By Josh
Please check out the first article in this series before you read this one Women In Baseball Part 1 (Players)
By Josh:
A few months ago the Seattle Mariners hired the first full time female scout in Major League Baseball in the last 60 years. She isn’t the first full time female scout in MLB history but her hiring in this position is one of notice. It raises a few questions that have been talked about including ‘can a women scout as well as guys’ and ‘can a women ever be a coach in professional baseball?’
Do I think women can and should be scouts for professional baseball teams? Oh heck yes I do.
I’ve met and known women who know the game of baseball as well and better than a lot of guys. Scouting is about knowing what to look for in a player and determining if that player has the potential to be more.
Being a guy doesn’t give you a special knowledge of determining skills. Yes, guys play baseball and so they know (sometimes) from experience what they are seeing and expecting from players. I get that and agree that having played the game can be a huge asset when scouting. However, there are scouts who never played at a high level but still know what they are seeing. Women can do that just as well as men if they put in the time to study and learn like any other scout.
This leads to my next question. Should / could there ever be a female coach in Major League Baseball?
I think some day we could see a female coach in some capacity at the Major League level. (There has already been a female batting practice pitcher and the A’s hired a female coach to work at the instructional league.) I know a lot of people instantly think that if a female was the coach that the guys wouldn’t listen and would just ignore her. I hear that argument and I see where it is coming from.
However, if a Major League team felt a woman had the knowledge and skills to be there I have no doubt that the guys would listen. Why? Because they are professionals and want to win and you know what happens when you don’t listen to a coach? You sit. If you’re a minor league player you get cut and sent home.
I really think if you get a woman who is knowledgeable, confident and prepared to take a lot of criticism, she could be successful as a coach.
I know that there are women who are fierce competitors and have a great intensity and could easily handle it. Heck a couple months ago I got the opportunity to listen to Danielle Lawrie from Base By Pros speak about her career and teaching on softball pitching and her intensity was unbelievable even in that setting. And you know who was there being taught? Male coaches who were listening to everything she had to say because they knew she was knowledgeable, was a winner and she had the respect of everyone in the room.
Competitors want to win and if a female coach can help them win then they will listen.