First D1 Woman Baseball Player

[Anonymous]

Congratulations to Olivia Pichardo. Such an accomplishment and so well deserved.


https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/35076550/brown-adds-first-woman-active-d1-baseball-varsity-roster?platform=amp

[Anonymous]

Saw this too. Baseball is one of the rare sports where men and women can compete more easily as it’s not all brute strength. While softball is a fine sport, it always grates on me that it was pushed on girls at the same time Little League officially across the board allowed girls to play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saw this too. Baseball is one of the rare sports where men and women can compete more easily as it’s not all brute strength. While softball is a fine sport, it always grates on me that it was pushed on girls at the same time Little League officially across the board allowed girls to play.

She stared on the Women's national team and now she's going to be a utility player at Brown? This doesn't seem like a sport that women can complete easily at men's level

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saw this too. Baseball is one of the rare sports where men and women can compete more easily as it’s not all brute strength. While softball is a fine sport, it always grates on me that it was pushed on girls at the same time Little League officially across the board allowed girls to play.

agree 100% on the baseball vs. softball. I wish both genders would just do baseball, even if it means separate leagues like soccer or basketball. I haven't seen a good justification why girls/women should do softball rather than baseball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this too. Baseball is one of the rare sports where men and women can compete more easily as it’s not all brute strength. While softball is a fine sport, it always grates on me that it was pushed on girls at the same time Little League officially across the board allowed girls to play.

agree 100% on the baseball vs. softball. I wish both genders would just do baseball, even if it means separate leagues like soccer or basketball. I haven't seen a good justification why girls/women should do softball rather than baseball.

DC Force is a girls Baseball team in the area - it's becoming more popular. Several girls on local travel teams as well. Agree with you, softball is a different skill set. Similar, but different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this too. Baseball is one of the rare sports where men and women can compete more easily as it’s not all brute strength. While softball is a fine sport, it always grates on me that it was pushed on girls at the same time Little League officially across the board allowed girls to play.

agree 100% on the baseball vs. softball. I wish both genders would just do baseball, even if it means separate leagues like soccer or basketball. I haven't seen a good justification why girls/women should do softball rather than baseball.

Softball and baseball are similar but different. I actually prefer softball because of the faster pace.

[Anonymous]

I'm a mom of a girl that started in baseball and is now a softball player. I do know another girl on the baseball team.

I'm happy girls are getting more options, but I would say softball has become such a great, supportive sport for girls that I don't want to denigrate it. Boys baseball is often pretty toxic and I'm actually glad my son dropped it -- both the boys and the dads can be pretty bad. Whereas girls' softball teams are really empowering -- it's a sport where all body types are welcome, and they really do play as a team.

Also the pitching in softball is somewhat easier on the shoulder and less likely to lead to rotator cuff problems by age 18. And I think the softball fast pitch has more power coming from the legs, which is a better fit for girls/women.

I do think softball can be frustrating for girls at the age 7-11 range -- both because it's actually harder to throw a fat softball across the diamond rather than a streamlined baseball, and because slow pitch is really impossible to learn, with very fickle ump calls on the arc. Boys baseball has a much better transition with pitch machines and so forth, so they don't lose as many boys to frustration at that age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this too. Baseball is one of the rare sports where men and women can compete more easily as it’s not all brute strength. While softball is a fine sport, it always grates on me that it was pushed on girls at the same time Little League officially across the board allowed girls to play.

agree 100% on the baseball vs. softball. I wish both genders would just do baseball, even if it means separate leagues like soccer or basketball. I haven't seen a good justification why girls/women should do softball rather than baseball.

Softball and baseball are similar but different. I actually prefer softball because of the faster pace.

Same. Love the smaller field. Also, as the mom of a pitcher, I prefer the healthier pitching motion. Far fewer injuries.

[Anonymous]

She is no Aaron Judge.

[Anonymous]

Wont mean anything until women can join the football team and get a free full ride!

[Anonymous]

Plenty of videos out there of former and current baseball players trying to hit a softball. Search Paige Halstead and Eric Sim, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plenty of videos out there of former and current baseball players trying to hit a softball. Search Paige Halstead and Eric Sim, for example.

Joan Joyce struck out Ted Williams and Hank Aaron.