[David Watts]

Originally Posted by dewelar

I posted the link to this article because a lot of people have been saying that adding the ability to properly represent female personnel wouldn't bring in new customers. Perhaps not, but it's not because those customers wouldn't enjoy the game -- it's because the game's culture as a whole ruins their enjoyment of it. In the long term, however, it would have more positive impact than simply slamming the door in our faces as you and others would do.

I never played baseball, as I'm legally blind. I can see well enough to play slow-pitch softball, which I did whenever I got the chance. I loved the game, but I was abused because I sucked, from actually getting beaten up in grammar school right up through being verbally berated when I was a reserve on the pickup team at the K-Mart where I worked to put myself through college. The problem is that I was one of the few people willing to be on the reserve list, so they were stuck with me, and they made no bones about the fact that they resented me for that -- not the people who could have played but didn't, but me personally, without whom they would have had to forfeit games if I wasn't willing to show up. I sucked it up, because that's what I was told I had to do to "be a man" (bleh, whatever), and I got better -- good enough that I went through a whole season without striking out -- but I lost respect for a lot of my coworkers over that situation.

As Jack Elliott said, baseball is a game, and games are supposed to be fun. One thing that would increase the amount of fun I would experience would be to have female personnel properly represented, even if it's just off-the-field. As for the attitude you displayed above, it's the same attitude as those of the people who put me down and told me I shouldn't do something fun. But, if it makes you feel better about yourself to put people like me and people like the author down, good for you.

I didn't put you down. I don't know you from Batman. I also have never said anything one way or the other about Markus adding the ability to have women's leagues. I do know it would take work. Just like it would take work to make 7 inning games available. We have a guy that can pitch with both arms pitching for the Blue Jays, so I would be silly to say it's 100% impossible to believe a woman will ever play professional baseball. If Markus thinks he can grow his game by adding women, he should do it. This whole issue reminds me of the graphics arguments that used to spring up every year.