This Week in Baseball
-Taylor Ballinger, Matt Korte, Jeff Gangloff
Good morning, Nation. We’re back with our weekly installment of “This Week in Baseballâ€Â, where Taylor, Matt, and Jeff will highlight interesting and/or important stories happening throughout baseball. As always, hope you enjoy – and let us know what you’ve been reading by posting in the comment section below.
Baseball squad makes history with first history openly gay pro by Lisa Leff and Olga R. Rodriguez, Associated Press
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/jun/26/baseball-squad-makes-history-with-first-openly/
Sean Conroy made baseball history earlier this week when he was the first openly gay player to take part in a professional baseball game. The Sonoma Stompers starting pitcher threw 9 innings and struck out 11 batters, all while carrying the torch for gay professional baseball players everywhere. (Gangloff)
In Wrigley Field’s baseball paradise, something is amiss by Blair Kamin, Chicago Tribune
Wrigley field is amazing, and awesome, and romantic. We get it, Cubs’ fans. It’s also a complete dump, a structural nightmare, and stuck in the 1900s when it comes to modern amenities. Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune seems to think otherwise. If you can get past his nauseating fondling of Wrigley Field then you will eventually run into why Blair has such a huge problem with the field’s recent renovations. You know what’s a bigger problem than the new scoreboard in left field, Cubs fans? Not winning a Championship in over 100 years. (Gangloff)
Melissa Mayeux, 16-Year-Old French SS, eligible to be signed by MLB team in July  by Gianni Verschueren, Bleacher Report
I’m a fan of firsts, especially if there is any way that I can be the first to accomplish something. Most of the time, my firsts are things that drive my wife crazy, but in this case…in the case of this first, it is something that both I and my wife are fans of. This past Monday, a 16 year old short stop set the baseball world on fire when she became the first female to make herself eligible for the international amateur draft. Watching the video highlights of Melissa Mayeux are impressive. Her motion in the field is fluid and she possesses a quick, controlled swing at the plate. Her skills are impressive for any 16 year old baseball player, regardless of gender. Scouts praise her baseball IQ and fundamentals and with any luck, she could be the first female to make her way through an MLB organization. Obviously any chance of seeing her dawn an MLB uniform would be years down the road, but she is certainly a name to watch in the future (Korte).
First openly gay baseball player pitches shutout by Gabrielle McMillen, Sporting News
While we are on the topics of firsts, how about another…an interesting piece out of California where the first openly gay baseball player pitched a shutout for the Sonoma Stompers. Sean Conroy, a 23 year old right hander pitching in Independent League cruised through 9 scoreless innings to accomplish the feat. While some notable people, such as Billy Beane have come out as gay after their respective playing careers, Conroy is the first active pro player to come out as gay. While staying away from any current events or politics, its great to see Conroy be able to pursue his dream of playing professional baseball without having to hide who he is. Perhaps this new found fame will bring a few extra scouts to his next start for the Stompers as Conroy works to find his way to a contract with an MLB franchise (Korte).