Doctor Curmudgeon® Play Ball!

By Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D. FAAP Doctor Eisman is in Family Practice in Aventura, Florida with her partner, Dr. Eugene Eisman, an internist/cardiologist

I am not good at it.

The rules are too complex for my disorganized brain.

I am inept at fielding, throwing, running, pitching and catching.

However, I modestly proclaim that I was an excellent batter….back in the day.

Despite my meager skill, baseball has always beckoned to me. My home town of Chicago provided me with two teams: Cubs and Sox. As a child and as a teen-ager, I watched their games on television, and in the ball park.

My childhood had moments when I could hardly contain myself, as I waited for current issues of baseball pulp magazines.

And wow! In August, 1955, Time magazine had the good sense to feature Roy Campanella on the cover: a wonderful man and a great catcher!

I am proud to admit that I devoured the entire set of the John R. Tunis books on baseball.

So, it is with delight that I write about a 96 year old five feet six inch, 150 pound right handed and fifty pound right handed woman.

Maybelle Blair played for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

In September of this year, she was honored by the Mets. Maybelle was the recipient of the first Amazin’ Mets Foundation Legacy Award.

The MLB website states that this award “celebrates the people and organizations in the baseball community that are making a difference and driving impactful change, on and off the field.”

Maybelle began her career as a pitcher and later played second base.

Her “regular” job was working as one of three women who were managers in the Northrop Corporation.

After 37 years at Northrop, this ball player retired.

But she couldn’t stay still.

She had a goal. Maybelle wanted to ensure that other women had better conditions and access in the world of baseball.

And so, she became a pioneer in promoting women athletes.

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League appointed her to their Board of Directors.

Maybelle was the driving force for a special display in the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: “Women in Baseball.”

This former ballplayer just keeps on moving. When she was 94, she worked as a consultant on the movie and TV series, “A League of Their Own.”

Maybelle was quick to recognize other women who were notable for their accomplishments in baseball.

The Miami Marlins appointed Kim Ng to be their general manager, a first for the Major Leagues.

Maybelle Blair said, “I felt almost as if it was me that got it. We don’t want any token jobs. If we earn it, yes, and Kim Ng has earned it. We can go in the front offices. We can write. We can broadcast. We can be umpires.”(Helene Elliott, LA Times)

Dr. Curmudgeon suggests “Bitter Medicine”, Dr. Eugene Eisman’s story of his experiences–from the humorous to the intense—as a young army doctor serving in the Vietnam War.
Bitter Medicine by Eugene H. Eisman, M.D. –on Amazon

Doctor Curmudgeon® is Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D., a physician-satirist. This column originally appeared on SERMO, the leading global social network for doctors.
SERMO www.sermo.com

Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By “Bad” Brad Berkwitt