Berra: Female French teen makes MLB history
From Lindsay Berra at MLB.co on June 22, 2015:
At noon on Sunday afternoon, a 16-year-old French girl made Major League Baseball history.
Melissa Mayeux, a shortstop on the French U-18 junior national team, became the first known female baseball player to be added to MLB’s international registration list, which means she will be eligible to be signed by a Major League club on July 2.
International prospects, Mayeux included, are typically added to the international registration list at MLB-sanctioned events after verifying their dates of birth and citizenship; while anyone can technically be added to the list, only those who have the potential to actually be signed are customarily registered.
Is it possible that Mayeux will be signed? Sure. Is it likely? Probably not, but the simple fact that Mayeux has been added to the list solidifies her status as a legitimate player. Mayeux, for her part, just wants to play. She speaks little English and is unaware that her presence on the registry might be seen as newsworthy in the United States.
“Melissa just wants to have to most opportunity she can in baseball,” said Boris Rothermundt, a coach with the French national team who has been working with Mayeux since she joined the program two years ago as a member of the U-15 team. “She is not at all thinking about being the first female on the list.”
Read the full article here: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/132044338/melissa-mayeux-france-eligible-sign-mlb
Originally published: June 23, 2015. Last Updated: June 23, 2015.