Teenager baseball pitcher to break Mexico gender wall

[Judi Lynn]

Teenager baseball pitcher to break Mexico gender wall
•13 Dec 2015 at 02:45 9 viewed0 comments
• WRITER: AFP

MéRIDA (MEXICO) - With her 78-mile-per-hour fastball, teenager Rosa Maria del Castillo became the first female pitcher in a Mexican semi-pro men's baseball league, breaking the gender barrier in a notoriously macho society.


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Rosa María del Castillo, the first woman pitcher
playing in a local professional league for the
Tamanche Bluejays, poses on December 6, 2015
in Merida, Mexico
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The right-hander's pitch repertoire includes a fastball, a curveball and a change-up -- not bad for an 18-year-old who stands barely 1.72 meters (5.6 feet) tall.

"I want to believe that more doors will begin to open for women in baseball, although it won't happen quickly," she told AFP, her dark curly hair flowing behind her blue baseball cap.

"Rosy," as she is better known, plays for the Azulejos of Tamanche, a team in the Liga Meridana in the Caribbean coast state of Yucatan, where professionals play during the winter break.

More:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/sports/792701/

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LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141287879

[Dr. Xavier]

1. I wish her all the luck in the world but

a word of caution, male athletes tend to be very macho and conservative so she better be prepared for hits coming right back at her. I played baseball my whole life, I was a second baseman since I was seven and the attitude is that anything goes between the white lines. And trust me when you play second base, you see a lot of hard slides. Pitchers are vulnerable as well, to hits sent right back at them. Not only that but imagine what a pitcher can do, when she's up to bat. Be prepared Rosy y buena suerte.

[Mnemosyne]

2. Grandad coached Little League in the '60's and I wanted so desperately to play. He called me the

mascot so I could at least sit on the bench. He would have let me play, if it had been up to him.

Ran into more bs in 9th grade, wanted to be a plumber, like my great grandfather, and they would not allow a girl into that tech program.

Best of luck to Rosy for breaking through the sexist wall!

[Xipe Totec]

3. !Bolas! nt