The 23 year old Kelsie Whitmore made history in the League of Atlantic Baseball by becoming the first woman to start a game, and the first to do so in one of the leagues related to the Major Leagues.
Whitmore played in left field for the Staten Island Ferry Hawks, going 0-for-2 and reaching base on a pitch. In his first official at-bat he struck out, in the second at-bat he struck out at first for being hit in the arm and on the third and last at-bat she hit a fly ball to right field.
Kelsie Whitmore became the first woman to start a game in @AtlanticLg history, ninth at bat and in the outfield left for the @FerryHawks.
My opinion: the only sport that should combine men and women is chess 🤷🏻 ♀️ pic.twitter.com/OLQfFuiC9G– Diana🆓🇨🇺 (@veliz_diana) May 1, 2019
After finishing her last at-bat she was traded for a pinch hitter in her team’s loss 10 runs by 5. This wasn’t Whitmore’s first game, having started as a pinch runner the past 21 in April with two outs in the ninth inning.
The American is a player who can be in the outfield and can also throw. Whitmore has been working with pitching coach and former Major League Baseball player Nelson Figueroa, though he has yet to do his duty. ut pitching for Staten Island.
Whitmore is a former softball player at Cal State Fullerton, later signing a contract with Staten Island. An important moment for women in baseball after several historic moments in the Minor Leagues and in the Major Leagues.
#BaseballHistory did you know that last night Kelsie Whitmore pinch-run in the 9th inning becoming the 1st woman to play in a professional league affiliated with MLB. Whitmore plays for Staten Island in the Atlantic League #MGLD pic.twitter.com/c8Uk29XJdY
— I Like Sports (@Palillito_33) April 21,
“I am grateful for all the opportunities that have been given to me,” said Whitmore before the season. “This one, by far, I am looking forward to, because it is the next level for me”, said the player from 23 years of age at the beginning of the campaign.
In April, Alyssa Nakken became the first woman to coach the San Francisco Giants. Previously, Rachel Balkovec became manager of the Class A New York Yankees and won her first game as manager of an MLB affiliate team.
Whitmore was a pitcher and outfielder with the United States women’s baseball team from 2014 to 2019 and then spent two seasons with the Sonoma Stompers of the independent Pacific Association.
Atlantic League teams are not affiliated with Major League Baseball, but the circuit is an associated league of the MLB.
“My goal is to play baseball at the highest level,” said Whitmore
“Eventually, I want to play affiliate ball. I want to make this game my career, my life and just, you know, be a part of it as much as I can.”
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