Actions speak loudest

Talent carried Olivia Pichardo to her place in history

- By Savannah McCann

When Kim Ng was named the general manager of the Marlins, she earned another title: the first female GM in MLB history. When Elizabeth Benn played in the New York City Metro League, she became the first female to do so. They did not ask to make history. That’s true for all the women in baseball who have broken barriers. It is just a product of no longer looking at gender as a barrier to a job.

Olivia Pichardo never asked to be another “first.” She just is. When she made the Brown University baseball team in October 2022, she earned the title of the first female baseball player in Division I history. Though she did not ask for her story to go viral, it is not a title she takes lightly.

“I think it is sinking in a bit more for me now,” Pichardo said. “ I have my role models, like Ng and Benn, but every woman in baseball is a pioneer by default. I think in order to be a good player, you have to play for something bigger than yourself. That’s my biggest motivator, now knowing the position I’m in. It’s motivation for me to be the best player that I can be.”