To ponytails sticking out of baseball hats

An inside look at the impactful roles of women in the Mariners’ front office.

The following series will include five articles over the course of five weeks that highlight women in a variety of positions within the Mariners’ front office. Every Monday morning, a new article will be published surrounding a different woman in a different role, with the goal of putting the spotlight on those who work mostly behind-the-scenes yet continue to make lasting impacts on the organization. Lastly, I would like to extend a huge thank you to Alex Mayer for all of his guidance and support through this process, as well as all of the amazing women who gave me their time for interviews, emails, and inspiring conversations.

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I grew up on the dusty, neglected, yet sacred youth baseball fields of Northeast Seattle. Where the grass blades seeping through the cracks in the infield dirt inched closer to each other until eager, cleat-wearing feet impeded their progress every weekend. Where chain link dugouts were home, and overturned, bright orange Home Depot buckets were the most luxurious living room furniture. Where my T-ball and coach pitch teams donned our bright purple jerseys each Sunday with as much pride as a team parading through downtown streets with the World Series trophy in hand. This was the life.

As I aged into more advanced leagues, the ponytail protruding out of the back of my dirt-coated baseball hat became less common, and in turn, more prominent. Although it never drew any second glances, I began to see fewer hats with ponytails attached to them each year. Until, in my last year playing, mine was the only one.

With less women on the field to look up to in my after-school baseball games of the 2012 season, I turned to the women off-the-field who made differences within the sport for inspiration. Specifically, those who were employed by my childhood team, the Seattle Mariners.

Women who work individually with players to prepare their minds for battle. Women who host post-game Pride celebrations with sponsorship activations that donate money to LGBTQ+ organizations. Women who create themed ticket specials like “Bark at the Park” to give non-baseball fans a reason to come to games. Women who book music’s biggest names for the stadium’s summer concert series. And women who quite literally introduced the color pink to the Mariners’ team store.

These are my heroes. These are women in the Mariners’ front office who you might not know about, yet who still play a critical role in the success of the team. This is where my inspiration to continue being involved with the game of baseball comes from, and gives me hope for the young girl in a youth baseball league somewhere who never thinks twice about stepping out onto a field full of boys. This is a series about some of the most impactful women in baseball you’ve never heard of.