girls baseball players with the same resources that boys have enjoyed for many years. One of the most impressive initiatives that they have started is the Breakthough Series. Olivia attended last year’s event and I was awestruck by the experience.
I’ve written about how out of roughly half a million boys who play high school baseball, only a little over 1,000 girls do the same. For this event, last year, a little over 60 girls took part in it – and they were some of the best baseball players from around the country.
When we applied to attend for this year, the first thing I noticed is that the application process was much more like a college recruiting form. The first time around it was a very simple and straightforward form, but now it was much more involved.
For example, when you selected your primary position, that question was followed by a box asking for video of the player playing that position. Additionally, information such as current high school team, travel team and coach’s email and the like was also part of the vetting process.
The difference in skill level from last year has increased dramatically. The more girls that learn that they can keep playing baseball, the more girls we will see sticking through it exclusively from little league to high school. When we have girls playing baseball all through, the skill level will continue to rise along with the number of girls who are playing this game.
The highlight of the Breakthrough Series for me, an spectator, was seeing Dmitry Young giving instructions to my daughter! I grew up watching him play when I was my daughter’s age. Never in my life would I have guessed I would be sitting out here in Dodgertown watching him work with my own baseball player!
We are extremely grateful for the opportunities MLB Develops and USA baseball, along with all of their amazing staff, have provided to these girls – who have persevered in the face of adversity to keep playing a sport they love.