Maybelle Blair receives inaugural Amazin’ Mets Foundation Legacy Award

“,”providerName”:”Instagram”,”providerUrl”:”https://www.instagram.com/”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:658,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”As she addressed the media on her day of honor, Blair was donning a getup fit for a former pro: her signature baseball bat cane, a “League Of Their Own” white jacket with red piping, bright red sunglasses and sparkly pendant earrings.\n\nAfter posing for photos with Mets manager Buck Showalter, Amazin’ Mets Foundation president Alex Cohen, and a group of women Mets employees, Blair participated in a series of meet and greets with the Mets’ women and LGBTQ+ employee resource groups, who got a chance to chat with Blair one-on-one.\n\n“I’ve never seen so many women in baseball!” Blair said upon entering the room.”,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”Image”,”caption”:null,”contextualCaption”:null,”contextualAspectRatio”:null,”credit”:null,”contentType”:null,”format”:”jpg”,”templateUrl”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/ah8wg1qolxyzcurnqcw0″,”type”:”image”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Blair’s time in the AAGPBL was short, but impactful. She debuted in 1948 as a pitcher for the Peoria Redwings, but a leg injury cut her time there to one season. Blair returned to the league briefly in 1951 as a second baseman with the New Orleans Jacks before the AAGPBL folded in 1954.\n\nEven though the league that helped her turn pro was no more, Blair’s involvement in women’s baseball was just beginning. For years, one of her biggest areas of focus has been the International Women’s Baseball Center. Blair has worked tirelessly to raise money for the center, which she hopes one day will have a facility for girls baseball, a women’s baseball hall of fame and an umpire school, all in Rockford, Ill. She estimates the IWBC needs about $1 million more in funding.\n\n“Before I get on the other side of the dirt, it’s got to be done,” Blair said. “I got to get the shovel in the ground. I’m 96 now, so I got about four more good years.””,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”OEmbed”,”html”:”

Before today’s game, the @Mets honored All-American Girls Professional Baseball League legend Maybelle Blair with the Amazin’ Mets Foundation Legacy Award. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gf9IQCEdPJ

— MLB (@MLB) September 14, 2023

\n\n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Blair is also a fixture at MLB’s girls baseball events, particularly the Trailblazer Series, an annual baseball tournament for girls at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex in Vero Beach, Fla.\n\n“As far as women, as far as baseball, I will go anywhere \\[to\\] support them or do anything I can,” Blair said. “I don’t care what it is or…