Kuttler: Did a Jewish woman blaze a new path in baseball?
From Hillel Kuttler at JTA.org on October 27, 2015, with mention of SABR members Justine Siegal and Leslie Heaphy:
For Justine Siegal, attending Opening Day games of the Cleveland Indians with her grandfather led to a lifelong passion for baseball – and dreams of one day playing for the Tribe.
“Heaven,” she called the outings, where she sat in the best seats in the house — the first row behind the home dugout.
Along with the passion, Siegal developed an acute knowledge of the national pastime, so much so that she went on to make a career in baseball.
This month, the 40-year-old Siegal, who lives in Southern California, got even closer to the action than those box seats: She worked as a coach for the Oakland Athletics’ Instructional League team in Arizona.
In doing so, Siegal became the first female to serve as a coach for a Major League Baseball club and joined the ever-growing list of women blazing new paths in the game.
“I was only able to stand in an A’s uniform because of the women who came before me,” she told JTA. “It’s humbling and great to be part of history, but my focus is to build for the future.”
Read the full article here: http://www.jta.org/2015/10/27/default/for-a-jewish-baseball-pioneer-more-history-first-female-coach-in-the-major-leagues
Originally published: October 27, 2015. Last Updated: October 27, 2015.