Melissa Mayeux, a 16-year-old French teenager playing for France's under-18 junior national team, has become the first woman to be named to MLB's international registration list. Being on that list means Mayeux will be eligible to be signed by an MLB club on July 2.
Per MLB.com it's unlikely that Mayeux will be signed anytime soon by an MLB club, and she doesn't even want to come stateside this early in her career.
"I would like very much to continue playing baseball in France until I'm 18 years old," Mayeux said, "and then have the ability to leave for university or another opportunity abroad. I'd like to stay in baseball as long as possible."
MLB Director of International Game Development Mike McClellan thinks Mayeux may be a real MLB prospect when she is ready for a move though. "She's a legitimate shortstop who makes all the plays and is very smooth and fluid in the field," McClellan said. "She swings the bat really well and is fearless."
Mayeux does not speak much English, and reportedly didn't even realize her presence on this list would be newsworthy according to her coach Boris Rothermundt.
"Melissa just wants to have to most opportunity she can in baseball. She is not at all thinking about being the first female on the list."
Mayeux said she has not encountered any problems as a woman playing in a game dominated by men. "I grew up with the same boys, so we've known each other since I was very little," she said. "I've never had a problem with integration or respect. We're very well connected, and that makes a good team."
While an MLB future is very far away, it's not inconceivable to believe Mayeux might appear in a World Baseball Classic.
"In 2017, she'll still be on the young side, but she's improved steadily over the last two years and will continue to improve," McClellan said. "So could she play for France in the WBC? In her lifetime, I think she can."
[MLB.com]
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