After 60 years, Gwen Goldman finally achieved her dream of being a part of the New York Yankees, redeeming the rejection she received in 1961 from the team over her gender.
Goldman, 70, threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Monday, met the players, and stood besides Yankees‘ manager Aaron Boone for the national anthem. Goldman’s wish was granted as part of “Helping Others Persevere and Excel Week.”
REPORT: SIGNIFICANTLY MORE WOMEN THAN MEN LEFT WORKFORCE DURING PANDEMIC SCHOOL CLOSURES
“It was a thrill of a lifetime — times a million,” Goldman said during a fourth-inning press conference. “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.”
She initially wrote to the team six decades ago when she was 10 years old asking to be the team’s batgirl, only to be turned down by then-manager Roy Hamey because she was a woman.
In 1961, 10-year-old Gwen Goldman penned a letter to the Yankees expressing her dream of being a bat girl. The response she received from the GM at the time still hangs on her living room wall.
This HOPE Week, the Yankees will make 70-year-old Gwen’s dream come true. pic.twitter.com/9sMosEcPOz
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 25, 2021
“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,” Hamey wrote in response to Goldman’s request at the time.
Current Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he was forwarded an email written by Goldman’s daughter, Abby, saying that he hopes to encourage future generations of women to follow their dreams.
“Some dreams take longer than they should to be realized, but a goal attained should not dim with the passage of time,” Cashman said, according to the Associated Press. “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.”
Boone commended Goldman, describing the entire experience as “really cool.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“I think you’re going to see her probably take balls out at some point to home plate,” Boone said. “Hopefully, it’s an experience of a lifetime for her and a long one in coming.”
