In many parts of Latin America, baseball is a popular and well-established sport with men’s professional leagues in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, among others. But women wanting to play baseball’s cousin — softball — professionally had only one option: to leave. They had to go to the United States or Japan.
Until now.
In what is believed to be a first in Latin America — a region where men often have more opportunities than women, particularly in sports — a professional women’s softball league has started in Mexico. On Jan. 25, when the inaugural season began, 120 women on six teams got to call themselves professional softball players, many for the first time.
“Before, there wasn’t even a question of, ‘Should there be a professional sport for women?’ It was a given that it didn’t exist. Period,” said Stefania Aradillas, an outfielder for the Diablos Rojos Femenil of Mexico City. “But we’re finding our place in society, not just in sports, but in all areas.”
The women’s softball venture was created by the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol, the country’s nearly 100-year-old professional men’s baseball league. The regular season lasts until March 3, followed by playoffs ending in mid-March.
Though it is a short season, officials and players have said it has already shown some promise: 13,408 people filled the Monterrey stadium on opening night, a record for a softball game in the Americas, and the half-dozen teams drew a total of 109,000 fans through the first four weeks, according to the league.
“This project is about breaking barriers,” said Adriana Pérez, a Mexican American who put aside the softball training facility in Lubbock, Tex., she owns to serve as the manager of the Bravas de León, one of the new women’s teams.
Yuruby Alicart, a Venezuelan shortstop for another team, the Charras de Jalisco Femenil, added, “This is something extraordinary for our gender.”
Horacio de la Vega, the president of the Mexican men’s professional baseball league, seeking to grow the sport, first raised the idea for a women’s baseball or softball division during a league meeting three years ago.
Officials settled on softball because of its growing popularity, particularly in the United States, where players often go to play in college, and an encouraging future in Mexico (the national team finished fourth in its first Olympics appearance at the 2021 Tokyo Games). And with baseball stadiums largely unused during its off-season, a softball league could bring in extra money.
But Mr. de la Vega said club owners raised concerns about the financial viability of a league and about protecting players from sexual harassment, which has been a major issue in women’s sports such as soccer and gymnastics.
So over the next two years, league officials refined the project, creating sexual harassment protocols, including a mandatory online course for executives and coaches. Mr. De La Vega said he
Independent Woman
2moRight is right and wrong is wrong ...even if everyone is doing it. I am disheartened by the treatment of some bad eggs at the girl scouts of America camp in Potomac woods. Feedback is vital. It starts from the top down. I will gladly speak on what I see ...esp if it protects children. America should be ashamed. I can't protect bad behavior any longer. I was 1 of 2 Mexicans employed there. #investigate #retaliation #bullying #discrimination