She Was Rejected At 10, And Now, 70-Year-Old Woman Fulfills Ultimate Dream To Be A Yankees Bat Girl.

To be a Yankees Bat Girl. That’s 10-year-old Gwen Goldmans’ ultimate dream. So she wrote then-general manager Roy Hamey a letter expressing her wish that, hopefully, they can fulfill. Unfortunately, when he wrote back, he explained briefly that since young Gwen is a girl, she might “feel out of place in a dugout.”

Hamey wrote:
“While we agree with you that girls are certainly as capable as boys, and no doubt would be an attractive addition on the playing field, I am sure you can understand that in a game dominated by men a young lady such as yourself would feel out of place in a dugout.”

And now, six decades later, Gwen finally got to fulfill her dream!

As it turned out, the current Yankees general manager Brian Cashman heard about Gwen’s letter when she was only 10 years old. This was made possible by Gwens’ daughter Abby McLoughlin. She reached out to the Yankees about the letter her mother received in response to her request. And despite the rejection, she still hung that response letter on her living room wall. She wants to show her “love for the Yankees and to hold on to a dream.”

Cashman got out of his way to write her a new reply. And this time, he invited her down to the ballpark for them to grant her wish. The new letter offered her a spot as an honorary bat girl at a Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.

She even got a personal invite through a Zoom call. Cashman said, “Although your long-ago correspondence took place 60 years ago (six years before I was born), I feel compelled to resurrect your original request and do what I can to bring your childhood dream to life.”

He further explained the role the modern Yankees have played in wearing down gender barriers: He wrote: “Here at the Yankees, we have championed to break down gender barriers in our industry. It is an ongoing commitment rooted in the belief that a woman belongs everywhere a man does, including the dugout.”

He adds, “And despite the fact that six decades have passed since you first aspired to hold down the position as a New York Yankees Bat Girl, it is not too late to reward and recognize the ambition you showed in writing that letter to us as a 10-year-old girl.”

Goldman emotionally replied, “It is my honor and my dream, and I can’t thank you enough for making this come true. Thank you for doing this for us women and for moving forward and opening the world up to the population. I feel like I’m in a dream, to tell you the truth.”

On June 26, 2021, Gwen finally took to the field in a Yankees uniform…

And she loved every moment of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. She was high-fiving the other players and even throwing an honorary pitch. And her appearance was a part of the Yankees’ HOPE week initiative. According to the website, this was when the team “shines a spotlight on a different individual, family or organization worthy of recognition and support.”

In an interview with the reporters, Goldman said: “Amazing, a dream come true of 60 years. Pinch me to make sure I’m really not dreaming, that this is a reality.”