NEWSLETTER
Maybe you never heard of the Australian Baseball League (ABL), but it is recognized as an official winter league for MLB and has played host to various big leaguers over the years. It’s a pro league.
For example: Liam Hendriks (2011), Didi Gregorius (2011), Kevin Kiermaier (2012), Mychal Givens (2012), Ji-Man Choi (2013), Keon Broxton (2014), Adam Engel (2015), Rhys Hoskins (2015), and even Ronald Acuña Jr. (2017), have made appearances.
And I tell you all that so that the full weight of this news is felt: The 2020 ABL Champion Melbourne Aces have signed Genevieve Beacom as a development player. She will be the first female pitcher in the league. It is huge, awesome news, and by the looks of her numbers, she has truly earned it:
Genevieve Beacom looks up to fellow pitcher, Gerrit Cole of the Yankees! pic.twitter.com/gwQjBFmyLh
— Farm To Fame (@FarmToFame_) January 2, 2022
From the Melbourne Aces announcement:
Beacom first made history when she became the first woman to pitch in a VSBL Division 1 Firsts game. The 17-year-old impressed many by recording a 0.00 ERA for the U16 State level at Sandringham.
The left-handed starting pitcher advanced to pitch at the Division 1 level with Baseball Victoria Summer League, becoming the first female to pitch in a Division 1 game. This follows many other firsts for Beacom as she was also the first female athlete to be named in the Baseball Victoria U16 squad to represent Victoria in 2018. She competed in the 2019 Australian Youth Championships in Sydney.
Melbourne Aces Head Coach Pete Moylan says he is thrilled to have Genevieve as part of the Aces Pitching Roster, “ I have watched this young lady develop as a baseballer from her junior days, including playing for Victoria and Australia, and doing more than holding her own against the top baseballers in the Country and from around the world. If anyone thinks this is just a token selection, then they need to think again because she has 100% earned her spot on the development list with the Melbourne Aces.”
According to the report, Beacom is hoping to parlay this experience and development into an opportunity to play college baseball in the U.S.A. in 2023: “I couldn’t believe it, I was so excited when Pete came up to me and told me the news I just couldn’t believe what was happening.”
Here’s a story on Beacom from five years ago, when she first started making history as a 12-year-old!
Tonight @SBSNews 7.15pm "Curve Ball" we talk to the 12-year old female @BaseballAust @BaseballVic prodigy, Genevieve Beacom #baseball pic.twitter.com/tPnrPRc23a
— Robert Grasso (@RobertGrasso) October 18, 2017
UPDATE: And now she’s made her debut with a scoreless inning of work.
