The Lunatic Fringe

Some people are going to ask me if Gina is based on anyone.

Of course she is!  Quite a few people, actually.

Now, of course, not every female athlete I’ve ever met is like this.  One in particular is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, to the point I think she’s faking it as she’s plotting to take over the world with her sweetness.

But female baseball players seem to be more aggressive than others.  And I think they have good reason to be.  I can’t think of a single other sport where females that want to play it are routinely persuaded to play a modified version of the sport, rather than the sport itself.  I can understand some resentment over that.  Even with football, which has no female equivalent.  In that case, women who really want to play it are allowed to play with the men.

(I’m currently dismissing the Lingerie Football League as an ‘alternative’, since it’s obviously pandering to both genders.  Seriously, it’s like someone saw the scene in ‘A League Of Their Own’ about forcing the girls to play in skirts, and said “Hey, that’s a great idea for all contact sports, except cheerleader skirts are far too ‘Leave It To Beaver’-ish conservative!”  But I will say, some of those girls are pretty damn brutal, and very good athletes.)

But some women do buck the trend.  If you’re interested, check out the California Women’s Baseball League, which starts play next month.