Major League Baseball
Dubbed "America's Pastime", Major League Baseball (MLB) has been an integral part of American culture since its' founding in 1869. While other sports like football and basketball have risen to prominence, baseball continues to hold a special place in the fabric of this country. However, that's not to say the sport doesn't have its' flaws. Riddled with controversy over the more than a century it's been played, the MLB is no stranger to dealing with problems. From racism to steroid use, the league has seen it all. In addition to these, women are still excluded from the sport, both on the field and as reporters. While a show like "Pitch" on FOX fantasizes what it would be like to have a woman in the MLB, it's just that, a fantasy. To understand just how far the sport needs to come for reporters at least, here's the current landscape of which genders are broadcasting among the major four broadcasting networks and MLB Network.
Current Landscape
As this infographic shows, there are only four women working as reporters for the MLB among all five stations. While NBC and CBS don't employ anyone to cover these sports, as they don't hold the rights, FOX hires none, fitting with their conservative brand. As baseball is a male-dominated sport and has been since the beginning, the network, while not explicitly using politics to make its' decisions, obviously has conservative feelings towards women reporting on baseball. With the majority of viewers watching the sport and every player in the league being men, it's clear that FOX has decided to skew towards its' audience rather than be progressive. While ESPN has one woman on staff, the MLB Network is the one I find most shocking. With forty people as full-time reporters covering the sport, the network has a responsibility to include more women because by not doing so, they're only perpetuating the stigma that the sport is not meant to include women, allowing ESPN and FOX to follow their example without any backlash.
Treatment of Women
To highlight the obvious differences between how men and women are treated as reporters, I found a great article bringing attention to Jessica Mendoza, who recently became the first woman to broadcast nationally in a post-season MLB game. In the article, entitled "Mendoza makes TV history in AL Wild Card", the author Doug Miller highlights not only Mendoza's historical appearance but the history leading up to making this happen. While Mendoza's not the first woman to broadcast nationally for the MLB, a woman has never been included in post-season broadcasts, the weight of each game establishing that men have a greater importance in such critical games. However, Mendoza's appearance proves that's not true, with executives from every level commenting in the article about how well deserved the appearance was. Mendoza didn't see it like that though, realizing it was just an important step in her job, stating: "It's funny when people are asking how I'm feeling. I'm like, 'Why? I'm just excited to be calling baseball in October.'" This level of acknowledgment is exactly what women should have because anything more would deter executives to give them the roles as it would cause too much of a conversation, taking away from the game. The most interesting thing about Mendoza, however, is that she's an Olympian and All-American for softball, meaning she has experience with baseball. By putting her in this position, her success has opened the possibilities that although women aren't playing in the same leagues as men, they can still take part in reporting on men's leagues post-retirement because they have experience with the game.