Ghazelah Sailors: Breaking the gender barrier in North American baseball
Fresh out of high school, 18-year-old Ghazelah Sailors (pronounced oz-a-lay) is not thinking about her cap, gown and graduation party. Instead, focusing on helping the Yorkton Cardinals of Canada’s Western Major Baseball League win games from the mound.
A native of Santa Barbara, California, Sailors was a senior at San Marcos High School where she played on the boys’ baseball team last winter. Life after high school, though, left Sailors looking for an opportunity to continue to hone her baseball skills before college.
With months to spare before heading to university, Sailors did what many American college players have done in the past: took to Canada to play in the summer league WMBL that runs from the beginning of June until mid-August.
When she signed with the WMBL’s Cardinals this spring, she became the first female to play in the league since its inception in 1948. It’s a distinction that one would assume comes with unique advantages and disadvantages.
“I have not had any problems so far this year,” she said. “I had more issues in high school when I played with the boys. Here in Yorkton [Saskatchewan], things have gone incredibly well. Players at this age and this level are more open minded and mature.”
Sailors recognizes that being the lone female in an all-male league comes with its share of critics and disbelievers. Though she hasn’t comes across too many of either in her stint with the Cardinals so far.
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“For every person that wants to see you fail, there’s another that wants you to succeed. I focus on those that want to help me and see me succeed,” Sailors said.
The WMBL, naturally, has always been a male dominant league, but as Cardinals president and head coach Bill Sobkow explains, all it took was a little initiative on Sailors’ end to break the gender barrier in the league altogether.
“I was fortunate enough to get an email from her where she described her situation to me, stating she was a baseball player. Anytime I hear that, it sparks my interest,” Sobkow said.
“She continued to tell me about her experiences, mainly her U.S. Women’s National Baseball team experience, and after looking on the internet and seeing a little bit more about what she accomplished in Venezuela (site of the 2010 World Women’s Baseball Championship), it became quite an attractive situation.”
Despite her youth, Sailors has accumulated a wealth of baseball experience that has helped prepare her for the status quo-defying role she finds herself in today. One of just 18 girls selected out of 800, Sailors was named to the U.S. national team in 2010 and again for the 2012 squad.
She has also committed to a baseball – yes, men’s baseball – scholarship for the 2012 season with the University of Maine at Presque Isle for when the brisk Canadian autumn rolls in.
“People told me I could never play college ball, so when I got the coach in Maine to give me a shot for next year, I was fired up.”
A starting pitcher by nature, Sailors is also versatile and can play anywhere in the infield, something that Sobkow values.
“She’s been a utility player right now, everything from DH to playing second to pitching in three or four games. We’re expecting to bump up our record in the next little while and Ghazelah will be a big part of that, she will get a lot of action,” he said.
While Sailors enjoys the comfort of her teammates and the life of playing baseball every day, she knows that she owes a lot to coach Sobkow for the opportunity she’s been granted.
“I wanted a place to play over the summer. Coach Sobkow was the only one who gave me a chance. I am very grateful for that,” she said.
Darryl Pisio, president of the WMBL’s Moose Jaw Miller Express feels that this is a great step for the league and women in baseball, and that they won’t rule out the possibility of a female player in the future when recruiting.
“It’s great. My understanding is while she doesn’t throw overly hard, she has pinpoint control, a good curveball, and is getting the outs that she needs,” Pisio said. “It’s great for the league from a recognition standpoint and shows that if you have the talent, you can play anywhere.”
“Sailors has opened the door for other females. Going forward, now there will always be an opportunity for females in the WMBL.”
Sailors can be proud knowing that she has taken on a role model figure for all other women trying to make a career out of baseball. For now, she just wants to focus on improving her skills, helping her team win, and expanding her opportunities to further her baseball career.
“I want to go as far as I can. I’m not sure where that is. I will take it one day at a time and try to get better every day. The plan is to graduate college and hopefully there are bigger things in store for me.”
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