SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Hours after Major League Baseball Commissioner-elect Rob Manfred took the ice bucket challenge in Manhattan, he visited the Little League World Series.
A former Little Leaguer, Manfred said a diverse group of players such as the Philadelphia team and star 13-year-old girl pitcher Mo’ne Davis sends a message that baseball is a wide-open sport.
“Fifty years ago people would have had a list of things women couldn’t do that was as long as your arm, and they’re doing every single one of them today, ” Manfred said Wednesday night about an hour before Davis took the mound against Las Vegas. “I’m not betting against the gender. I think it’s a really great story for Little League.
“It’s really a great story for diversity and equality, and I think we should embrace it and hope that she continues to develop,” Manfred said.
“It’s just a great story for us. The area in Philadelphia from which they come is where we want to be so much stronger. There’s a 100 positives about this story.”
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