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Miami Marlins: Should the Marlins sign Melissa Mayeux?

By Miller Lepree |

It’s no secret that men dominate the professional sports landscape. From the athletes, to the coaches and executives,  to the media and beyond.

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Our sports-fanatic society revolves around men, and women often play a menial role in all aspects of the sports industry. While women’s’ sports leagues do get televised in America, it’s no secret that they aren’t all that popular in comparison to the big four men’s professional leagues.

In the baseball world, the attitude towards women is that they should stick to playing softball, but according to MLB.com’s Lindsay Berra, a talented 16-year-old French shortstop has an objection.

Melissa Mayeux is a player for the French junior national team, and she has been added to the international registration list, making her eligible to be signed by a major league team.

This news may prove to be insignificant in the long run, as Berra believes it to be improbable that a major league club actually signs Mayeux.

However, it is a possibility now, which makes it an intriguing story regardless of the outcome.

Mayeux would represent the first international female to play professionally if she signs, and would be the first female to play in the majors if she ever made it that far.

How does any of this relate to the Miami Marlins?

Well for starters, the Miami Marlins are widely scorned by national media and the rest of America for the way they operate the franchise. They haven’t had much good publicity in the past 10 years, and Mayeux could represent an opportunity for the Marlins to push to the forefront of gender equality in sports.

There’s no question that if signed, Mayeux would be followed by a media circus, much like Mo’ne Davis was during the Little League World Series last year. It’s just the type of attention stunt that the Marlins love, and while that’s a poor source of motivation, if Mayeux made it to the big leagues, none of that would matter.

In addition, the Miami Marlins have absolutely no depth in their minor league system, especially in the infield. If Mayeux turns out to be a good player on the left side, the Marlins could always use some extra help in that department.

Today, Mayeux is only a 16-year-old with a dream,- to keep playing baseball.

In 10 years? maybe, just maybe, baseball will have its first female player.

While it might be a pipe dream, it’s certainly a story worth following. We know one thing, that Mayeux is just going to keep playing, until somebody tells her that she can’t anymore; hopefully that somebody is herself.

Follow Marlin Maniac on Twitter @MarlinManiac for all your Miami Marlins news, opinion and analysis!

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