Jackie Mitchell fanned the Yankees legends in an exhibition game in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
On April 2, 1931, left-handed pitcher Jackie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back-to-back. It only took her seven pitches total.
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When Jackie Mitchell was a child, her family lived next to future Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance. Known for his fastball, Vance taught Mitchell how to throw a mean breaking ball when she was only five or six years old.
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At 16, Mitchell joined an all-girls team in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her sinking curveball caught the attention of Joe Engel, owner of the AA Chattanooga Lookouts. He signed her as a pitcher on March 28, 1931.
When Babe Ruth learned he'd be facing a 5'8" girl, he told the New York Times, "I don't know what's going to happen if they begin to let women in baseball. [...] They are too delicate. It would kill them to play ball every day."
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