S02 E05 - Janine Thompson - Umpire - Australia - International Women’s Day 2022

Women’s Baseball - The Inside Pitch

International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness against gender bias, and take action for equality. The theme for 2022 International Women's Day (IWD) is #BreakTheBias.

In baseball, many women have had to break bias at some point in their baseball journey, whether it has been as a player, an umpire, coach, scorer, in the media or management positions.

On 2022 International Women's Day, I have chosen to feature and celebrate three women in baseball in Victoria, Australia who are leading by example on and off the field.

Jennie Moloney is changing the game off the field from the scorer’s box. A life member and member of the team of the century at the Williamstown Baseball Club, Jennie began her scoring career at her very first game of baseball in 1976. Jennie has since scored at three Olympic Games, is currently one of just five members of the WBSC Scoring Commission, was named the 2019 WBSC Scorer of the Year, and in 2021 was appointed to the Baseball Scoring Director for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

When Janine Thompson saw no women on a list of registered umpires in Melbourne in 2006, she thought would do something about it by umpiring herself. 15 years later, Janine is the only woman currently umpiring in the Baseball Victoria Victorian Summer Baseball League, has umpired countless Women’s National Championships, and has also umpired in Hong Kong and the USA. She was part of an all-women’s umpiring crew at the Baseball Australia Showcase in 2021 which she will do again in 2022.

Abbey McLellan’s journey in baseball has been one of commitment and persistence. Bursting onto the scene as a 11yo playing in Footscray Baseball Club’s Under 16 team, the hard hitting outfielder turned catcher’s career was almost derailed at just 21 years of age when a knee reconstruction ended her 2016 National Championships and World Cup aspirations. However, in a story of never letting go of your dreams, Abbey came back to represent her country at the 2018 World Cup and is now a leader of the Victorian Women’s Baseball team.

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