Melissa Mayeux, a 16-year-old French female baseball player

Melissa Mayeux is a name I just learned about today. She is 16 years old, French and plays baseball. Not softball, BASEBALL!!!! She is a name I will not soon forget. I have an obsession with anything French. I was equally excited to write about French professional baseball. I wrote about it in December 2014. https://missbaseball.net/tbt-parlez-vous-baseball/  At the time, I had not heard of Melissa Mayeux, but her story has created  excitment for me.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/132044338/melissa-mayeux-france-eligible-sign-mlb

In short, she has been put on the international registration list. Players who have serious potential are on this list. All she wants to do is keep playing baseball for as long as she can. Being placed on this list also gives her a way to play in the American university system.

The article stated that Mayeux is going to open doors. Well, sorry, but I disagree with this notion. She is not opening doors. A door assumes that there is a path there. She is a trail blazer, opening a way for girls to play baseball.

When I was a kid, there were no girls playing baseball, and if I wanted to play, there was only softball. I wasn’t given the opportunity. I have a lot of respect for softball players, but would they be softball players if they had a chance to play baseball? There is a growing presence of women and girls who want to play baseball.

http://www.baseballforall.com/

Justine Siegal, founder of a nonprofit that supports girls playing the game of baseball, is MLB’s first female to throw batting practice and coach men’s baseball. In this video, Justine  talks about the importance of girls in baseball.

I want to see more females in baseball and for them to follow the path that Justine and Melissa and others have blazed for women.  Melissa, I only speak a little French, so I will wish you luck. Bonne chance à vous.