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Did you know about the woman who struck out Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig back to back?
Posted on 6/10/15 at 10:49 pm
Posted on 6/10/15 at 10:49 pm
17 year old Virne Beatrice "Jackie" Mitchell Gilbert
Struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession during an exhibition game vs the New York Yankees while pitching for the Chattanooga Lookouts (AA)
After this happened, Ruth declared that women were too delicate to play baseball, and Commissioner Landis voided her contract and declared the game "too strenuous" for women to play.
Struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession during an exhibition game vs the New York Yankees while pitching for the Chattanooga Lookouts (AA)
After this happened, Ruth declared that women were too delicate to play baseball, and Commissioner Landis voided her contract and declared the game "too strenuous" for women to play.
quote:
Days after Jackie Mitchell (center) struck out Yankee superstars (from left) Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, the duo watched the female phenom demonstrate her fastball during spring training in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on April 4, 1931. (Getty Images)
This post was edited on 6/10/15 at 10:54 pm
13
Posted on 6/10/15 at 10:50 pm to Tuscaloosa
AT&T U-Verse was around back then?
Posted on 6/10/15 at 10:50 pm to Tuscaloosa
quote:
the duo watched the female phenom demonstrate her fastball
At 58 mph. Explosive change up.
Posted on 6/10/15 at 10:51 pm to Tuscaloosa
Dottie dropped it on purpose.
Posted on 6/10/15 at 10:51 pm to rpg37
quote:
At 58 mph. Explosive change up.
ETA: She was actually famous for her curve ball/sinker
This post was edited on 6/10/15 at 10:56 pm
Posted on 6/10/15 at 10:54 pm to Tuscaloosa
Yeah I'm sure it was legit and two of the best hitters in no way pretended to let her strike them out.
Posted on 6/10/15 at 10:58 pm to Henry Jones Jr
quote:
Yeah I'm sure it was legit and two of the best hitters in no way pretended to let her strike them out
That's been a subject of much debate. There's a great article from the Smithsonian about it. Neither Gehrig or Ruth ever told anyone it was staged, and Jackie Mitchell went to her grave feeling like the strikeouts were legitimate.
LINK
quote:
She also saved a newsreel of her outing, which shows her hitting the strike zone on three consecutive pitches to Ruth.
quote:
Also, Mitchell was a lefty side-armer facing lefty batters, a matchup that favors the pitcher. And Ruth striking out wasn’t a rarity; he did so 1,330 times in his career, leading the league in that category five times.
This post was edited on 6/10/15 at 11:01 pm
Posted on 6/10/15 at 10:59 pm to Tuscaloosa
What a hitter
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:00 pm to Tuscaloosa
They were probably trying to bang her.
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:00 pm to Tuscaloosa
quote:
Neither Gehrig or Ruth ever told anyone it was staged
There's no way in hell a person throwing a 58 mph pitch struck out those two. Not legitimately anyway.
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:02 pm to Tuscaloosa
This must have been your grandmother or something
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:03 pm to Henry Jones Jr
quote:
There's no way in hell a person throwing a 58 mph pitch struck out those two. Not legitimately anyway.
I could see it giving the two problems. Ruth swung at the first 2 and ended up having strike 3 called looking. Swinging and missing at two of her extremely slow, side-armed sinkers wouldn't be an impossible occurrence - considering they had probably never faced pitching that unorthodox, and certainly much slower than they were used to seeing.
This post was edited on 6/10/15 at 11:04 pm
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:05 pm to Hermit Crab
quote:
This must have been your grandmother or something
Nah. Went to a recent high school graduation where the valedictorian (girl) briefly mentioned the story of "the girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back"... I was calling bullshite in my head, so I went home and looked it up.
Recent thread about women pitching in the major leagues reminded me of it.
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:06 pm to Tuscaloosa
Classic junk ball lefty specialist
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:11 pm to Tuscaloosa
quote:
exhibition game
I'm sure Babe wasn't drunk.
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:17 pm to Tuscaloosa
Neither one would make it in the minor league today. This proves it.
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:32 pm to Tuscaloosa
quote:
Ruth striking out wasn’t a rarity
True - which somewhat lessens the achievement.
That said, I agree with you that facing an unknown pitcher for the first time who has good command of 55mph pitches isn't what one practices for, it could have been legit.
But if she'd pitched for a full season her pitches would have been slammed all over the ballpark.
Posted on 6/10/15 at 11:37 pm to foshizzle
Didn't an LSU softball pitcher strike out wally pontiff or someone in the PMAC several years ago? I wouldn't be surprised at all if this were true if they were just given one at-bat
Posted on 6/11/15 at 12:18 am to Grim
Not surprising at all with just one go each.
A left-handed junk-thrower with a funky motion is going to give Jesus himself problems the first time a good hitter sees it. It's a testament to her adaptability to the sport that she could even get to that level.
Give those two second, third, and fourth chances, and they would crush her.
A left-handed junk-thrower with a funky motion is going to give Jesus himself problems the first time a good hitter sees it. It's a testament to her adaptability to the sport that she could even get to that level.
Give those two second, third, and fourth chances, and they would crush her.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 6:11 am to Tuscaloosa
Gimmick pitcher, would not have much of a career. Outside of the few knuckle ball pitchers that have made a long career, typical gimmick pitchers are figured out pretty quickly.
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