Tag: Sports Illustrated

Mo’ne Davis now at Hampton University

March 10, 2020

I’m sure a lot of folks remember Mo’ne Davis, who, in 2014 became the first girl to pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series and was also the first African-American girl to play in the LLWS.  “Throw like a girl” memes exploded, except now, the phrase was a compliment.  Davis went on to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated,  she won the Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY, and Time magazine named her one of The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014, among other honors.

Fast forward six years, and it turns out that Mo’ne Davis is still playing ball.  This spring, Davis is a freshman at Hampton University, making her NCAA Division I softball debut on February 8, 2020.  She’s not pitching anymore, but rather has become a middle infielder.  In her debut, Davis started at second base and went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs.

As of this post, Davis has a .333 batting average with 8 RBIs and 5 stolen bases through nineteen games.

Davis’s decision to attend Hampton, an historically black school, comes in part due to the aftermath of her LLWS successes.  Following the tournament, Davis had the opportunity to meet President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.  Then in 2015, she took a twenty-three-day Civil Rights barnstorming trip to the South with her Philadelphia youth baseball team, the Anderson Monarchs.  The team had the opportunity to travel in a 1947 black-and-white Flxible Clipper bus, the same type of vehicle Negro League players traveled in.  They also met with civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis, who had marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965.  After attending predominantly white schools from elementary through high schools, Davis decided to take the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of African-Americans who went before her.

Mo'ne Davis
Mo’ne Davis (hampton.edu)

The Onion and the 2009 Royals

February 20, 2016

Contrary to the performances of the last two years, the Kansas City Royals of previous years weren’t really worthy of attention — unless you are a fan of the team, of course.  At the end of the month of April in 2009, however, the Royals found themselves in the unfamiliar position of first place in the AL Central, and pitcher Zack Greinke was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Even The Onion picked up on the unfamiliarity of the position the Royals found themselves in, and took advantage of the opportunity to poke fun at the situation:

KANSAS CITY, MO—Players and executives with the 16-11 Royals filed a grievance with MLB officials Tuesday after they could not find themselves anywhere in the league’s official standings. “We looked in all the usual places: third place, fourth place, even fifth place, and we didn’t see our name anywhere,” said Royals GM Dayton Moore, who added that he even peeked at the AL West standings to see if perhaps the team had been moved to a different division. “I could have sworn we’d been playing really well this year. Why would Commissioner Selig try to hide us? Did we do something wrong? Let me see that paper again.” Moore explained that he and everyone in the front office were “very curious” to see Kansas City’s other baseball team, which is currently in first place.

The Royals quickly returned to old habits, however, dropping to fourth place in the division by the end of May, and finishing the season dead last with a 65-97 record.

800px-Zack_Greinke_on_July_29,_2009
Zack Greinke (Wikimedia Commons)