History made.
On Sunday, French 16-year-old shortstop, Melissa Mayeux, became the first female baseball player to be added to Major League Baseball's international registration list, according to MLB.com. Currently a member of France's Under-18 junior national team, Mayeux will be eligible to be signed by a major league team, beginning July 2.
Although she's a long shot of making a major league team, her mere presence on the international registration list warrants how solid of a baseball player she is.
"She's a legitimate shortstop who makes all the plays and is very smooth and fluid in the field," MLB Director of International Game Development Mike McClellan, who has been watching Mayeux play for two years, told MLB.com. "She swings the bat really well and is fearless."
McClellan also recalled a play, when Mayeux smoked a single off a Dominican male pitcher, throwing 91 miles per hour.
The MLB report also adds that at 16 and speaking little English, Mayeux is unaware that her name being added on the league's international registration list is a big American story.
"Melissa just wants to have to most opportunity she can in baseball," Boris Rothermundt, a French national team coach, also told MLB.com. "She is not at all thinking about being the first female on the list."
She's simply trying to play baseball and get better at it daily, while in France. From there...it remains to be seen.
"I would like very much to continue playing baseball in France until I'm 18 years old and then have the ability to leave for university or another opportunity abroad," she said. "I'd like to stay in baseball as long as possible."
We're looking forward to seeing more of her.
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