Mo’ne Davis is a 13-year-old baseball player from Philadelphia who has made quite a mark on the Little League World Series (LLWS). A natural athlete, the eighth grader has been playing the game with her team the Monarchs since she was seven, and she is now wowing the nation with her 70 mph pitch. She threw a shutout at the Mid-Atlantic Final, taking the Taney Dragons to the LLWS, and followed up by becoming the first girl ever to throw a shutout in World Series history — not to mention being the sixth girl ever to get a hit in the Series.

Stephanie Tuck understands the importance of Davis’ impact. She was also a female little leaguer on a co-ed team, so she knows the pressures and heckling that come with the territory. She had this to say of Davis: “Her impact is that she will not only inspire other girls to play but she is helping to remove the ‘specialness’ of girls playing on that level. Over time people won’t be amazed that a girl is so good. They will simply be amazed that a particular pitcher or catcher or fielder is so good. Gender won’t matter.”

Mo’ne Davis is an inspiration for girls everywhere. By taking a page from her book, girls can be encouraged to go and do whatever it is that they want, whether or not other girls are doing it and whether or not it is a male-dominated field. She is also inspiring for the message that she is sending to the male population, letting them know that girls can do this, too, they can do it just as well, and, sometimes, they can even do it better.

Despite all of Davis’ success on the baseball diamond, she says that her real love is basketball.
“She is phenomenal. She completely dominated the Philly league here. Every play, matching up with 6-foot-2, 6-3 boys. Everyone’s seen her pitch. Well, I promise you, she’s five times better at basketball,” said coach Elliot Hughes-Taylor.

Whatever Davis decides to do in later years, we can all rest assured that she will be absolutely great at it.