Girls, Baseball, & Video Games

I'm sure this will inspire rational discussion.

“There’s no crying in baseball!” (Image credit: A League of Their Own/Columbia Pictures)

Recently, MLB The Show caused a minor firestorm when it announced the latest version of the game will feature playable women characters in a new storyline mode. Similar to last year’s version, which allowed gamers to do the same with a handful of Negro Leagues greats, this mode was inspired by Kelsie Whitmore, the first female player in an MLB Partnered League, and Toni Stone, Connie Morgan, and Mamie Johnson, three women who played in the late stages of the Negro Leagues.

Cue a bunch of guys complaining so loud on social media they can be heard on the International Space Station. These are the same guys who create a ripped, funhouse mirror version of themselves in the game, then tweak the settings so they can hit 80 home runs and turn the Colorado Rockies into a dynasty. But according to them, women playing pro ball is unrealistic.

Never mind that Toni Stone, Connie Morgan, and Mamie Johnson actually played professional baseball. It’s an undisputed fact. But, of course, these jerks will argue it was at the tail end of the Negro Leagues era, and the only reason they got a shot is because MLB was draining the Negro Leagues teams of their players. Okay, fine. And if you throw Kelsie Whitmore in their face, they’ll argue the Atlantic League isn’t the majors. All right. Whatever.

So, for the moment, let’s set aside that all four of those women in their prime were/are more talented at baseball than the vast majority of men on the planet, including almost all of the men whining about their presence in The Show. And yes, I’m aware there are basic physiological differences between men and women. For the sake of argument, let’s assume we all took middle school health class. A woman is unlikely to debut on a major league field anytime soon, but that’s beside the point.

The point is inclusion, and inclusion matters. I fully admit that as a white dude I take it for granted that pretty much everything is open to me. But when you’re not used to seeing people who look like you do something, it’s a big deal when it actually happens. Even if it’s just in a video game. And that’s what is at the heart of all this— getting new people excited about baseball. If you’re threatened by that, all I can say is get a life.

I don’t buy into the whole baseball is dying thing. According to one person or another, baseball has been dying for as long as it’s been around. But the game is far from thriving. Sure, the players and owners make plenty of money, and obviously large amounts of cash are being tossed around the game. But look at regularly half-empty stadiums, compare the number of games on national TV to a few decades ago, or think about how difficult it can be just to watch your local team on TV, and most importantly, talk to kids.

Old school curmudgeons want to put the blame for baseball’s problems on the kids. The kids have no attention span, kids don’t have traditional values, kids blah blah blah. They never want to look in the mirror and consider the possibility that the game does have some issues. And God forbid MLB tries to address some of these problems. To be fair, MLB usually does screw up these sorts of things, but what The Show is doing is a way to improve the health of the game without tinkering with the sport itself.

If you don’t think that’s true, you’re not paying attention. Look no further than Taylor Swift. Full disclosure, I am most definitely not a Swiftie. But while the same guys complaining about The Show were throwing tantrums over the NFL cutting away to Taylor Swift for a grand total of thirty seconds every game, the NFL, already the biggest and most successful sport in America, was introducing itself to a whole new demographic of fans, many of them young girls.

Fathers and daughters bonded over football because of Swift, and I’m willing to bet many of those girls will turn into lifelong fans, even though the chances of a woman playing professional football any time soon are far lower than a female baseball player. But girls (and frankly, many non-football fans who aren’t girls) saw themselves being represented in the NFL for the first time, even if it was in an indirect manner. That stuff matters.

The Show isn’t operating on quite the same scale, and unless Vinnie Pasquantino can steal Taylor Swift away from Travis Kelce (and yes, I’m aware Vinnie is married, that’s not the point), I doubt MLB will receive the same kind of bump. But it’s a step in the right direction. The odds of any young girl playing The Show ever making it to the majors are long, but who cares? So were the odds of me ever making it when I was playing Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball on the SNES back in the day. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t make it.) But it’s the connection provided by the game, and the hopes and dreams behind it, that fuel fandom. Why would you want to take that away from anyone?

I could point out it’s just a video game, and you’re not even required to play that storyline. If you’re an old guy like me, or if you’re fundamentally opposed to women playing even make-believe baseball, no one is making you suit up as a girl. If you think the very notion is ridiculous, you’re entitled to your opinion. But you don’t have to be a jerk about it. None of this hurts you in any way.

Baseball, even the real-life version, is just a game, and everyone is welcome.

We all deserve the chance to dream, and if that upsets you, please keep in mind these wise words from a baseball icon.

There’s no crying in baseball.

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Thanks for reading Powder Blue Nostalgia and allowing me to get on my soapbox. I promise I won’t make a habit of it. Please feel free to discuss the subject in the comments below, though I’ll warn you right now if the best you can do is “gIrLs CaN’t PlAy BaSeBaLl,” I’m probably not going to respond. I hope to get my predictions for 2024 out before Opening Day on Thursday, and then we’ll get back to my bread and butter, baseball history.