CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – There’s a new voice in the broadcast booth for the Charleston Dirty Birds this season, and she’s already made history.
On Thursday night, California native Jill Gearin became the first woman to call a professional baseball game in the 114-year history of Charleston professional baseball.
Gearin says getting in the broadcast booth has been a dream of hers since she was twelve years old.
“I was made fun of for liking sports, being a tomboy in middle school. Boys would say ‘girls don’t know about sports.’ I complained about that to my mom and she said, ‘Well Jill, you talk a lot and you like sports. Why don’t you do baseball broadcasting?’ I said that sounds like a great idea!”
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Before moving to the Mountain State, Gearin called games for the Visalia Rawhide in Arizona for five years. She was the first to do it there, too. Gearin also interned for the Boston Red Sox, the team she’s rooted for since her childhood.
Nina Gearin, Jill’s mother, has been by her side since Jill pursued sports broadcasting as a career. Nina says she’s gotten used to seeing her daughter break glass ceilings.
“It seems like Jill can do whatever she wants to do. It’s just a matter of waiting her turn, perhaps,” Nina said. “Just watching her confidence grow now that she’s working baseball, she’s very confident about what we can do.”
Gearin’s lifelong dream is to be the voice of a Major League Baseball team. She also wants to be the first of many female voices in pro sports and prove that women belong in the big leagues.
“I remind myself when I’m having bad days when I’m feeling down on myself that no matter what your gender, this is a hard role to get. Then add on all the other obstacles that I’ve had as a woman, I need to remind myself how much of a boss I am,” Gearin said.
“Whether it’s me, or someone else, I want it to be a woman.”
You can listen to Gearin call Dirty Birds games this season online by clicking here.