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Reasons to Love Toronto Now

Because Elizabeth Benn is breaking up baseball’s old boys’ club

The High Park-bred pitcher is now one of the highest-ranking female executives in the MLB

By Luc Rinaldi
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Because Elizabeth Benn is breaking up baseball’s old boys’ club
Photograph courtesy of the New York Mets
Because Elizabeth Benn is breaking up baseball’s old boys’ club

As a child, Elizabeth Benn pitched at the diamonds in High Park, trying to emulate the intensity of her favourite Blue Jay, Roy Halladay. But when she tried out for the city’s youth leagues—the lone girl amid a gaggle of teenage boys—coaches told her to play softball instead. Rather than abandon her passion, Benn is revolutionizing it. In 2016, she became the first woman to play in New York’s semi-pro league. The following year, she delivered a startling presentation about baseball’s gender problem that earned her an internship with MLB. Then, this past February, the New York Mets hired the 28-year-old to run their major-league operations and manage their roster. It’s the highest post a woman has ever held at the franchise. Her appointment is noteworthy precisely because the upper echelons of baseball management are still dominated by men. Because of Benn’s example, those days may be numbered.

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