Status: In the progress
Major League Sandlot
1
Is Erin Cole hurting the future of the Pittsburgh Pirates?
Can a girl really keep up and compete in a male dominated sport?
Should the Pirates have traded away future talent for a female who isn't competing?
Is a utility player really going to help the NL Central?
These are just some of the things I heard in the past 24 hours. The Pirates can go out and sign a player from Korea and no one bats an eye about him not being able to play. Players can struggle and people just say they're adjusting. Then I come in, I can play any position and even when I'm hitting and pitching and doing everything right, I still get criticized.
I played in college and people accepted me, but as soon as I was drafted the doubt started. It didn't matter that I was taken first overall, it didn't matter that I had the highest batting average on the Indians. It didn't matter that I have the most RBI's to everyone I was just some plague in the Pirates organization.
Here I am ranting while you're just sitting here knowing nothing about me, well Hi. My name is Erin Cole, I'm 22 years old, my birthday is on September 8, 1992 and I am a utility player currently playing for the Indianapolis Indians.
I know what you're thinking, "Erin, are you related to Gerrit Cole?" To answer that question, no, but I am related to another famous Pittsburgh Cole. I am the younger sister of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ian Cole. You know the guy the Penguins got from the St. Louis. Blues for Robert Bortuzzo, yeah that guy.
Let's see, what else, I'm from Ann Arbor Michigan and went to the University of Southern California on an athletic scholarship. I can't stand the Chicago Blackhawks(Shitsogo Blackhells as I call them) and I'm a diehard Red Wings fan and nothing will change that. I think that's all you really need to know about me, so back to my life.
"Erin, it's not healthy for you to be sitting there reading these things,"my good friend, Jaff (pronounced Jeff) Decker told me. I was in the Indians clubhouse when he said that. He recently got demoted down to AAA from the bigs to make room for a new guy they traded for.
"How do you know what's healthy for me and what's not?" I asked.
"All I'm saying is that I'm your friend and I think you should give me that little phone of yours,"he said. Jaff took my moment of hesitation to rip my phone out of my hand and took off running.
"Get back here Decker!"I screamed while chasing after him.
"If you want your phone back you'll have to catch me Cole!"
I chased Jaff through Victory Fields, the stadium the Indians play in, for about 5 minutes until he started to slow down. He must have seen me starting to catch up because he sprinted back into the clubhouse has tossed the phone to Tyler Glasnow. Tyler is a great pitcher who what recently promoted to AAA and he is 6'8", almost a foot taller than me.
"Tyler, be a good little boy and hand me my phone," I said reaching out my hands.
"Little, who are you calling little Cole?" Jaff asked.
"I wouldn't be talking Deck-" I didn't get a chance to finish because my phone started playing Hey, Hockeytown, my brother ringtone, "Now you have to give me my phone."
"Give it to her Tyler,"Jaff said defeated.
"You know Decker, just because you look like a little Asian girl doesn't mean you need to act like one," I joked before answering my brother.
"Hey Ian,"I said.
"Erin, you still got room at your place, I want to see my baby sister play before I head to Pittsburgh," he said.
“Yeah, there is another room, I can kick Tyler out for a couple nights,” I said loud enough for Tyler to hear.
“Why are you going to kick me out?” He yelled.
“Who’s Tyler?”
“Kid recently called up, I was volunteered to take him in, meaning I drew the short straw to say,” I explained, adding the last part trying to get a rise out of Tyler.
“So we good then?” he asked me.
“Way good dude.” I then hung up to see Tyler staring at me in disbelief. “What?”
“Why are you going to kick me out for a couple nights?” he whined.
“My brother is coming into town and needs a place to stay. I don’t trust him in a hotel, not after last time.”
“What happened last time?” Tyler asked.
“Nothing important, so you think you can fend for yourself for couple nights?”
“I guess, if I have to.”
“Good, now we got a game to win.”
The game I was talking about was the one happening in two hours. We were playing the Triple A team of the Chicago White Soxs, The Charlotte Knights. I was in the dugout standing with Jaff when he asked, “What did you mean by ‘just because you look like a little Asian girl doesn't mean you need to act like one’?”
“Dude, I was joking,” I said, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Oh, it just sounded weird.”
“I know. Come on Sanchez!”
After a 5-4 win the clubhouse was in high spirits. The music was loud and everyone was talking and singing, the latter not so well. I just finished talking with some reporters when Dean Treanor came up to me.
“Erin, I’d like to talk to you in my office please.” And he just walked away leaving me to think one word.
Shit
Can a girl really keep up and compete in a male dominated sport?
Should the Pirates have traded away future talent for a female who isn't competing?
Is a utility player really going to help the NL Central?
These are just some of the things I heard in the past 24 hours. The Pirates can go out and sign a player from Korea and no one bats an eye about him not being able to play. Players can struggle and people just say they're adjusting. Then I come in, I can play any position and even when I'm hitting and pitching and doing everything right, I still get criticized.
I played in college and people accepted me, but as soon as I was drafted the doubt started. It didn't matter that I was taken first overall, it didn't matter that I had the highest batting average on the Indians. It didn't matter that I have the most RBI's to everyone I was just some plague in the Pirates organization.
Here I am ranting while you're just sitting here knowing nothing about me, well Hi. My name is Erin Cole, I'm 22 years old, my birthday is on September 8, 1992 and I am a utility player currently playing for the Indianapolis Indians.
I know what you're thinking, "Erin, are you related to Gerrit Cole?" To answer that question, no, but I am related to another famous Pittsburgh Cole. I am the younger sister of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ian Cole. You know the guy the Penguins got from the St. Louis. Blues for Robert Bortuzzo, yeah that guy.
Let's see, what else, I'm from Ann Arbor Michigan and went to the University of Southern California on an athletic scholarship. I can't stand the Chicago Blackhawks(Shitsogo Blackhells as I call them) and I'm a diehard Red Wings fan and nothing will change that. I think that's all you really need to know about me, so back to my life.
"Erin, it's not healthy for you to be sitting there reading these things,"my good friend, Jaff (pronounced Jeff) Decker told me. I was in the Indians clubhouse when he said that. He recently got demoted down to AAA from the bigs to make room for a new guy they traded for.
"How do you know what's healthy for me and what's not?" I asked.
"All I'm saying is that I'm your friend and I think you should give me that little phone of yours,"he said. Jaff took my moment of hesitation to rip my phone out of my hand and took off running.
"Get back here Decker!"I screamed while chasing after him.
"If you want your phone back you'll have to catch me Cole!"
I chased Jaff through Victory Fields, the stadium the Indians play in, for about 5 minutes until he started to slow down. He must have seen me starting to catch up because he sprinted back into the clubhouse has tossed the phone to Tyler Glasnow. Tyler is a great pitcher who what recently promoted to AAA and he is 6'8", almost a foot taller than me.
"Tyler, be a good little boy and hand me my phone," I said reaching out my hands.
"Little, who are you calling little Cole?" Jaff asked.
"I wouldn't be talking Deck-" I didn't get a chance to finish because my phone started playing Hey, Hockeytown, my brother ringtone, "Now you have to give me my phone."
"Give it to her Tyler,"Jaff said defeated.
"You know Decker, just because you look like a little Asian girl doesn't mean you need to act like one," I joked before answering my brother.
"Hey Ian,"I said.
"Erin, you still got room at your place, I want to see my baby sister play before I head to Pittsburgh," he said.
“Yeah, there is another room, I can kick Tyler out for a couple nights,” I said loud enough for Tyler to hear.
“Why are you going to kick me out?” He yelled.
“Who’s Tyler?”
“Kid recently called up, I was volunteered to take him in, meaning I drew the short straw to say,” I explained, adding the last part trying to get a rise out of Tyler.
“So we good then?” he asked me.
“Way good dude.” I then hung up to see Tyler staring at me in disbelief. “What?”
“Why are you going to kick me out for a couple nights?” he whined.
“My brother is coming into town and needs a place to stay. I don’t trust him in a hotel, not after last time.”
“What happened last time?” Tyler asked.
“Nothing important, so you think you can fend for yourself for couple nights?”
“I guess, if I have to.”
“Good, now we got a game to win.”
The game I was talking about was the one happening in two hours. We were playing the Triple A team of the Chicago White Soxs, The Charlotte Knights. I was in the dugout standing with Jaff when he asked, “What did you mean by ‘just because you look like a little Asian girl doesn't mean you need to act like one’?”
“Dude, I was joking,” I said, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Oh, it just sounded weird.”
“I know. Come on Sanchez!”
After a 5-4 win the clubhouse was in high spirits. The music was loud and everyone was talking and singing, the latter not so well. I just finished talking with some reporters when Dean Treanor came up to me.
“Erin, I’d like to talk to you in my office please.” And he just walked away leaving me to think one word.
Shit