One of the things I appreciate about writing for Lookout Landing is that we are not beholden to the Mariners organization. If we disagree with a bullpen move, or believe an alternate trade to be a better decision than what was already done, we can write about it freely. We can agree and disagree in equal measure, and there are no conflicts of interest.
If you’re on Twitter (or Facebook, or Instagram, or anywhere else on social media, really) you may have seen the news about this event:
It’s a special pre-game event ticket special, that will feature a panel of different women currently working in baseball, including 710 ESPN reporter Shannon Drayer, the Mariners’ Senior Manager of Baseball information, Kelly Munro, Mariners scout Amanda Hopkins, Sarah Gelles, the Baltimore Orioles’ Director of Analytics and Major League Contracts, and LL alumna/current Baseball Prospectus writer, Meg Rowley.
The ticket price includes a seat for the game, a special event t-shirt, and a drink voucher. This is a Mariners event, and the Mariners will be making money off of these tickets. LL receives no compensation for promoting it, nor do we have an obligation to do so, but this event is important and deserves as much publicity as possible. It’s also an ideal opportunity to shine a light on women in baseball, those specifically in the Mariners world, and overall.
I distinctly remember reading the first piece Meg published on LL, in between doing mailings for my summer internship in San Francisco, and the first of Kate’s a few months later.* Nothing about their work stood out as “Hello, I’m a woman writing womanly things about baseball,” it was just more good baseball writing on a site filled with good baseball writing. And yet, seeing their names in the bylines changed something within my own mind; there were people like me, writing about my favorite team, on my favorite site. It’s easy to forget just how much representation can matter when you’re in the majority, and seeing Meg and Kate on the masthead at Lookout Landing made me realize that perhaps someday I could write like them, too.
We’re fortunate, in this upper left corner of the baseball world, to have a number of women covering and involved with our team and I’m ecstatic that the Mariners have recognized this, and are highlighting them in this way. To my knowledge, this is the first event of its kind; the first event where people will pay a special price to listen to women working at the pinnacle of this industry, rather than pay for a wine tasting, or a pink accessory. This is an event that pushes its female fans, encourages them to think bigger, dream bigger. We might not be able to play the game, but there is still very much a place for women in this sport. To that end, interspersed with Edgar Week will be pieces that celebrate women in baseball, be they Mariners-focused or general, in support of this upcoming event.
Oh, and if you haven’t bought your tickets yet, the link is here.
*Infinite gratitude to Nathan Bishop for seeking out diverse voices, and recognizing that new people, opinions, and perspectives were not a detriment to the site, but a benefit.
