Fan gets to be bat girl, 60 years after snub
In 1961, 10-year-old Gwen Goldman was told she would be “an attractive,” addition to the Yankees field, but ultimately she would be too much of a distraction to be a Yankees bat girl by then-GM Roy Hamey.
Sixty years later, the Yankees tried to right an incident that must have been devastating at the time to the young Yankees fan. Monday, the team had the now 71-year-old woman in uniform and on the field as they kicked off their HOPE Week.
After her daughter contacted the Yankees about righting that wrong earlier this year, current Yankees GM Brian Cashman sent a letter inviting her to finally live out her childhood dream.
“Some dreams take longer than they should to be realized, but a goal attained should not dim with the passage of time. On behalf of our entire organization, it would be my great honor for you to join us for our game on Monday, June 28 vs. the Los Angeles Angels to serve as our honorary bat girl for the day,” Cashman wrote in a letter provided by the Yankees.
Goldman was greeted on the field before batting practice by Gerrit Cole, who had been part of a video call to invite her to live out her dream. The ace showed her around the dugout and met with manager Aaron Boone.
“I think it’s really cool. You know, I saw the video chat a couple days ago, Garrett and everyone on the call, and I think it’s awesome. You know, these are the stories that [the Yankees] attract each and every year that ultimately become the stories we focus on for HOPE week. They always seem to be unique in nature. And always incredibly heartwarming. And this is one of those stories,” Boone said.
MONDAY’S GAMES
Reds 12, Phillies 4: Nick Castellanos and
Joey Votto hit home runs as host Cincinnati routed Philadelphia.
Rockies 2, Pirates 0: Kyle Freeland pitched five scoreless innings before leaving with an apparent leg injury suffered while running the bases, Elías Díaz homered and host Colorado shut out Pittsburgh.
Yonathan Daza had an RBI triple and an over-theshoulder catch of Erik Gonzalez’s deep flyball to the center field warning track in a game dubbed “Opening Day 2.0” after the lifting of all pandemicinduced attendance restrictions at 50,000-seat Coors Field.
The Pirates had six hits, all singles. Four Colorado relievers worked an inning each, with Daniel Bard getting the last three outs for his 11th save in 16 chances.
Freeland (1-2) allowed three hits and struck out seven in his seventh start of the season.
He missed the first two months with a shoulder strain suffered in spring training.
Freeland reached on pitcher Tyler Anderson’s fielding error in the bottom of the fifth and apparently injured his leg sliding into third base on Daza’s double.
NAYLOR INJURY
Indians right fielder
Josh Naylor will need surgery after gruesomely breaking his right ankle Sunday in Minnesota during a frightening collision with rookie second baseman Ernie Clement.
Naylor, who has been a clutch hitter and bright spot for the Indians, smashed into Clement in the fourth inning of the Indians' 8-2 loss.
Naylor was sprinting toward a shallow pop in right by Minnesota’s
Jorge Polanco when he hit Clement as the players were trying to make the catch. The Indians said Naylor has a “closed” fracture and dislocation.
The Canadian-born Naylor was the 12th overall selection in the 2015 MLB draft by the Marlins, who traded him to San Diego in 2016. He was dealt to the Indians last year before the trading deadline.
Naylor, who has become a fan favorite in Cleveland, is batting .253 with seven homers and 21 RBI and has made several big defensive plays.