She’s up! Bat girl 60 years in making reaches Yankee Stadium

Gwen Goldman exchanged fist bumps with the New York Yankees she had been admiring for decades from afar, walked onto the field and waved to the crowd.

Associated Press

Jun 29, 2021, 9:58 AM

Updated 1,123 days ago

Share:

Gwen Goldman exchanged fist bumps with the New York Yankees she had been admiring for decades from afar, walked onto the field and waved to the crowd.
She got to be a Yankees’ bat girl on Monday night at age 70 — a full 60 years after she was turned down because of her gender.
Shaking with excitement, she beamed while recounting how it felt to be at Yankee Stadium on this day for the game against the Los Angeles Angels.
“I don’t know where to start, of which was the best, what did I enjoy the most?” she said during a news conference in the fourth inning.
“The whole piece, from walking in the front door of the stadium at Gate 2, to coming up to a locker with my name on it that said Gwen Goldman, and suiting up, 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 — times a million. And I actually got to be out in the dugout, too. I threw out a ball, I met the players. Yeah, it goes on and on. They had set up a day for me that is something that I never would have expected.”
Goldman retired in 2017 as a social worker at Stepping Stones Preschool, a public school in Westport, Connecticut.
She used the Hebrew word “dayenu” — which translates to “it would have been enough” — to describe the different parts of her experience.
“It just kept coming and coming,” he said.
Goldman had been rejected by then-Yankees general manager Roy Hamey, who wrote her in a letter on June 23, 1961: “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 it is a game dominated by men a young lady such as yourself would feel out of place in a dugout.”
Current Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he had been forwarded an email written by Goldman’s daughter, Abby. In a letter dated this June 23, Cashman wrote “it is not too late to reward and recognize the ambition you showed in writing that letter to us as a 10-year-old girl.”
“Some dreams take longer than they should to be realized, but a goal attained should not dim with the passage of time,” Cashman added. “I have a daughter myself, and it is my sincere hope that every little girl will be given the opportunity to follow her aspirations into the future.”
Wearing a full Yankees uniform, Goldman threw out a ceremonial first pitch to New York player Tyler Wade, then stood alongside manager Aaron Boone for the national anthem.
“I think it’s really cool,” Boone said after meeting her. “I think you’re going to see her probably take balls out at some point to home plate. ... Hopefully it’s an experience of a lifetime for her and a long one in coming.”
New York extended the invitation as part of the Yankees’ annual HOPE week, which stands for Helping Others Persevere & Excel.
She posed with the umpires when the lineup cards were brought out. After the third inning, the Yankees played a video that included the letters and a Zoom session in which Cashman, assistant general manager Jean Afterman and pitcher Gerrit Cole were among those informing her of the invitation.
She then was introduced to the crowd, walked up the Yankees dugout steps onto the field and waved her cap as fans applauded.
“I didn’t hold it against them. I loved the Yankees,” she said. “I never in my wildest dreams — never thought that 60 years later, Brian Cashman would make this become a reality.”
___


More from News 12
1:52
Hudson Valley doctors warn of listeria dangers following multi-state outbreak

Hudson Valley doctors warn of listeria dangers following multi-state outbreak

2:04
Sunny skies and warm temps for Saturday in the Hudson Valley

Sunny skies and warm temps for Saturday in the Hudson Valley

0:38
Multimillion-dollar transformation on the way for sections of Hudson Valley

Multimillion-dollar transformation on the way for sections of Hudson Valley

0:49
New basketball documentary film 'The Process' has ties to Westchester

New basketball documentary film 'The Process' has ties to Westchester

0:49
Olympic watch party in Pomona cheers on Rockland athletes

Olympic watch party in Pomona cheers on Rockland athletes

0:32
Veteran firefighter who suffered stroke receives warm welcome home

Veteran firefighter who suffered stroke receives warm welcome home

0:17
Yorktown police sergeant celebrates final walkout following 2 decades of service

Yorktown police sergeant celebrates final walkout following 2 decades of service

1:40
Lithium-ion battery fire blamed for closure of Newburgh tailor shop

Lithium-ion battery fire blamed for closure of Newburgh tailor shop

0:52
Slate Hill family of 5 loses home in afternoon blaze

Slate Hill family of 5 loses home in afternoon blaze

0:37
2 people charged in Middletown narcotics; firearms bust

2 people charged in Middletown narcotics; firearms bust

1:30
Motorcycle, van crash in Greenburgh causes serious injuries

Motorcycle, van crash in Greenburgh causes serious injuries

0:56
News 12 probes mystery cloud traced to Orange County & seen throughout tri-state area

News 12 probes mystery cloud traced to Orange County & seen throughout tri-state area

1:02
Hillcrest Fire Department receives 2,000 cans of drinking water, courtesy of Anheuser-Busch

Hillcrest Fire Department receives 2,000 cans of drinking water, courtesy of Anheuser-Busch

1:37
Storm Watch Team Meteorologist Skyler Harman strikes down lightning myths

Storm Watch Team Meteorologist Skyler Harman strikes down lightning myths

2:33
Can swimming become dangerous due to extremely high water surface temperatures?

Can swimming become dangerous due to extremely high water surface temperatures?

0:32
NYC officials: Westchester caseworker’s death ruled a homicide

NYC officials: Westchester caseworker’s death ruled a homicide

0:40
State, federal lawmakers introduce legislation to shorten funding gap for World Trade Center Health Program

State, federal lawmakers introduce legislation to shorten funding gap for World Trade Center Health Program

0:34
Ex Frito-Lay employee files defamation lawsuit against PepsiCo claiming he invented ‘Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

Ex Frito-Lay employee files defamation lawsuit against PepsiCo claiming he invented ‘Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

0:40
Executive orders still in place preventing Rockland County and Orange County hotels from converting into migrant shelters

Executive orders still in place preventing Rockland County and Orange County hotels from converting into migrant shelters

0:34
Finger in salad lawsuit against Chop’t discontinued

Finger in salad lawsuit against Chop’t discontinued