BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Mo'ne Davis
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Mo'ne Ikea Davis |
| Nickname(s) | Mo |
| Born | c. 2001[1] |
| Height | 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) (2014)[2] |
| Weight | 111 pounds (50 kg) (2014)[1] |
| Other interests | Basketball, Soccer |
| Sport | |
| Country | United States |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Position | Pitcher |
| Club | Anderson Monarchs and Taney Youth Baseball Association |
| Updated on August 27, 2014. | |
Mo'ne Ikea Davis (born c. 2001) is a female Little League Baseball pitcher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is one of two girls in the 2014 Little League World Series and is the first girl to earn a win and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history. She is the 18th girl overall to play, the sixth to get a hit, and the fourth American girl to play in the Little League World Series. She is also the first Little League baseball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Little League player.
Early life
Davis is the daughter of Lamar Davis and Lakeisha McLean.[3] She has lived with her mother and stepfather, Mark Williams, since the age of six.[4]
In 2008, Steve Bandura observed Davis playing football with her cousins and older brother. He noticed that "she was throwing this football in perfect spirals, effortless and running these tough kids down and tackling them"[5] Bandura, who is program director for Marian Anderson Recreation Center in South Philadelphia, asked her if she would like to come to a basketball practice. When she came to practice, Bandura asked her to watch the practice, but she wanted to participate. Bandura told The Philadelphia Tribune that "Her eyes were just glued on the drill and, when it came time for her turn, she went through it like she has been doing it a thousand times. I just knew right then."[5] According to theThe Philadelphia Tribune, Davis became Bandura's best basketball player and the only girl on the team. She also began playing and excelling at baseball and soccer.[5][6]
Bandura, together with other sponsors, helped Davis transfer to Springside School, which is a private girls' school.[5] Her mother, Lakeisha McLean, told the The Philadelphia Tribune that she was unaware that her daughter was so athletic.[5] In 2011, she was a point guard in basketball, a pitcher, shortstop, and third baseman in baseball, but she revealed that she started pitching when she was a substitute from outfielder, and mid-fielder for soccer.[5] As of August 2014, while she is notable as a Little League pitcher, she considers basketball her primary sport.[7] She also aspires to become a WNBA player, and already expressed desire to play college basketball for University of Connecticutdespite not being formally recruited, and follow in the footsteps of Maya Moore, a UConn alumni who went on to play in WNBA.[8][9]
Pitching
Davis throws a 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) fastball, while the average velocity in her age class is in the high 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) to low 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) range.[10][11] According to Will Femia, a 71 miles per hour (114 km/h) pitch (which was clocked during her August 15, 2014 game) is equivalent in reaction time at the plate for a batter to a 93 miles per hour (150 km/h) pitch on a full sized diamond.[12][13][14][15][16] She also throws a curve ball that "has given opposing hitters fits".[17][18]
Davis relies more on the precise mechanics of pitching rather than strength.[2] According to John Brenkus of ESPN, Davis has a wind up and release point that never varies by more than 3 degrees.[2] Although her arm is 15% shorter than a major league pitcher's arm, she is able to deliver balls at over 70 miles per hour (110 km/h), due to the efficiency of the kinetic linking of her body parts and has been compared to the throwing motion of a major league pitcher Jonathan Papelbon.[2] At the end of her throwing motion, her arm is moving forward at peak angular velocity of 2500˚/sec, which is over 80% of the peak angular velocity (3000˚/sec) of typical major league pitchers.[2]
Little League World Series
Background
In 1972, Maria Pepe was the first girl to start in Little League games, but she was removed when opposing teams demanded that she be removed. The National Organization for Women filed suit for Pepe, and in 1973 Judge Sylvia Pressler ruled that "The institution of Little League is as American as the hot dog and apple pie. There is no reason why that part of Americana should be withheld from girls." Although the ruling came too late for Pepe to play, since she had turned 14, the ruling made it possible for Davis and other girls to play Little League baseball.[19]
Davis is the fourth American girl and 18th overall to play in the Little League World Series, out of almost 9,000 participants since the tournament began in 1947. The 2014 Little League World Series is also the first in which two girls participated.[20] Davis is also the sixth girl to get a hit in Little League World Series history.[21]
On August 10, 2014, Davis pitched a three-hit 8–0 shutout over Newark National Little League of Delaware to get into the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Little League World series.[17][22]
First win for a girl
On August 15, 2014, Davis was the first girl in Little League World Series history to pitch a winning game for the Taney Dragons and earned the win,[20] and she was also the first girl to pitch a shutout in Little League postseason history.[10][23] She led her team to a 4–0 victory over Nashville. She pitched six innings, struck out eight batters, and gave up two infield hits. By the fifth inning, the Nashville pitcher had reached the 85-pitch limit in Little League baseball, but Davis had only thrown 44 pitches.[20] In the sixth inning, she struck out the first two batters, and the third batter was at the full count when she struck him out.[10] After the game, Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett predicted that some day she would play in professional baseball.[10][21][24][25]
Television ratings
ESPN's broadcast of the semifinals game in which Davis played on August 20, 2014 brought a 3.4 overnight rating, which is an all-time high for Little League on ESPN.[26]
Media and celebrity
After pitching the first shutout in postseason Little League history, she received congratulatory Twitter messages from Mike Trout, Marcus Stroman, Kevin Durant, and requests for interviews by television hosts such as Jimmy Fallon.[10][24] Rachel Maddow said that Davis was the "best new thing in the world".[12] She also was praised by Ellen DeGeneres,Billie Jean King, and Michelle Obama.[16] Davis told ESPN "I never thought at the age of 13 I'd be a role model. I always wanted to be a role model, but being a baseball role model is really cool."[24][27]
She appeared on the August 25, 2014 Sports Illustrated front cover,[28] which makes her the first Little League baseball player to appear on the front cover of a top US sports magazine as a Little League player.[29] Asked about appearing on cover of Sports Illustrated, Davis said "I don't know. Kind of surprised, but I mean, it was fun."[30]
Paul Graziano, who has been the Little League World Series press box announcer for the last 34 years, stated that he has never seen this level of excitement this early in the tournament and that this is partly due to the presence of Davis. The crowds cheer every time Davis pitches or is at bat, and she received standing ovations as she was pitching her shut-out win on August 15, 2014.[31]
On August 19, 2014, Mark Hyman, assistant professor sports management at George Washington University, told The New York Times that "She's the most talked-about baseball player on earth right now".[30] According to The New York Times, Davis is increasing the ratings of ABC and ESPN and, as of August 19, Davis had appeared on the front page of the The Philadelphia Inquirer for five straight days.[30]
Josh Peter, writing for USA Today, raised concern about the merchandising and marketing surrounding Davis' celebrity.[32] For example, on August 20, 2014, a baseball appeared on eBay, and the auction price was up to $510,[33] along with approximately 40 other items supposedly autographed by Davis.[32] However, it is not just the autograph seekers who are creating problems for Davis. According to Peter, two companies are selling unauthorized Mo'ne jerseys.[32]
In September 2014, Davis donated her jersey to the Baseball Hall of Fame. She was accompanied by teammates from the Anderson Monarchs. Mamie Johnson, one of the three women to play in Negro league baseball was present at the event.[34]
In October 2014, Davis was named one of "The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014" by Time magazine.[35] Also in October, a 16-minute documentary about Davis, entitled I Throw Like a Girl, directed by Spike Lee, and produced by Spike DDB for Chevrolet, was released. [36] On October 25th Davis threw out the ceremonial first pitch of game 4 of the MLB World Series at AT&T Park in San Francisco.[37]
Analysis of her broader impact
Writing for CNN, Kelly Wallace suggests that Davis' accomplishments will affect both girls and boys, women and men.[29] In Wallace's view, she will inspire girls who want to play baseball in the future. To support this view, Wallace cites the case of Stephanie Tuck, who, as a girl, played on a Little League team. Tuck, recounting the experience of Little league play, said "I was heckled by the dads: 'Get that girl off the field.' I used to literally pray the ball would not come to me in right field, as the pressure was so intense."[29]Wallace also believes that Davis' play will remove the "specialness" of girls playing at the level of boys. In the future, fans will look at how good a player is, and gender will not be important.[29] For men and boys, Wallace argues that Davis' performance will reduce gender biases about the roles of boys and girls.[29] For example, "Throwing like a girl", according to Wallace, now has a completely different and positive meaning.[29] Melissa Isaacson, writing for ABC News, expressed similar views.[38] Wallace also speculates that the more attention female athletes such as Davis receive from girls, boys, men, and women, the more popular women's sports will become.[29] Finally, Wallace suggests that the tremendous interest that Davis has piqued in the Little League World Series might lead to increased participation of both boys and girls in baseball, which has suffered from major league "performance-enhancing drug scandals".[29]
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