Female pitcher joins Victoria men’s team
Member of national women’s baseball team expected to come out of bullpen for HarbourCats
VANCOUVER — Claire Eccles steps in front of the mound for a couple easy tosses before signalling she’s ready to pitch.
The catcher prepares for the delivery, neither really knowing where her knuckleball is headed. And that’s the point. “It’s dancing!” the catcher blurts out after snagging the ball that dipped sharply before returning it to Eccles. She flashes a quick smile and heads back to the rubber.
A member of both the UBC Thunderbirds softball team and the Canadian women’s baseball team, that knuckleball is why Eccles will be wearing another hat this summer after the Victoria HarbourCats announced Tuesday that the 19-year-old from Surrey has joined the club for the 2017 West Coast League season.
Eccles will be the first female to compete in the 11-team circuit that includes the Kelowna Falcons and is home to mostly men’s university players from the United States and Canada, including some who have been drafted by major league clubs. The Cats are scheduled to play in Kelowna July 4-6. Eccles will also be the first Canadian woman to suit up at this level.
“A hundred per cent Claire is good enough to play on our team,” HarbourCats general manager Brad NorrisJones said in an interview prior to the official announcement. “Is it going to be a challenge for Claire? Absolutely.
“We’re just going to get everyone involved and show that in 2017 this isn’t different, this isn’t weird. It’s normal.”
Eccles, who has a baseball subtly tattooed behind her right ear, was intrigued when Norris-Jones first reached out. But the left-hander, who also throws a twoseam fastball and a curve, wanted to make sure she would be getting a real shot.
Her mind immediately went to Mo’ne Davis, the first girl to win a Little League World Series game in 2014, as well as Pitch, the recently cancelled television drama where a woman makes the big leagues.
“I was obviously a little skeptical,” Eccles said “You have to wonder: ‘Is this just for their own publicity?’
“Brad said I’d get fair opportunities and it’s not just for show.”
Like many knuckleballers, Eccles fell into the pitch almost by accident.
“All the kids would try and throw a knuckleball,” she said. “I played around with it and it eventually turned into something I could use.”
Norris-Jones saw four scouting reports on the fivefoot-eight Eccles, with her unpredictable pitch that moves in and out of the strike zone the main reason he believes she can succeed.
“If we strictly went on her velocity, I don’t think she could compete at this level,” he said. “But her knuckleball definitely competes at this level. “That’s what we were very excited about.” The HarbourCats, who averaged around 2,300 fans at home last season, play a 54-game schedule that begins May 30.
“I want to get it out there that girls can play baseball,” said Eccles, who is considering massage therapy as a career. “Hopefully this paves the way for other girls in the future.”