Women’s History Month: Pam and Ria

My usual disclaimer: I *hate* segregated history.  Issues related to gender, religion, or skin color shouldn’t be put into special months.  They need to be part of regular curriculum–and shown in the context of their times and everything else going on around us.  The world doesn’t work that way right now unfortunately.  Thus, I’m trying to spend time highlighting stories that are interesting or important that most people don’t know exist.

In terms of women’s ability to do work, a lot of progress has been made over the past few decades.  A lot of this goes back to World War Two and the need for women to take jobs in factories (or the more extreme Soviet example).  Now, we have women serving as Marines, U.S. Senators, diplomats, authors–almost every career out there, and yet, there are still walls that need to be hammered down.

There have been women who have worked NBA games as officials.  We’ve got women doing XFL games as refs–and there’s also a woman coaching in the NBA and NFL as well.  Baseball’s now got women in the front office and a couple of coaches, but…

There has still never been a major league baseball umpire who is a woman.

There have been two women who have worked baseball games at a high level.  Two.  You can guess their names, right?  (Hint–look at the title of this)

The first was Pam Postema.  Postema grinded through twelve years as a minor league umpire.  After six years, she was able to work spring trainings games.  It was in her twelfth year she got a chance to do the Hall of Fame exhibition game.  The commissioner who agitated for her to get a chance died and then one year later, she lost her contract as a minor-league ump.  Thirteen years of experience with most evaluations showing her working at an exceptional, -MAJOR LEAGUE- caliber.

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Of course, this was 1976-1989…things get easier later, right?  I mean–it takes a lot of work to break down barriers.  If Postema could push through to work an exhibition game, the next pioneer would get further.

That next pioneer went by the name of ‘Ria Cortesio’ (which isn’t her real name, by the way–and as a disclaimer, she attended the same high school I did, though a few grades after and probably with a better experience there than I did at the Original Satan’s School for Boys and Girls).  Ria went off to college and then had the crazy idea to become an umpire.  She succeeded in getting a minor-league contract.

And then stalled out.  She worked nine years before being let go after the 2007 season.  Once again, good evaluations and…no promotion.  She topped out at AA baseball even though she’d been selected to ump the Futures Game.

And–“Ria Cortesio”–if you read this and I missed some details or got something wrong, by all means, put something in the comments!

There are a couple other women who have done low-level ball, but that’s it.  Can we really say that men are superior umpires?  Not in the slightest.  Ask the players for their comments–it’s enlightening:

• Who cares as long as the calls are right

• I hardly noticed her, so she must have done okay

• She’s just another mask

• As long as she does a good job, who cares

• She’s good, as good as anybody else.

• God doesn’t want a woman doing a man’s job.

• If you haven’t played the game, you can’t understand it

Those are about Postema.  The first five are quite reasonable–if you’re doing your job, who cares?  The last two…yikes.  

• Female eyes are as good as male eyes

• She’s good, definitely good enough to be at this level

• She’s as good as any man at this level (AA).

• She’s got inconsistencies, but that’s the same as any other umpire

• She deserves a shot, she’s definitely earned it, more than some others

Those are on Cortesio.  No one would make the overt blatant sexist comments openly like they did with Postema–but she still didn’t make it.  And those positive comments above?  There are a couple of pretty good players evaluating her there (Derek Lee and Willie Randolph).

It’s inexcusable at this point–this is an ‘old boy’s network’ that exists and shouldn’t.  The logic against women as umpires is essentially the same as what kept blacks from playing baseball until Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby came along.  Once they did, the floodgates opened and baseball became a much better sport.  It’s time to break this barrier down, too.