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Female knuckleballer honored by Hall of Fame

posted by Pretty Tough | Girls Who Are Fun Fierce & Feminine
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 10:43am CDT

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A few weeks ago we wrote about Chelsea Baker, a 13-year-old Florida girl who’s in a league of her own.

Now Chelsea, a knuckleball pitcher who has thrown two perfect games against Little League boys teams, has been honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Chelsea donated the Brandon Farms jersey she wore in her April 9 perfect game to the Hall of Fame as an artifact noting the importance of women playing baseball. Her 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.

Baker’s 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.

The museum accepts about 400 artifacts a year from all levels of baseball, including the major leagues. Another female little leaguer, Katie Brownell, donated her jersey to the hall after she threw a perfect game in 2005.

“When you look at women in baseball, we thought this was a significant enough contribution that needed to be included in the Baseball Hall of Fame,” said Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, of Baker’s perfect games. “This is a young girl from Plant City, Fla., who under the counsel of a great major leaguer Joe Niekro, was able to learn a knuckleball and then she was able to take that knowledge and apply it.

“She had two perfect games, she showed you don’t have to be a male to compete successfully, and she holds a flag for all girls in this country that, yeah you can be a girl and succeed in baseball.”

Chelsea was the only girl in her league and finished with a 12-0 record on the mound for the 2010 season. Her team finished 29-1. She also has two grand slams to her credit at the plate. She pitched her first perfect game during an All-Star Game last year and learned how to pitch the knuckleball from Niekro, who perfected it during a long pro career.

“I think Coach Joe would be so proud of me and happy that his knuckleball got me this far,” Baker said. “I wish he was here today to share this moment with me.”

Baker finished the 2010 season with an unblemished record, the fourth straight year with no losses. This month, she was awarded the key to her hometown and threw out the first pitch for the New York Yankees minor league affiliate, the Tampa Yankees. Her family has received multiple movie pitches to tell her story.

Baker’s Little League team lost in the sectional round of the Little League World Series, so for now, she is playing with an all-girls touring team, the Sparks. Her teammates joined her at the Hall of Fame for Monday’s donation.

The honor of being affiliated with the National Hall of Fame is not lost on Baker: “All I could think about is all the professional players, like Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, and me being next to them in the Hall of Fame is amazing.”