already taken her place next to those notable trailblazers – with perhaps additional accomplishments to come. "He said, 'Don't be a pitcher with a knuckleball—be a knuckleball pitcher,'" Chelsea explains. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. After he passed away when she was 10 years old, she says her goal was "to perfect this knuckleball for Coach Joe, and that's what got me here." She wasn't supposed to play exhibitions in Japan or earn an offer to join a women's professional league there. That began to change last August 10, when she led the Taney Dragons to a win in the Mid-Atlantic regional finals, pushing her team into the LLWS. The Pepe ruling opened the door for many young girls to participate, ultimately setting the stage for Davis in 2014. The senior reliever, as of press time, is 2-2 with a 2.39 ERA and eight strikeouts this season. Teen Vogue covers the latest in celebrity news, politics, fashion, beauty, wellness, lifestyle, and entertainment. Davis is a talented athlete at baseball, basketball and soccer, raising the possibility that she could become a two-sport star in college. I love it.”. It was the same jersey that Davis wore in becoming the first girl to win a game and pitch a shutout in Little League postseason competition. Chelsea is a girl baseball player facing all the boys. All rights reserved. The history of women playing the game of baseball dates back to at least the 1860s, when Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. fielded a team. She’s been to Japan to take on some of the best all-girls’ teams from the Land of the Rising Sun, and was most recently invited to try out for the U.S. Women’s National Team last year. "She's one of the best in the country as a high school baseball player," he says. It was a scuffed baseball, with four tiny and barely visible fingernail marks along the seams, exactly where he taught her to grip it. Chelsea Baker. Message from Jerry Ford. Mo'ne Davis donated a jersey she wore at the 2014 Little League Baseball World Series. "It was cool to see another girl throw the knuckleball," says Chelsea. Listed at five feet, three inches tall, she was called “Peanut” because of her diminutive height and weight. When she tried out for the varsity team, coach Butch Valdez assured her she'd be treated just like any other player: "He said, 'I don't want you to think if you make the team it's because you're a girl, or if you don't make the team it's because you're a girl. After all, the craziest things can happen. 2.1K likes. It can’t be that the only time women get attention is when a young lady is on the national stage.”, Another young girl, Chelsea Baker of Plant City, Fla., has been making headlines because of her success throwing the knuckleball at the high school level. To revisit this article, select My⁠ ⁠Account, then View saved stories. "Besides [former Red Sox pitcher] Tim Wakefield, I don't think anyone else on earth can take the spin off a baseball better than Chelsea Baker, including me," he says. Only it doesn't seem so crazy that Chelsea could be the first. “I’ve come here a lot, and it’s really cool to see all the jerseys, and now to see my jersey will be amazing.”. I'm just going with the flow and seeing where things take me. Outside of Durant, Baker’s baseball career has taken her places that many young players dream of. He had played at Feyenoord since age 12 after joining the club from ADO Den Haag.. Aké made his Premier League debut on 26 December 2012 against Norwich City as a 17-year-old, replacing Juan Mata in added time at the end of a 1–0 win at Carrow Road. But maybe someday we'll see a girl making those hulking big-leaguers swing and miss. Perfect Game scouts assign a PG grade to all players that are evaluated at a PG Showcase. Baker is looking forward to graduation and starting the next chapter of her life, but this chapter is something she’ll always flip back to and remember fondly. "I know the odds are really low for me," she says, "but I'm just going to keep working.". The craziest things happen.". But her favorite baseball memories come from being a member of the Durant Cougars. Now when she goes to watch younger players, she sees "four or five girls playing on some of the teams, and it's awesome to see them out there. Late last summer, the Hall’s Education Department needed to revise its videoconference module, “Dirt on Their Skirts: Women in Baseball,” to reflect the latest developments in the sport. ", {"duration":"2:12","description":"This 13-year-old is bringing new meaning to the phrase \"throw like a girl.\"","mediaType":"default","section":"ABCNews/WNT","id":"11240980","title":"Chelsea Baker: One of Little League's Best Pitchers","url":"/WNT/video/chelsea-baker-league-best-pitcher-girl-knuckle-ball-baseball-kid-11240980"}. “, The attention she has gotten has certainly been great for women’s baseball opportunities,” says Heaphy, a professor at Kent State University and the author of four books on baseball. You won't be able to get outs at this level. Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com. Over the long term, this could encourage more high schools and colleges to field baseball teams for girls and women. "My whole life, when we'd warm up and stuff, I didn't talk to anyone," she says of previous teams. So Maria and her family sued Little League. Chelsea Baker is one of the best pitchers in Little League. Ad Choices. Percentile is calculated with your top result against other top results recorded in the same year from players in the same grad year class. Event Guidelines. Perfect Game scouts assign a PG grade to all players that are evaluated at a PG Showcase. Connect with us for a Virtual trip to Cooperstown. In September, the Little League sensation and frequent visitor to the Hall of Fame came back to Cooperstown for a very specific reason: to participate in a ceremony and donate her Little League World Series jersey to the Museum’s collection. Heaphy sees a connection between Baker and Davis. “I know I’m going to Virginia this summer, for a week, to play with a travel ball team. Club career Chelsea Early career. “Baseball keeps me sane.

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