Proving Doubters Wrong: Playing in the Minor Leagues
After being scouted by Barry Moss
she came and tried out for the St. Paul Saints. She made the team but her first
few games were rough. Borders chose to play for the Saint Paul Saints because
they were the only ones that gave her a shot. She had called around to several
major league affiliates and independent leagues with no answer. The Saints
contacted her and invited her to pitch at spring training, for no money, but
nevertheless it was the shot she needed (Borders). Many were skeptical of
Veek’s intentions when he signed Borders as a pitcher. He had been known for
the stunts he pulled in order to attract fans. Borders had her professional
debut against the Sioux Falls Canaries on May 31, 1997. Clayton Isakson, a
Canaries season-ticket holder remembers the atmosphere of that historic game.
“Ila came in from the bullpen, and everybody stood up and cheered. It must have
unnerved her, because she plunked the first batter in the shoulder, and the
whole time she was in there – maybe three or four innings – she never got one
out.” (Charland) The management and coaches did not think that Borders had
what it took to be a professional ballplayer. Pitching Coach Mike Cuellar told
reporters, “this is a tough league, if she wants a future in baseball, the
Silver Bullets would be a good place for her. She would make better money, and
baseball is still the same game.” (Millea) General Manager of the Saints Bill
Fanning believed she was overmatched in the Northern League and that she should
move to a less intense league. He suggested the Frontier League saying, “it’s a
level like rookie ball; this is a little too high for her.” (Millea) After only
a few months she was traded to the Duluth-Superior Dukes in June 1997. Dukes
Manager George Mitterwald was not sure she was right for the Duluth team either
saying, “if she could add five or six miles per hour to her fastball, get
physically stronger, then maybe” she could compete in the Northern League. (Millea)
Photo Courtesy of the City of St. Paul website http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=1188
While in Duluth she was able to
work on her pitching and the transition into professional baseball without the
constant media storm that came with being on the Saints team. She seemed to
find a home in Duluth. Her teammates in particular really came to accept her as
an integral part of the team. Her fellow pitcher Chris DeWill believed she was
a valuable player, telling reporters for a Newsweek
article, “She really wants to win, [once] she came out of a start and went
into the clubhouse and I heard her punching walls and kicking stuff. The thing
that really got me were these extremely high-pitched expletives – I’m used to
hearing those in deeper voices.” (Brauer) She even received a nickname from her
Dukes teammates. They called her “Paws” because her hands were bigger than even
DeWill’s who stood at six feet six inches. Even though she had won over the players the
management still did not believe she was a good enough player. Mitterwald admitted
that she was originally signed to “add a few people at the turnstiles”, to him
she was not a legitimate player.
Borders proved the doubters wrong
in July 1998 when she won her first men’s professional baseball game, the first
woman ever to do so. The Duluth Dukes were playing against the Sioux Falls
Canaries and Borders had shut them out for five innings but her concentration
was waning in the sixth. “Two outs, two-to-nothing, person on second, number
three hitter up,” as Borders retells the story. “I had to tell myself to bear
down. When I struck him out – whoo – it was an awesome feeling.” (Brauer) This
game was one of the best she ever played and it proved to all the doubters that
not only was she good but that she was an integral member of the team. She
recalls, “it was a close, low-scoring game, when the team was fighting for first
place. They couldn’t accuse me of just being a mop-up pitcher after that.” (Brauer)
This defeat did not sit well with the other teams in the league or with the
Canaries themselves. The manager of the Canaries complained that Borders should
not have been playing at all and talk reached Duluth that the Fargo team might
forfeit if Borders played. The Fargo team did not forfeit and Borders ended up
pitching six scoreless innings giving up only four hits and gaining a 2-0 lead.
(Karlen) The Dukes ended up losing the game but Borders proved that nothing was
going to stop her from playing. Despite all her successes it was still a
challenge being the only woman on the team. She made several concessions so it
would not seem like she was receiving special treatment. She would come to the
ballpark already in a uniform so the team would not have to have a separate
locker room for her. This was a huge concession to make because a lot of team
bonding happens in the locker room and she was missing out on all of that
because she was the only woman. She also did not go out and party with the team
after games so as to avoid mixed messages about dating. Borders admits, “it’s
lonely, but I’d rather watch a ball game on TV.”
Her third season in the minor
leagues she was traded to the Madison Black Wolf in Wisconsin, another team in
the Northern League. This was where she really started to develop as a player
she had finally earned a spot in the starting rotation. Borders attributes much
of her success to the veteran manager of the Black Wolf “Dirty Al” Gallagher.
After they acquired her he came up with a strategy of using her as a
three-inning starter. This allowed her to maintain some mystery about herself and
her pitches. The hitters did not get much more than one look at her menu of
pitches before Gallagher took her out of the game (Charland). Because of this
strategy she maintained an excellent ERA of 1.53 and her opponents only batted
.264 against her. These stats were the best on her team and she had hoped that
the improved ERA would earn her a spot on a major league affiliate, and an invitation
to spring training (Charland). This was not to be as Borders decided to retire
in July 2000 after one last season with the Pioneerz, a team in South Dakota. In
52 games, the left-hander posted a 2-4 record with a 6.75 ERA.
Wade Stadium home of the Duluth Dukes
Photo Courtesy of http://www.digitalballparks.com/Northern/Duluth_640_3.html
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