Since the age of 10 years old, Gwen Goldman always dreamed of being a bat girl for the New York Yankees. It was one of the things she wanted most in life as a little girl, and she did her best to make it come true. So when she wrote the then general manager Roy Hamey about her dream of becoming a bat girl, she was surely let down when he responded that she would probably feel out of place in the dugout. Gwen was essentially turned down because she was a female, and due to strict gender bias and discrimination that was prevelant and deemed acceptable by many during the 1960’s. “While we agree with you that girls are certainly as capable as boys, and no doubt would be an attractive addition on the playing field, I am sure you can understand that it is a game dominated by men a young lady such as yourself would feel out of place in a dugout,” Hamey told the hopeful 10 year old. But after over 60 years of waiting, things were about to change for Gwen Goldman.
If you’ve never heard of the term before, a bat boy is a younger boy who works for a baseball team by carrying bats on and off the field, as well as helping with other small tasks during a game. Gwen would’ve made history as the first and only bat girl in Major League Baseball, had her request been accepted in 1961.
Times have changed drastically since that little 10 year old girl first made her attempt to become a part of the New York Yankees team. Brian Cashman, the current general manager of the Yankees, heard about the original letter from Gwen and decided to invite her to the stadium. He reached out to her by saying, “Although your long-ago correspondence took place 60 years ago (six years before I was born), I feel compelled to resurrect your original request and do what I can to bring your childhood dream to life.”
