by Michael Ceraolo
Only the Babe and Lou and maybe Mr. Engel
know if the two Yankees struck out on purpose;
the only pre-arrangement on my part
was to ask them not to hit it back at me
Growing up, Mr. Vance had taught me
how to throw a drop ball,
so I think the strikeouts were legit
But the Commissioner took no chances:
only a few days after the game he voided my contract,
forcing me thereafter to pitch only in games
outside organized baseball marketed as sideshows,
and I could only take so much of that,
so I retired after a few years
Virne Beatrice “Jackie” Mitchell Gilbert was one of the first female pitchers in professional baseball history. Pitching for the Chattanooga Lookouts Class AA minor league baseball team in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees in 1931, she struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession.
