International Women's Day: Rosi del Castillo continues breaking baseball barriers in Mexico

International Women's Day: Rosi del Castillo continues breaking baseball barriers in Mexico
08/03/2022
Del Castillo has played baseball since the age of three and pitched against men since she was 16.

Having become the first woman to play professional baseball in Mexico in 2015, 24-year-old pitcher Rosi del Castillo continues to be a trailblazer for female baseball following another top performance on the national scene in Mexico.

Del Castillo led her team Novena CDMX to victory at the first Baja Women's Baseball Cup in January in Ensenada. She struck out 12 in the final, her fastball consistently clocked at 80 miles per hour and she was chosen as the tournament Most Valuable Player.

Internationally, Del Castillo is also a powerhouse. She led Mexico to a historic qualification to the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup in 2019, starring as the best pitcher in the qualifier played in Aguascalientes.

The COVID-19 pandemic unfortunately forced the cancellation of the tournament with the next edition of the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup now starting this year with continental qualifiers followed by the Group Stage and the Finals in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

Since the age of three, Del Castillo has played baseball and pitched against men since she was 16. She started in baseball, thanks to her older brother. She also tried volleyball and basketball but wouldn't call baseball anything other than "The King of Sports".

She became the first woman to compete in the Clemente Grijalva League in the Sinaloa State in 2015 as a seventeen year-old and is keen to continue to be an inspiration for other female athletes by continuing to make history. For this reason, she has asked more teams to open their doors to female baseball players so that they can demonstrate their value and talent.

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"I heard quite some male chauvinist comments [when I started]," Del Castillo said about when she first played in the Clemente Grijalva League. "I didn't care. They can keep talking."

There is no Women's Baseball League in Mexico, but the States of Ciudad de México, Oaxaca, Hidalgo and Baja California have local tournaments. Del Castillo is from Puebla, where there's no official women's baseball activity, however she is still the recognized frontwoman and significant advocate of the game in Mexico.