A Lifelong Dream: CT Woman Asked To Serve As NY Yankees Bat Girl

WESTPORT, CT — Gwen Goldman, a 70-year-old Connecticut woman and lifelong New York Yankees fan, has finally been given the opportunity to serve as her favorite team's bat girl during Monday's game against the Los Angeles Angels.

At the age of 10, Goldman wrote a letter to the Yankees informing them of her dream to serve as the team's bat girl. In a letter dated June 23, 1961, which was posted to the Yankees' official Twitter page over the weekend, the team's then-general manager thanked Goldman for her letter.

"While we agree with you that girls are certainly as capable as boys," the letter reads, "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."

According to the Hartford Courant, Goldman remained a fan of the team despite being denied her dream, and even kept the letter framed on her wall. The 60-year-old letter lists Goldman's address at the time as Green Acre Lane in Westport, however, the Courant notes she currently lives in Newtown.

Goldman's daughter, Abby McLoughlin, recently reached out to the team and sent them a copy of the letter, which led to Goldman being selected as an inspirational person to be honored during the team's HOPE Week program, the Courant reports.

A video posted to Twitter showed the moment Goldman was surprised with the news, during a Zoom call with her family, by the Yankees' vice president of communications and media relations, Jason Zillo, who oversees the HOPE Week program.

"We look for inspiring people, inspiring stories," Zillo said in the video, "and we kind of use the light here at Yankee Stadium to kind of shine a spotlight on those people, and you are one of those people."

Brian Cashman, the team's current general manager, also was present for the call, during which he thanked Goldman for being a longtime Yankee fan and for her 60-year-old letter.

"I know you received a response back from the general manager back then," Cashman said in the video, "so in the capacity I have now as general manager, I've sent a new letter on behalf of the entire organization."

In that letter, which was dated June 23, 2021, and also posted to the team's Twitter, Cashman said Goldman's previous correspondence with the Yankees had recently caught his attention.

"Although your long-ago correspondence took place 60 years ago (six years before I was born)," Cashman's letter reads, "I feel compelled to resurrect your original request and do what I can to bring your childhood dream to life."

Cashman said the team has championed to break down gender barriers in baseball.

"It is an ongoing commitment rooted in the belief that a young woman belongs everywhere a man does, including the dugout," Cashman said. "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. Some dreams take longer than they should to be realized, but a goal attained should not dim with the passage of time."

Goldman was emotional as Cashman read his letter aloud to her, thanking him and the organization for finally making her dream come true.

"It is my honor and my dream," Goldman said in the video, "and I can't thank you enough...for making this come true."

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, Jean Afterman, the team's assistant general manager, and Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal, the team's vice chairperson, were also present during the call.

While Cole is not scheduled to pitch during Monday's game, he offered to show Goldman "all the sneaky routes" and quick ways to get in and out of the team's dugout.

"Thank you for doing this for us women," Goldman said, "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."