Can Women Play in the MLB?

While the MLB is often seen as a men’s league, and historically has been played as such, the question of whether or not a woman can play in the MLB is one that is asked repeatedly and often. 

In this article, we are going to review whether or not a woman can play in the MLB and why an MLB team may, or may not, choose to draft a female baseball player.

In addition, we are going to take a look at some of the best women baseball players to play the game of baseball and fully determine whether or not they would have had an opportunity to play in the MLB.

And lastly, we will be discussing just why no MLB team has recruited a female player and whether or not that is likely to change in the near future.

Has There Been a Women’s Professional Baseball League?

While, historically, the MLB has been seen as a men’s baseball league, the creation of the AAGPBL, or All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, was created to offer female baseball players an opportunity to compete at the highest levels.

Formed and established in 1943, the all-women’s league was originally founded by Philip K. Wrigley and existed until 1954.

As the forerunner of women’s professional sports in the United States, the league featured over 600 women and peaked in attendance in 1948 with over 900,000 spectators.

Originally envisioned to maintain baseball in the public eye while the majority of able men were away during World War II, the original founders feared for the future of the MLB due to the loss of talent and restrictions on team travel due to gasoline rationing.

Initially, the women’s tryouts were held at Wrigley Field in Chicago and many of the players were scouted from amateur softball games across the country. And although 200 women were invited to try out, only 60 made the cut.

Originally owned by chewing gum mogul Wrigley from 1943 to 1945, the league would transfer ownership to wealthy publicist Arthur Meyerhoff from 1945 to 1951, and the teams were then individually owned from 1951 to 1954.

In addition, the players salaries were above average for women and ranged from $45–$85 (or $705–$1331 in 2021 dollars) a week during the first years of play to about $125 (or $1305 in 2021 dollars) per week in later years.

However, the league enforced many strict dress code and modesty requirements on the players. This included requiring the players to attend Helena Rubinstein’s evening charm school classes and, in an effort to make each player as physically attractive as possible, each received a beauty kit and instructions on how to use it.

Similarly, as a part of the league’s ‘Rules of Conduct’, the athletes were not permitted to have short hair, nor could they smoke or drink in public places, nor were they allowed to wear pants, and they were required to wear lipstick at all times.

And although the league saw some moderate levels of success in its early years, that success was mainly attributed to marketing and advertising efforts by then owner Philip Wrigley.

However, after transfer of ownership to individual owners, and the responsibility of advertising falling on individual team managers, a lack of coordinated marketing and advertising efforts led to the league faltering and eventually shuttering.

What Does the MLB Rulebook Say About Women Playing in the League?

Simply basing the question as to whether or not a woman can play in the MLB based off of the current MLB rules and regulations, there is, in fact, no rule stating that players in the MLB must be of the male gender. 

In fact, based on the current rulebook and guidelines within the MLB, a player’s gender and gender identity is neither mentioned nor required to be male.

This means, that theoretically, a woman can be drafted and can play in the MLB.  And while few instances of this occurring have happened, it is not beyond the realm of possibility and is, in fact, a likely scenario if a female player of the proper caliber, strength, and baseball IQ comes along.

Top Women in the MLB

Although there has never been a women to play in the MLB, there are a few players to have general associations to the league and the minor league’s. Below is a list of the top women who have major associations and credentials to the MLB.

• Rachel Balkovec – Rachel Balkovec is an American minot league baseball manager within the New York Yankees organization. Named to the position in 2022, she is the first woman to work as a full-time manager of a major league-affiliated team.

• Kelsie Whitmore – Kelsie Whitmore is a professional baseball pitcher and outfielder for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. She is the first woman to appear in the starting lineup in the Atlantic League.

• Genevieve Beacom – Genevieve Beacom is an Australian baseball pitcher and, in 2022, became the first woman to pitch in the Australian Baseball League. Standing in at 6 feet 2 inches, she is able to throw a fastball at 84 miles-per-hour and plans to immigrate to the United States in 2023 to play college baseball.

• Sara Goodrum – Sara Goodrum is the Director of Player Development for the Houston Astros. She is also the first woman to hold the position of minor league hitting coordinator for a Major League Baseball team, which is the position she held prior for the Milwaukee Brewers.

• Kim Ng – Kim Ng is the first woman to serve as general manager of a team in any of the major professional sporting league’s in North America and the first person of East Asian descent to serve as a general manager of an MLB team. She currently serves as the general manager of the Miami Marlins.

• Alyssa Nakken – Alyssa Nakken is the first full-time female coach in MLB history and currently serves as a professional baseball coach for the San Francisco Giants.

Why Aren’t There More Women in the MLB?

It does seem, however, odd that no woman has ever played in the MLB. With the MLB having been founded nearly a century and a half ago, in 1876, one would assume that at least one woman was capable of playing in the league.

And while there are no rules stating that a woman cannot play in the MLB, there has yet to be one drafted or selected to join an MLB team.

But why exactly aren’t more women drafted to the MLB or any women to even play in the league?  And while the answer may appear straightforward, there are a few additional reasons why.

• Height – perhaps the most important reason as to why more women aren’t drafted to the MLB is simply due to height.  The average height of an MLB player is 6’1”.  And in the MLB, a league with many players standing in above 6-feet or more, height matters. From downward pitches to the ability to jump higher to catch a ball in the air, height is an important factor in baseball.

• Strength – in addition to the above, men, on average, have more strength than their female counterparts.  And in the MLB, and the game of baseball, strength plays a large role on both the offensive and defensive end.  And while many female players have great baseball IQ’s, the simple lack of proper strength, as compared to their male counterparts, makes them a vulnerability on the field. From catching a fast pitch to throwing the ball to get an out, strength is an essential requirement in baseball.

• Baseball Abilities – and lastly, men typically play baseball at a higher level than their female counterparts.  Quite simply, it comes down to physiology and muscle mass.  As men, typically, have more muscle mass than women, they are able to throw the ball further, hit the baseball harder, and make faster pitches than their female counterparts.

Could a Female Player be Drafted to the MLB?

Although women have not been overly represented in the MLB, it is not beyond the realm of possibility for a women baseball player to make it, or be drafted to, the MLB or to an MLB team.

While there are physical differences between male and female baseball players, a female baseball player who can effectively showcase their baseball skills and baseball IQ could be an invaluable resource for an MLB team.

And while male baseball players are generally faster and stronger, female players tend to be a bit more agile and have shown increased bursts of speed and quickness, skills that are essential in the major league’s.

Although time will only tell, we expect to see a female baseball player in the MLB within the next decade.