Anna L. Meyer [Pee Wee] is a former female shortstop

Shortstop

Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

 who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...

 during the season. She batted and threw right-handed.

Career

In 1942, chewing gum magnate and Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 owner Philip K. Wrigley

Philip K. Wrigley

Philip Knight Wrigley , sometimes also called P.K. or Phil. Born in Chicago, he was an American chewing gum manufacturer and executive in Major League Baseball, inheriting both those roles as the quiet son of his much more flamboyant father, William Wrigley Jr. After his father died in 1932, Philip...

 decided to start a women's pro softball league, concerned that the 1943 major-league season

1943 in baseball

-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over St. Louis Cardinals *All-Star Game, July 13 at Shibe Park: American League, 5-3-Other champions:*Negro League World Series: Homestead Grays over Birmingham Black Barons...

 might be canceled because of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Play in 1943 was a weird hybrid of softball and baseball, and the circuit was initially called the All-American Girls Softball League, though early in the first season the name was changed to All American Girl's Baseball League.

Meyer was one of the youngest players to sign a contract with the newly founded All-American Girls Professional Baseball League at age 15. She was invited to a tryout in the 1944 spring training

Spring training

In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

 and immediately was assigned to the Kenosha Comets

Kenosha Comets

Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but later moved to Simmons Field.The Kenosha Comets were one...

. Meyer earned the promotion only after her father lied about her age. The league minimum was 16, as she was eight months short of becoming eligible.

During the 1944 midseason, Meyer was traded by Kenosha to the Minneapolis Millerettes

Minneapolis Millerettes

The Minneapolis Millerettes were an expansion All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team that played for one season in 1944. They played their home games in Nicollet Park, home of the men's minor league team the Minneapolis Millers...

 in the same transaction that brought Elizabeth Mahon

Elizabeth Mahon

Elizabeth B. Mahon [″Lib″] was a female outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 135 lb., Mahon batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Greenville, South Carolina.-Early life:Lib Mahon was one of six children of David...

 to the Comets. Meyer hit a combined .192 batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 in 142 games. Considering the league was using underhand pitching and a softball with a 12-inch circumference, her average was acceptable for a middle infielder, especially with slick defensive skills. In fact, All-Star outfielder Betsy Jochum

Betsy Jochum

Betsy Jochum [″Sockum″] is a former outfielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 140 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-Overview profile:...

 clinched the batting title that year with a .296 mark.

At the end of the season, Meyer jumped to a rival Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 circuit to get more playing time and nearly as much money. Meyer, who played for the Chicago Bluebirds during five years, also liked it more because she did not have to travel and could hold down a job.

In 1950 Meyer married with photographer George Petrovic. They raised two sons, David and George, Jr. She is currently living in Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

.

Batting

GP Games played Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...	AB At bat In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...	R Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...	H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....	2B Double (baseball) In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....	3B Triple (baseball) In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....	HR Home run In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...	RBI Run batted in Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...	SB Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...	BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...	SO Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....	BA Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...	OBP
141	365	38	79	8	2	1	11	33	50	43	.192	.311

Fielding

PO Putout In baseball statistics, a putout is given to a defensive player who records an out by one of the following methods:* Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base...	A Assist (baseball) In baseball, an assist is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional...	E Error (baseball) In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...	DP Double play In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....	TC Total chances In baseball statistics, total chances , also called chances offered, represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is calculated as follows: Total Chances = assists + putouts + errors. Chances accepted refers to the total of putouts and assists only. Fielding...	FA
346	63	17	11	426	.953

Fact

• The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum recognized the AAGPBL with a permanent Women in Baseball exhibit in .

Sources