The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, the smell of a ball park hot dog and now the vision of irridescent pom poms between innings? America’s favorite past time is now introducing its other favorite past time, scantily clothed women, into its games! The NFL and NBA have cheerleaders, the NCAA has them at a majority of their sports, boxing and mixed martial arts have ring girls and even high school wrestling teams are now being cheered on for the pin!
Leave it to the Walt Disney World Corporation to start this trend nearly 12 years ago to increase attendance at the California Angels games. In the beginning, the “Angel Wings” danced for booing fans on top of the dugouts and were criticized for blocking views. However, after management moved the team to right field and increased their role by holding dance offs and contests, fans quickly turned coat and the Wings were a success. Since that time, the Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinatti Reds, former Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres have all added cheerleaders to their entertainment lineup. Reviews of cheerleaders are mixed and leave owners and fans pondering the question, “Do cheerleaders belong in baseball?”
According to a poll on Yahoo sports, 54% of readers voted to bring on the poms while the other 46% voted to leave the cheerleadering to football games. The American public seems nearly split down the middle but fans in the Mexican, Korean and Dominican leagues are all for dancers on the diamond. In some foreign leagues, cheerleaders wear nothing more than a sports bra, boy shorts and thigh high boots so its no wonder why their popularity has increased throughout the years. Cheerleaders in these leagues become equally as famous as the players on the field.
I originally thought that my friends who currently play professional baseball would think that cheering on the dugout would lessen the integrity of the game or would cause distractions on the field but I could not have been more wrong! One player said, “One of the best parts of playing in Mexico were the cheerleaders!” When I asked about them being a distraction, he said, “Distractions can be a great thing, especially if the girls are hot, you’re not playing and you have to sit in the dugout or bullpen.” Another player in the big leagues said, “If it brings more fans to the game, I think its a great idea. What’s not to love? Hot girls, little outfits and baseball?” Only one player that I spoke to didn’t feel that cheerleaders and ball go hand in hand. He stated, “Baseball has historically never had cheerleaders because we haven’t needed them. Its not as intense of a game like football or basketball. I like them for football, I just don’t think we need them on top of our dugouts.”
I’m still on the fence. As the granddaughter of a man who played baseball throughout the 30′s and 40′s, I respect the tradition and image of the game where fans came to see the hometown hero belt one out of the pak and the boys of summer played for passion and not acclaim. However, as a fan of the game and a former cheerleader, I can see why owners and management are looking to add a little something extra to increase the sport’s popularity. If baseball is America’s past time and cheerleaders are America’s sweethearts, why the difference of opinion?
[...] there are cheerleaders in American baseball, but it’s a relatively recent development. They first appeared in Southern California during [...]