My wife and I welcomed our second little girl into this world on New Year’s Eve. I now have the awesome responsibility of having two daughters. Once again the sleepless nights, the feedings, crying, and noises are wonderful. Maybe you and your sister will grow up loving baseball. Maybe you won’t. Whatever you love, I will love it too. I do not want a carbon copy of myself, I have too many flaws. What I want is for my daughters to find what they love and are passionate about in life. 

There is plenty of bad news in the world, but I prefer to focus on the good news. The good news of barriers for women and girls falling down. There is a long way to go, but progress is happening. Kim Ng was finally hired as the General Manager for the Miami Marlins. It is nearly universally agreed that she would have been hired a decade ago if she were a man. Alyssa Nakken is coaching for the San Francisco Giants, not behind the scenes but on the field and in uniform. Jaime Vieira was hired as a minor league hitting coach for the Blue Jays. M’Lynn Dease was hired as an area scout for the Cubs. Katie Krall was hired by the Red Sox to be the Developmental Coach for the Portland Sea Dogs. After several years working as a minor league hitting coach, Rachel Balkovec is now the manager for the Tampa Tarpons, the Yankees Low-A minor league team. Genevieve Beacom pitched a scoreless inning for the Melbourne Aces in the Australian Baseball League. Progress is happening. There are plenty of idiots saying these women should not be there because they lack experience, skill, or simply because they are women. The trolls are mad because these women are doing what they never can, achieving greatness. 

A few years ago, my in-laws told me a middle schooler in their neighborhood was searching for a softball glove. Her family could not afford to buy one. I called in a favor and got her an almost new glove. I dropped it off at her house, she was excited and extremely grateful. She told me her baseball glove was too small for the softballs and since she could no longer play baseball she needed the larger glove. I asked why she stopped playing baseball. The school baseball coach told her girls were not allowed. This pissed me off. There is nothing in the rules saying baseball is only for boys. I called her school and the district to complain. The coach decided he did not want to coach a girl and suddenly her baseball career was over. These are the barriers I hope are smashed before my girls encounter them. 

Maybe my girls will not be interested in sports. Barriers exist outside of sports. There is a lot of lip service given to ensuring everyone has an opportunity to be successful in life. It is past time to demolish the walls and ceilings and throw them on the ash heap of history. Women and girls deserve to live without other people denying them opportunities because of their gender. It is time for trailblazers to not be a necessity. 

I am so happy you have made me a Dad again. Wherever you and your sister go, whatever you do, know that I will always be there for you and am doing everything I can to smash the walls and ceilings so you do not have to. I love you both more than you will ever know. The greatest honor of my life is to be Dad to my girls.

DJ