Kirk Wessler's year-end Kirks & Jerks column

[tornado]

http://www.pjstar.com/article/201412...SPORTS?Start=1...
"GENDER EQUITY KIRK: ...and made it seem possible
that a female might someday earn a spot on a Major League Baseball roster."..

well, I am sure Kirk will gloat that we are ONE STEP CLOSER...but it still seems an awfully lot like this is just a publicity stunt...

"In historic move, two female players signed by minor league baseball team"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/06/30/in-historic-move-two-female-players-signed-by-minor-league-baseball-team/

First - this isn't minor league in the sense of Single A, Double A, or Triple A...
this is just some really small, obscure independent minor league team in Sonoma, CA (Sonoma Stompers) - they are not affiliated with any Major League Baseball team.

And they haven't played the women yet - just signed them - although it is projected they will be in the starting lineup today!

The two players are
Stacy Piagno, "a 25 year old pitcher/infielder", 5-9 softball player from University of Tampa
Kelsie Whitmore, "a 17 year old outfielder/pitcher", 5-6 softball player from Cal State Fullerton

and although one team representative claims it is not a stunt, the facts seem to hint otherwise as the article says...
The Stompers are somewhat famous for stunts like having 67-year old retired MLB pitcher Bill Lee start a game and promoting an openly gay starting pitcher on Gay Pride Night at their park...
then this...
"If this sounds like it has the makings of a Hollywood movie, then it might
not be completely surprising that the impetus for the signings came from a
legendary director: Francis Ford Coppola. His winery, Virginia Dare, entered
into a partnership with the nearby team, and Coppola pitched the idea to
Fightmaster.
“My family would play co-ed baseball games and inevitably the star player
would always be an aunt who could run and hit and that made the games so
much more fun,” Coppola said in a statement. “When watching Major League
Baseball, I always wondered why there couldn’t be a co-ed team. It’s the one
major sport in which weight and strength come less into play. So when my
Sonoma winery became involved with the Stompers, I had the opportunity to
turn this thought into a reality and recruit these amazing women capable of
playing alongside men.”

[Da Coach]

Here is the girl who is scheduled to be the starting pitcher tonight-
Stacy Piagno, 25 years old-

http://staugustine.com/sports/2016-06-30/stacy-piagno-begins-month-long-stint-sonoma-stompers-mens-pro-baseball-team#

She played softball in college, but played baseball in high school, and is a member of Team USA Women's baseball-

http://www.teamusa.org/usa-baseball/athletes/Stacy-Piagno

The other girl, Kelsie Whitmore, is just 17 and just finished high school. She is signed to play softball at Cal State Fullerton, but has not enrolled there yet. The NCAA considers baseball a different sport than softball, so despite signing a professional baseball contract, she will still be eligible to join the CSF softball team when she enrolls in the fall.

http://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/w-softbl/2015-16/releases/20160630stlydv

[tornado]

betcha they have more media at tonite's game than ever

[tornado]

betcha they have more media at tonite's game than ever

yup - media in droves plus..
the game was a huge sellout....the stunt works!

The game is still going - the Stompers are losing 5-2 in the 7th to the Pacifics

the bad news for starting pitcher Stacy Piagno she's on the hook for the loss.
..she lasted just two innings...she was unable to get out of the 3rd inning.....
leaves the game with this line..

Per one source: .. 2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 Ks, 1 HBP. LINK - LINK
- altho one other report said all the runs were unearned
Also - Kelsie Whitmore started and played in the outfield.

In an unusual move..Stacy was mobbed by the press as soon as she came out in the 3rd inning



btw- they have live streaming and surprisingly, it's way better than ESPN3 -

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/baosn-tv-game-on?utm_campaign=t.co&utm_source=ustre.am%2F1h4pB&utm_medium=social&utm_content=20160701201204

They just had an interview with Kelsie- both women are only contracted for one month July 1- July 31, as they have other obligations after that (as note above by Da Coach)

[tornado]

story & box score

http://www.stompersbaseball.com/news/2016/7/2/stompers-shatter-barriers-in-historic-moment-for-women-in-baseball

http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=355074

Stompers lost 8-4
Starting pitcher Stacy Piagno gave up 4 runs in 2 innings, two of which were earned, she walked two struck out none.
She faced 14 batters, and gave up 5 hits for the 12 AB's, threw 39 pitches - 19 strikes/20 balls. Her opponents' batting avg. was .417.

Kelsie Whitmore had two plate appearances, one walk and a strikeout. She had one chance & one putout in left field. Her replacement went 1-2.

[tornado]

The Stompers played Saturday - and won 5-1, Whitmore went 0-1 as a pinch hitter. Piagno did not play.

Sunday they swept in a doubleheader.
First game 2-0, the 2nd game they won 11-9. Neither Piagno nor Whitmore played in either game.

[tornado]

The two women who signed to play for the Sonoma Stompers are nearing the end of the month that they had signed...
both have played sparingly since their debut

the pitcher Piagno has now had four appearances, none lasting more than 2 innings..giving up 15 hits, ERA 7.87, record 0-2

Kelsie Whitmore also has played in four games and has one hit in 7 AB, and 5 Ks
She also made one attempt to pitch but got hit hard, going 2 innings, gave up 6 runs, ERA 27.00

not likely this enhances any chances of a woman in the Major Leagues soon.

BUT -- if you've been watching any TV there's a new show this fall
"Pitch" is about a woman who makes it to the Major League!

http://espn.go.com/espnw/culture/the-buzz/article/15574935/watch-trailer-pitch-fictional-tv-series-first-female-mlb-player

[tornado]

I guess these will be their final stats..as the month-long stints of the two women on the Sonoma Stompers ended...
recall, they were signed to play at the lowest level of pro ball there is - barely above high school-caliber-play
Halfway through the month- the Stompers even signed yet one more woman, Anna Kimbrell

Kelsie Whitmore appeared in one game as a pitcher & got clobbered- 2 innings, 6 runs, 0 K, 3 BB, 5 hits, ERA 27.00
She appeared in 4 games as a position player, 1-7, 5 K, BA .143

Stacy Piagno appeared in 5 games as pitcher, 9 innings pitched, 0-2, 1 K, 5 BB, 16 hits, ERA 7.00
She also appeared in 2 games as a position player, was 1-5 with 3 K, BA .200

Anna Kimbrell played just one game, she caught and went 0-3 at the plate

I guess this stunt will go down in the same annals as Michelle Wie getting exemptions to play on the men's golf tour then finishing at or near the bottom every time out,
and hyping the woman who plays goalie in the Rivermen's league (Shannon Szabados) even though her stats were the worst in the league for any qualifying goalie.
These stunts make a mockery of the game and even more embarrass perfectly good women athletes by trying to prove they are equal to men.

[Chico]

Right on.

[tornado]

for those asking where's Kirk Wessler - he does have a column in today's paper saying drugs are bad in the Olympics

he still hasn't written anything substantial on Bradley basketball since March of 2015 when he wrote his column telling us all the attributes that must be in the new coaching hire....(which, of course is laughable since he's the one that most strongly pushed for & supported what nearly killed BU basketball - he shored up Geno, Glasser & Cross as if they were saviors for the programs when they were the worst thing that ever happened to Bradley Athletics. How would he know what makes for good personnel if that's what he thought?)

[Chico]

for those asking where's Kirk Wessler - he does have a column in today's paper saying drugs are bad in the Olympics

he still hasn't written anything substantial on Bradley basketball since March of 2015 when he wrote his column telling us all the attributes that must be in the new coaching hire....(which, of course is laughable since he's the one that most strongly pushed for & supported what nearly killed BU basketball - he shored up Geno, Glasser & Cross as if they were saviors for the programs when they were the worst thing that ever happened to Bradley Athletics. How would he know what makes for good personnel if that's what he thought?)

Have to agree with you on Cross and Glasser, but Geno was just one their hires, even though he helped take the program down.. Those 2 had no idea what Bradley's tradition meant to this area