My love for baseball started young. Growing up in Los Angeles, only 15 minutes away from Dodgers Stadium, it meant I spent a lot of time with my three older brothers rooting for the boys in blue. Whether I was sitting in the crowd or watching them from home, I never dreamed I could have a career in baseball as it always seemed to be completely dominated by men. I knew I loved the environment and the sport as a whole but looked at it more as a hobby or having the passion of a fan.
It wasn’t until I went to college when I realized I could actually work in baseball and that several other women were doing it, successfully. I quickly found myself looking up to many women who have been changing the stereotype I grew up believing. Women like Alanna Rizzo, Alex Curry, Sue Jo and many others have proven that women can not only cover sports but excel at it.
female journalist covering baseball in the 1970s. (Whoisjohngalt)
Millions of baseball fans watch Rizzo conduct post-game interviews with athletes in the locker room, but it wasn’t always easy for female reporters to get their job done. There were several brave souls before them that helped pave the way. Melissa Ludtke was one of many who fought for women’s equality in the sports world, especially with regard to locker room access.
Professional sports such as hockey and football were beginning to allow female reporters into locker rooms, but baseball was the last to follow suit.
Ludtke, a Sports Illustrated writer, was banned by the commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bowie Kuhn, from interviewing players in the locker room during the 1977 World Series, despite having a badge that granted her access. She knew it was an opportunity to fight for equality, so she filed a lawsuit against the MLB and won.
Ludtke and Time Inc. v. Bowie Kuhn ended in Ludtke’s favor but it didn’t make life after any easier for the reporter. She received a great deal of backlash but she never let it stop her from continuing to fight for what she believed in.
Ludtke’s dream was to work in baseball, and despite the hurdles she had to overcome to pave the way for other women, she did it. It is because of her that I now know it is not only a dream worth chasing after, but it is within my reach.
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Women in Baseball 
