When Jason Klein’s seven-year-old daughter Ava told him she was worried that she couldn’t continue playing Little League, asking “Isn’t baseball really for boys?” Klein told her it wasn’t. He encouraged her to keep playing. But he didn’t stop there. Instead, he went on Twitter to solicit broader support so he could prove to Ava that she should keep going.
According to Baseball For All, more than 100,000 girls play youth baseball. The numbers are higher for younger girls, many of whom quit as they get older — in many cases to play softball. According to the Washington Post, Ava grew up watching the Yankees play every week and is a Little League veteran with one season under her belt. Her father says she loves it and thanks to the online response to his message, he can prove to his daughter that there’s nothing wrong with that.
Support for Ava came from all over. Mo’ne Davis, one of the few girls to ever play in the Little League World Series, assured Klein that his young daughter should stick with the sport. So did the actual Little League organization. So did a number of prominent and not-so-prominent former Little League players, many of whom showed off adorable images of themselves in uniform. In total, Klein’s tweet has been favorited almost 40,000 times and received some 2,400 replies.
Here are some of the best.
https://twitter.com/Monee__11/status/969789434106470400
We couldn't agree more Jessica! Tell your daughter we'd love to have her, and any girl, playing Little League Baseball this year, @ByJasonKlein.
— Little League (@LittleLeague) March 2, 2018
My little cousin was the only girl on her tball team!!! If a 5 year old can do it she can too
This was me in 1982. I played Little League for 2 years and was only 1 of 3 girls. It was awesome. I moved to Mississippi and they didn’t let girls play baseball. I petitioned the school to try out. I didn’t make the team, but it opened the door for more girls to try out. pic.twitter.com/KiO9bzY9pC
— D'Lisa Shayn (@DLisaShayn1) March 3, 2018
I played boys baseball (house league and AA) since I was 7 years old, all the way up to 18. It became who I was as a person and made me strong. I regret nothing and miss the sport every single day! She can do it! pic.twitter.com/QV41oi7JUU
— Adelina McCall
Let your daughter know all these girls play baseball. Most started on Little League teams. They’ll be back at it in another couple of weeks #DCForce pic.twitter.com/V9qEmfK7dC
— Scott Whipple (@swh1pple) March 2, 2018
I was always one of the only or the only girl on my parish baseball team. Started playing in kindergarten and kept playing for 7 years until I switched to softball. Point is I didn’t care I was the only girl, I played because I love the game. pic.twitter.com/sklKmQNQu1
— Adriana Carda (@annamariecarda) March 3, 2018
Yes! This is my son (left) but on the right is the first girl to play in our city’s privately run Little League. (husband was on the board, & coach: there was much drama that they let her play) We were fortunate to get her on our team and she was our best closing pitcher! (2003) pic.twitter.com/awDlGpmswt
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Baseball is a sport for girls too. I remember the Colorado Silver Bullets in the 1990's, a women's professional traveling baseball team sponsored by Coors.https://t.co/IggtRi6D4D pic.twitter.com/9K1LOtKUOe
— ExistToResist (@Kookman123) March 3, 2018
I was the only girl on my team the 3 seasons I played (93-96)Won the Charlie Hustle award to prove the boys wrong. #girlpower pic.twitter.com/atXr6fvGEr
— Michelle Rivard (@QueenWestGirl) March 3, 2018
