Upon her retirement from professional baseball Borders
signed a contract to be an ESPN commentator for collegiate baseball. (Edelson)
This was a short-lived career and she eventually moved to Arizona and became a
firefighter and emergency medical technician in Gilbert, Arizona, a suburb of
Phoenix. As of 2011 Borders was 36 years old and had spent five years at the
Gilbert firehouse. She has not had to fight any legitimacy battles at the
firehouse she is there because she wants to help and her colleagues know that.
Andy Larkin, one of her fellow firefighters who pitched for four big-league teams
from 1996-2000, has a lot of respect for her. “You want – you need – good,
dependable people working alongside you in this fire department, and it was
obvious that she’s a dedicated, hard-working person” (Zeiger). Baseball has
proven to be a good learning experience for her time as a firefighter. “Dealing
with stressful situations and thinking quickly on your feet, getting along with
others and having to be a team player and perform – those are all qualification
necessary for both jobs,” Borders said. Larkin agrees, saying “the times I work
with her, I see the same focus and systematic nature you need to succeed in
baseball. She gets a task and completes it” (Zeiger).  Borders feels that being an EMT and a
firefighter was a natural extension of baseball. “I had always wanted baseball
my entire life, but after that ended, I needed to decide what I wanted to do
for the rest of my life. I figured that I like people, like helping people, and
want something that is different and challenging every single day” (Zeiger).
There were some other potential paths her life could have taken. Upon her
retirement she was offered coaching and teaching jobs but she has never
attempted to profit from her days in professional baseball. She does miss the
game but is very satisfied with where life has taken her (Borders). As of 2011 she
was considering writing a book about her experiences in baseball and public
service. Nothing has come out yet, but it is a book many people would be
interested in reading. Ila Borders is an amazing woman with a fascinating story
that deserves to be told. Because despite the gains women have made in the
world of baseball there is still a long way to go and we need to honor the women
that have made it a little easier for the next generation. 

Ila Borders pictured with her colleagues in the Gilbert Firehouse 

Photo Courtesy of the East Valley Tribune  http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/eastvalleytribune.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/d7/dd74f6c4-5c0b-5b8d-a6ee-ffb152acb7a4/4d6d7edec6408.image.jpg?resize=300%2C186

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