Gwen Goldman was 10 years old when she first wrote a letter asking to be a Yankees bat girl. And she was denied.
It only took six decades, but Gwen Goldman’s wish to be a bat girl for the New York Yankees has finally come true.
In 1961, the Yankees were in the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. And Major League Baseball was obsessed with breaking Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record.
Gwen was 10 years old then, and she wanted to be a part of baseball history. She wrote a letter asking to be a Yankees bat girl.
The response she got would make modern girls bristle.
“While we agree with you that girls are certainly as capable as boys, and no doubt would be an attractive addition on the playing field, I am sure you can understand that in a game dominated by men, a young lady such as yourself would feel out of place in a dugout,” Then-team general manager Ron Hamey wrote back.
But after all these years, Gwen held on to that rejection letter.
She married, had children, and beat cancer. And when her daughter sent that letter to current Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, Gwen’s inner 10-year-old was vindicated.
“On behalf of the entire Yankees organization, it would be my great honor for you to join us and serve as our Honorary bat girl for the day,” the letter reads, in part.
Now 60 years later, Gwen looked right at home in the Yankees dugout.
She threw the ceremonial first pitch and stood side by side with her favorite players, wearing the legendary Yankees pinstripes.
“You see? It was worth writing that letter,” Gwen exclaims. “It was worth having that hope. It was worth having that hope and pursuing it. And even if you don’t get it at first, you know the old saying? You just keep on going.
"From walking in the front door of the stadium at gate two to coming up to a locker with my name on it that said Gwen Goldman and suiting up and then walking out onto the field, it took my breath away. It's obviously taking my words away also. It was a thrill of a lifetime," she adds.
