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  • LITTLE LEAGUE PITCHER CHELSEA BAKER donated her jersey to the National Hall of Fame and Museum. She is seen with HOF President Jeff Idelson during a special ceremony held in the Bullpen Theater on Monday. Chelsea is of Plant City, Fla, and wore the jersey during the 2010 season when she pitched her second percent game in less than a year, on April 9, when she was 12 years old. Michelle Miller

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August 19, 2010

Girl is in a league of her own

— Some may argue that girls do not belong on the ballfield playing among boys, but a 13-year-old Little League girl from Plant City Fla., has proven she can hold her own.

Not only can this girl hold her own, she may be one of the best Little League pitchers in the country.

Chelsea Baker, who was taught the knuckleball by Joe Niekro at the age of 8, has not lost a sanctioned game in four years and has thrown two perfect games this year at the age of 12. Chelsea has received nationwide exposure and was profiled by ESPN’s primetime newsmagazine ``E:60’’ that aired for the first time on July 20.

On Monday, Chelsea was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. While in the area playing in a tournament at the Cooperstown Dreams Park, Chelsea came to the museum to donate her Brandon Farms, No. 12 Plant City Little League jersey she wore in her April 9 perfect game.

According to HOF President Jeff Idelson, Chelsea’s jersey was requested last month by the museum’s Accessions Committee as an artifact that continues the story of the important roles women are playing in baseball. Chelsea’s jersey joins one in the hall worn by another young female knuckleballer, Eri Yoshida, 18, whose play in the pro Golden Baseball League also earned her the honor this year. The jersey will be on display in the Today’s Game exhibit before moving eventually to the Diamond Dreams exhibit for the rest of the year.

“There are no words to describe how happy I was when I found out they wanted to put my jersey in the Baseball Hall of Fame,” said Chelsea on Monday.

Idelson said the HOF is a history museum that uses baseball as a lens to explain American culture, American history and American values. He said women in baseball dates back to Civil War times.

``There has been a long continuum in which women have continued the game and helped it grow to new levels,’’ he said. ``This is just the latest and new way of showing that baseball is truly an equal opportunity employer, size doesn’t matter in baseball, ability is important and basically that heart matters most.’’

Baker, who was at the HOF for the first time, said she hopes others will be inspired by her recognition. She said her main focus for the future is on high school and hopefully having the opportunity to continue to play on an all boys team. Chelsea said she tried playing softball when younger, but did not like it as well as baseball.

Chelsea’s mom Melissa said several people have asked why her little girl does not go play softball with the girls or when she is going to move to softball. Melissa said at some point Chelsea may have to go play softball, but as long as she loves the game and keeps up, she is going to stand by her and let her continue to play as long as possible.

``As a parent it is just so unbelievable she is being recognized like this at the Hall of Fame,’’ said Melissa. ``I am so proud of her. It is hard to believe she has accomplished so much at such a young age.’’

``I am just tickled pink,’’ she continued with a chuckle.

Chelsea is now the youngest baseball player ever honored by the HOF with her jersey inclusion.

Although Chelsea is accustomed to playing on an all-boys team, she was one of 13 girls who suited up to play in Cooperstown on an all-girls team called the Sparks. The Sparks is a touring girl’s baseball team that is part of the Baseball For All organization.

The team was the lone all-girls team among the 103 squads that competed in the tournament. The team went 1-4 and Chelsea hit a grand slam in a Sunday afternoon game against the Short Pump Speed team of Virginia in a 14-9 loss.

Chelsea said playing with girls was a bit different than playing with boys.

``I like playing with both, but I think I talk more with the girls,’’ she said.

Chelsea said she believes her team played well seeing it was the first time they all played together.

Chelsea finished the season with a 12-0 record. Her Little League teams are 95-8-2 the past four years with three city championships, one city championship runner-up, two tournament of champions titles and two District IV championships. Her team finished 29-1 and she struck out 127 batters in 60 innings this year. Chelsea also plays third base and batted .604 with five home runs, including her first career grand slam.

Chelsea’s first perfect game was a 21-0 victory over North Lakeland in an all-star tournament last summer. Her Little League season ended Aug. 4, when her team lost to Manatee East in the Section IV tournament.

``This year has just been amazing,’’ said Chelsea.

Chelsea is currently playing in tournaments across the country, including the one in Cooperstown. The Hall of Fame’s 6,500-squarefoot Diamond Dreams exhibit was updated in 2006 and features several artifacts which tell the story of girls playing youth baseball, including:

- A baseball autographed by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and given to Margaret Gisolo in 1928 when Landis upheld her right to play American Legion baseball.

- A cap worn by Little Leaguer Maria Pepe in three games with a team in Hoboken, N.J., in 1972 before she was forced to quit. Pepe’s lawsuit eventually won girls the right to play Little League Baseball.

- A jersey worn by Katie Brownell when she pitched a perfect game for her Little League team in Oakland, N.Y., striking out all 18 batters she faced on May 14, 2005.

Chelsea’s stepfather Rod Mason received the request for Chelsea’s jersey from John Odell, the Hall of Fame Curator of History and Research. Here was part of the official request:

``. . . . . .As we discussed, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has an exhibit dedicated to the history of women in baseball, entitled “Diamond Dreams.” This exhibit traces the multifaceted role of women playing the game from the 1800s to the present.

It has come to our attention that your daughter, Chelsea, pitched a pair of perfect games over the past 12 months. We believe this is unusual, and we would like to recognize her feat by requesting the permanent donation of her jersey to the collections of the Hall of Fame. The jersey we request would be the one she used when she pitched the second of her two perfect games, which according to our research, she did on April 9, 2010.

While we cannot guarantee the permanent exhibition of any artifact, it is our intent to display Chelsea’s jersey in the Diamond Dreams exhibit noted above.’’

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