Norine Rathbone is the first woman to execute a rare 9-3 double
play in MSBL 20-year existence
April 15, 2007—The Sandvipers and the
Astros, both from the Las Vegas affiliate of the Men’s Senior
Baseball League, came to play serious baseball at Hadland Field.
When it was all over in the ninth inning, the Astros had blasted the
Sandvipers with a 14-0 win. But not before the Sandvipers left their
mark permanently in MSBL history in the fourth inning with a rare
9-3 double play made by an extraordinary teammate, Norine Rathbone
RIGHT: Steve Johnston and Norine
Rathbone pose with doubleplay ball in Las Vegas. |
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Norine Rathbone's story:
In the MSBL organization’s 20-year existence this is the first
time a woman has ever executed this double play and I am thrilled to
be sharing the experience of this historical event in my own words:
All I ever wanted, from the day my dad put a baseball in my hand
at age three, was to play the game. From that time on I dreamed
every day about being a real baseball player, all the way to Major
League level. I dared myself to dream it, and then I worked to make
it happen 39 years later in Las Vegas. Who knew that eight years
after that I would still be playing, let alone make baseball
history? Not even I could imagine being part of a game play which
would not only put me in the record book, but also symbolize the
passion some of us athletes have for playing baseball.
On April 15, 1947, a young black man named Jackie Robinson broke the
shackles of minds set that had put up a blockage to exclude anyone
other than a white man from playing baseball. He went over that
barrier to the cheers and the jeers of his time. Sixty years later,
I’m climbing over the final occlusion to baseball—that is gender
bias—while remembering the tremendous courage he had to step up to
the plate to declare the right of any person with heart, desire, and
skills to become a baseball player.
On April 15, 2007, with one out, I was holding an Astro on first
base in that eventful fourth inning. My teammate Steve Johnston was
playing right field so I could play the infield for the first half
of the game. Steve is our starting first baseman. However, Manager
Gary Arlitz decided to make a field change before the game. Little
did he know that his decision to let me be the starting first
baseman on this particular day would forever change the way anyone
would ever look at me as a baseball player ever again.
A lefty came to the plate and slammed a long ball deep into right
field. Neither Brian Wyche, our second baseman, nor I thought Steve
was going to get to the ball to make the catch. So Brian ran out to
Steve for the cut to second, while I sprinted after the Astro from
first to help cover second base and to distract the incoming runner.
Halfway to second base, with the two of us running like Olympians
fighting for a gold medal win, Steve caught the ball for the out! We
both skidded to an stop with jaws dropping.
“FIRST BASE!” flew out of Steve’s mouth. “OH SH-T!” exploded from my
own lips as I turned and took off running first base with an Astro
hot on my heels. I jumped on the bag as the ball shot up from the
grass on a hard one-hopper.
Launching himself like a missile, the Astro made an attempt to tag
the bag, hoping he’d get there before I had the ball completely in
hand. But he was too late. I snagged it from the air as I surged
forward with the upper half of my body to grab it, then heard the
unexpected “YOU’RE OUT!” by umpire Isaiah Otto. For a moment I
didn’t know what happened, I was spellbound by the play. Steve had
thrown that baseball from way back in right field to first base, and
he knew he was going to do it with or without me being there.
Meanwhile, I was still in disbelief that I had just out-run a guy
some 20 years my junior and then made this awesome 9-3 double play.
At the time Steve and I did it, I had no idea a 9-3 DP was a
rarity.
My husband Ed was there to witness it. While he’s not surprised at
my baseball skills, everyone from both teams was eerily quiet,
including him. Except for Steve, who somehow, has this tremendous
confidence in my ability to play first base anyway I can. What a
guy! What an arm! What a way to end an inning! He couldn’t stop
grinning from ear to ear.
At the time no one realized we Sandvipers made baseball history. We
were too busy enjoying the thrill of just making the play and
groaning about getting our butts kicked.
A few days later, I did some research, including shooting off an
email inquiry to the National Baseball Hall of Fame about just how
rare is a 9-3 double play. I didn’t know. The answer? Rare as I like
my steak barbecued! It was then I woke up to the fact that with less
than a handful of women playing in the MSBL during the 20 years of
its inception, it was unlikely that it had already been done by
someone of my gender. Why? Because the men in MSBL do show their
support of us women. And it’s rare for the men to execute a 9-3
double play, even at Major League level. Someone, somewhere in the
MSBL, would have told the national office. It would have made big
news. MSBL Founder and President Steve Sigler is a man who is not
afraid to include women of skill in baseball. MLB is. Otherwise we
would already be there.
Three weeks after that game, while filming the sports action at
Peccole Little League, the president of the Las Vegas Umpire
Association (who is a woman) told me something of interest. A man
called her with a baseball question and then told her he’d never
seen a woman play baseball before, but that he saw some woman do an
awesome thing at Hadland Field, executing a rare 9-3 double play.
Without even hearing my name, Mary McDonald knew he was talking
about me. She couldn’t wait to tell me about that conversation in
person.
The final occlusion in baseball is being overcome one play at a
time. I won’t stop here on April 15, 2007. I still have a dream to
play Major League Baseball because one inning at first base is all
it’s going to finally take to secure the right for all people who
have heart, desire, and skills to be declared they are real baseball
players no matter who they are. No matter what they are. The MSBL is
not afraid of women with baseball skills. MLB is. Otherwise we would
already be there with Jackie Robinson.
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