Kelsie Whitmore: One of the Game’s Rare Two-Way Players
Babe Ruth, Shohei Otani... and Kelsie Whitmore
Kelsie Whitmore was the only woman playing professional baseball on a men’s team in North America this season. The 24-year-old native of Temecula, CA has played baseball all her life. She is devoted to the game and has played at every level, from tee ball to “men’s” professional baseball. She has a relentless work ethic, an inexhaustible drive to play, and a deep love for the game. She’s building a path for herself and others, one step at a time. She signed with the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League on April 8, and played with them for the entire season, with a brief July hiatus when she joined the U.S. Women’s National Team in a friendship series vs. Canada.
While she is currently the most accomplished woman playing professional baseball, she is not the first, and if she has her way, she won’t be the last. She’s part of a groundswell of women and girls playing the game not just in America, but all over the world. For example, there are seven women currently playing college baseball in the United States, including pitcher Skylar Kaplan of St. Mary’s College in Maryland. Kaplan is not the first woman to play at St. Mary’s — she’s the third. When first baseman Julie Croteau made the team as a freshman in 1989, she was a true pioneer, and it can certainly get lonely being the only female member of a men’s team.
Croteau, along with pitcher Lee Anne Ketcham, went on to play for the Maui Stingrays of the Hawaii Winter league, an MLB-affiliated league, in 1995. They may have inspired Ila Borders, then pitching at Southern California College, who went on to a four-year professional career, becoming the first woman to start—and win—a minor league baseball game, pitching for the Duluth-Superior Dukes. There were also three women, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, Connie Morgan, and Toni Stone, who played in the Negro leagues in the 1950s. When Hank Aaron left the Indianapolis Clowns for the Braves farm system, Stone was his replacement.
When I worked as the director of research for the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, I was part of an eight-person curatorial team that developed Diamond Dreams, an exhibit on women in baseball. As we studied the game’s history we noticed that from the 1860s on, there were dozens of women who were credited as “the first” to achieve particular milestones in baseball history. Sensationalized for a brief moment, they were later forgotten, and then decades later another woman would be credited as the first to do the same thing. We noticed that every time a woman (or girl) pushed through a door in baseball, the door would swing shut behind them, and when the media spotlight diminished, these women were forgotten.
“I want to be able to create opportunities,” she says. “I want to continue playing this game, but hopefully girls don’t have to go through all those things that I had to go through. I’d like to make their lives easier.”
The current world for women and girls in baseball feels different, as groups and individuals are building critical mass to earn their place in the game. Kelsie Whitmore would like to be a part of that. “I want to be able to create opportunities,” she says. “I want to continue playing this game, but hopefully girls don’t have to go through all those things that I had to go through. I’d like to make their lives easier.”
Helping her achieve that goal is the fact that, like Babe Ruth then and Shohei Otani now, Kelsie is a true two-way player. She racked up a number of firsts for Staten Island this year. She made her debut as a pinch-runner, becoming the first woman to play in the MLB-affiliated Atlantic League. Her pitching debut was dramatic: Manager Edgardo Alfonzo called on her with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth to face former Cardinals and Angels big leaguer Ryan Jackson. Her first pitch was a ball, followed quickly by two called strikes, before Jackson flew out to end the inning.
I had a chance to catch up with Kelsie as the calendar turned from August to September; and two days later she made history yet again, by banging out her first Atlantic League hit, a two-out, bases empty line drive single to left field. All in all, she pitched in 11 games for the FerryHawks in 2022, while playing in 30 others.
TIM WILES: You have a unique perspective on baseball and softball, having played softball in college, and baseball for the rest of your life. Why is baseball your preference and how are the two games different?
KESLIE WHITMORE: I’ve always chosen baseball. Growing up, it was always what I would do with my brother and my dad in the front yard or playing wiffleball inside the house with my brother. Once you fall in love with it, it’s hard to fall out of love with it. That’s just how the game has always been for me. Growing up it was one of those things that I enjoyed physically doing. As I got older, I began to really enjoy the mental side of it, how hard it is, and learning the IQ of the game — the behind-the-scenes parts — and the strategies behind everything. Also, the biomechanics, whether I’m hitting or pitching, and all the little technical details. It just becomes something you’ve done for so long that it’s like, ‘How could you live without it?’
TW: When you were switching back and forth between baseball and softball during your college years, did that affect your swing, your mechanics, or your mental approach?
KW: Mechanically, no. I didn’t really think the mechanics of pitching or throwing were any different. It was more the timing of pitches and the movement of the pitches that were different. I didn’t really play much softball other than in college. At the end of the day, you still gotta put the ball in play, score runs and hustle. The field dimensions and ball size are different, and pitches come in a little differently.
TW: A female baseball writer once complained that a lot of schools and municipal sports programs consider baseball and softball to be equivalent sports, for the purposes of Title IX. She scoffed at the notion and said that they are the same sport, just like tennis and ping pong are the same sport. Have you run into that comparison before?
KW: I don’t believe they’re the same sport. If they were the same sport the dimensions would be the same. The balls would be the same size and would be thrown the same way. I’d say there are similarities, but they’re not the same sport. The concept is the same. I experienced them differently. I get a different feeling playing one versus the other.
TW: Can you recall the first time you saw the movie “A League of Their Own,” how old you were, and if it affected you?
KW: I was around 12-years-old when I first saw that movie and I absolutely loved it. I’d heard about the League, but hearing things is different than seeing things, and it was really cool to see it. Even though I knew I wasn’t watching the real players — it was just a movie —it was based on true events. It was cool to be able to relate to that and feel it and know that there were women before me that played baseball. It was a great movie, and it inspired and motivated me. I loved seeing the parts that showed the grind of playing baseball. I liked that they showed women dealing with adversity. I almost had a sense of jealousy, seeing them being able to play as a group of women. That feeling is how I feel when I’m with the National Team — a group of women playing baseball. There’s no better feeling than that. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time, and it never gets old.
TW: I assume you’ve had the chance to meet several women who played in the AAGPBL?
KW: I’ve been able to meet a few of them. One with whom I’m the closest is Maybelle Blair. She’s awesome. She’s a baseball lifer and it’s so cool to know someone who grew up with the same passion, the same love for the game and to know everything that she’s been through. She’s never let it fade. Even to this day she is still involved. She’s probably more involved now than she was then. I’ve had conversations with her and we’re able to relate. It just shows you how baseball is timeless. It stays the same game and people who love it have the same love for it. It’s awesome that those women who are still with us are still a part of it.
TW: Do you have any favorite players who are role models for you, whether male or female?
KW: Growing up, Jackie Robinson was a player that I loved. I’ve always admired him, with all the things that he had to go through and the player that he was. He was seen as someone different and he didn’t allow that to stop him from doing what he loved. He just pushed through and that was inspiring to me. I’m a big fan of Michael Lorenzen who is with the Angels. He was a two-way player for a while in college and he went to the same school as me (Cal State Fullerton). Mike Trout is someone that I also look up to, as a player, as a role model. He’s so humble and he competes. Mookie Betts. I just love the way he plays. He grinds and is super athletic.
TW: What did you study in college? Knowing you, you used your studies to further your approach to baseball?
KW: I was a kinesiology major and I applied it to baseball all the time. I loved learning about the human body, how it works and how it moves. One of my favorite classes, also one of the hardest, was biomechanics, seeing how the body works. That was during the time that I really started to study the game a lot more. After every class I’d have practice and it was crazy how I was able to relate what I learned in class to how I was moving on the field, or when it came to injuries. We had classes on motor control and the mental side of how an athlete thinks, the psychology of things. It was really cool to apply it to my sports. And recently I got my master’s in instructional design and technology, and I was able to apply that to baseball by creating a learner’s program on the biomechanics behind baseball pitching. It was really awesome that the faculty at Fullerton allowed me to make my subject baseball-related. So yeah, almost all the subjects I took in college, I was able to relate to sports and baseball.
And recently I got my master’s in instructional design and technology, and I was able to apply that to baseball by creating a learner’s program on the biomechanics behind baseball pitching. It was really awesome that the faculty at Fullerton allowed me to make my subject baseball-related. So yeah, almost all the subjects I took in college, I was able to relate to sports and baseball.
TW: In this and other interviews you have mentioned “growing your I.Q. of the game,” and it makes me wonder if you have read The Mental Game of Baseball by Harvey Dorfman.
KW (laughing): I read The Mental Game of Baseball, third edition. It was two years ago and I remember taking notes and highlighting the book. My college coach gave me that book and I studied it. I read it throughout the season. I ended up having my best season that year too. I loved it. I’d like to read it again.
TW: Some players with great physical gifts might not need to read it, but even if you’re Barry Bonds, you can always get better, right?
KW: I believe that. It took me so long to realize that, but I’m glad I did while I am still playing. I believe full-heartedly that practicing mentally is just as important as practicing physically. If you’re playing the game and you’re going through stuff mentally, and you’re struggling, those are opportunities for you to practice how to get out of that and find things that help you be better focused, to help you get past things. If you had a bad outing, and you want to kind of let it eat you up and maybe give up on something, those are times where you can practice. What can I do to get past this and move on, so when I’m out there the next time, I’m not holding on to that anymore? That’s what I believe.
TW: What should pro baseball do to encourage more females — girls and women — to play?
KW: Man, no one has ever asked me that before. I think there’s been more support for women in baseball lately. I’ve been seeing so many major league teams that are starting to be supportive by having a women’s sports day, or having groups of female athletes come to the games. I’ve been seeing younger female travel baseball teams that are able to get opportunities, play on the fields and have camps. To make it simple, I would say whatever the guys are having is what the girls should have. Whatever opportunities the guys have in baseball — events, camps, clinics, whatever — it should be the same for the women as well. Women need to see support. It would be really cool to see professional managers hold clinics for young girls who are trying to continue playing. It’s great seeing more of that for young girls, but what about the girls who after college just want to play baseball? That’s where I was. How do they know where to go? How do they know what to do? Are we just trying to get them opportunities up until high school, or are we trying to develop them throughout high school? That’s where I feel there could be progress and change. Let’s target different age groups — the same groups that are being targeted for the guys. There may not be that many girls playing after high school or college. To answer your question: support. Support is a good start. After support, I’d say opportunities: events, clinics, etc. And not taking away opportunities — growing them.
TW: In your life playing baseball, do you have a favorite moment on the field or off? A transcendent moment for you?
KW: Tough question. Moments like after you win a game or you make a great play and your teammates are happy for you. Or if something you’ve been working on ends up happening and your team’s just happy for you. For pro ball, this might sound weird, but after a long bus ride we’re just beat, mentally and physically, and you just look at each other and think “We really love this game.” We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t love this game. We’re all on the same page, all doing the same thing, no matter how hard, how tiring, how tough, and we’re all just doing it. Just being part of it and being teammates — just the grind of it all.
TW: So, what’s next for Kelsie Whitmore? After the season and long term?
KW: The offseason grind. Training. Trying to get stronger, faster. I like to live in the moment, one day at a time. Working on myself physically and mentally. Just like every off season, it’s the training and the grind. I’ll be going to the facility that I train at and working for five months or so: working to improve on aspects from this season, picking what I need to get better at and then working on that so I can come back next year with whatever opportunities I get, and get after it.
TW: You’re going to be in baseball your whole life, aren’t you?
KW: That’s definitely the goal! I want to play the game for as long as I can and be part of the game somehow. I’m so focused on right now, right here, and being a player and playing as long as I can.
I want to be able to create opportunities. I want to continue playing this game, but hopefully girls don’t have to go through all those things that I had to go through. I’d like to make their lives easier. Maybe all they will have to do is focus on playing and not worry about the other parts of it. I want to be the one that does it. It’s not going to be easy, but someone’s gotta do it. That’s what pushes me through and keeps me going.
TW: In an interview with Grassroots Baseball co-founder Jean Fruth, she asked you to tell her who Kelsie Whitmore really is. One part of your answer was really touching to me. You said you want to create change in order to impact others’ lives more than to impact your own. Were you aware that Jackie Robinson said basically the same thing: “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives?”
KW: He’s somebody who inspires me. I know a lot of players today are inspired by him. Lots of players of color are inspired by him. And he didn’t even realize that he was doing that for them. He’s opened up so many opportunities because of what he did, because he put others first, above himself. I want to be able to create opportunities. I want to continue playing this game, but hopefully girls don’t have to go through all those things that I had to go through. I’d like to make their lives easier. Maybe all they will have to do is focus on playing and not worry about the other parts of it. I want to be the one that does it. It’s not going to be easy, but someone’s gotta do it. That’s what pushes me through and keeps me going.
Grassroots Baseball correspondent Tim Wiles is a long-time advocate for women and girls in baseball, and the former director of research for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY. He is the author of two baseball books and dozens of articles. Catch his “Let’s Play Too” blog posts here at grassrootsbaseball.org.
