Although we don’t always think of baseball as the most progressive sport, there is something about the nature of the game that lends itself to welcoming all kinds. Anyone can play baseball. Anyone can enjoy baseball. Anyone can talk about baseball.
And, to the Seattle Mariners, anyone – anyone with sufficient skills, that is – can scout baseball.
The team recently hired Amanda Hopkins, a former college softball player and member of their front office, to be a full-time scout. According to CWU, where she played ball, Hopkins is believed to be the first full-time female scout since the 1950s.
It’s outstanding to see Hopkins get a chance to step into a traditionally male-dominated role (and, let’s be both obvious and honest, sport) and succeed on merit without regard to her sex. You don’t to look too far to see women enjoying, pondering, analyzing, and discussing baseball just as men do, so this is both an encouraging and completely expected step by the Mariners.
Still, good on them. And good on Hopkins. Best of luck to her, and maybe she’ll open doors for others.
For more on Hopkins’ story and background, read here and here.
Image via CWU.