We have dozens of women covering pro and college sports for our team brands here at SB Nation. Meet one of those talented writers, Caitlin Rogers, who writes for our Yankees blog, Pinstripe Alley.
Meet Caitlin Rogers from Pinstripe Alley
Yankees assistant GM Jean Afterman is one of the women in this industry who Caitlin looks up to.
Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Why are you so passionate about baseball and the Yankees?
Growing up, I was that kid who tried out for every sport at least once. I was on the quest to find the perfect fit. Between first grade and high school, I tried everything from basketball to cheerleading to taekwondo. You name it, I tried it. I was so interested in the idea of baseball that I not only played t-ball, but also tried out for softball three consecutive years. I failed to make the team (I have a similar skillset to Brett Gardner, if Gardner could only throw the ball 15 feet). It finally dawned on me that I could at least watch it if I couldn’t play it.
One night in 2004, my stepdad happened to be watching the ALCS in the living room. I sat down down for a minute, and ended up watching the entire game. For whatever reason (probably the fact that they were winning), I decided that I wanted the Yankees to win the series and that they were my favorite team. Sadly, the ALCS was never completed; the Yankees definitely didn’t blow a three game lead. I have stuck with the Yankees ever since, though.
What has been your favorite experience covering the Yankees for Pinstripe Alley?
The Yankees’ postseason run last year was exciting, even though I was out of the country for part of it. Big trades and free agent signings are always fun and feel like a staff bonding experience.
What are some of the unique challenges you’ve faced?
Honestly, I encounter much more sexism off of the internet than I do on PSA. The fact that I avoid Twitter probably helps with that, but very rarely do I feel like a site member has crossed the line into personal attack, or is criticizing a story just because I am a woman.
How did you start writing for Pinstripe Alley?
I joined PSA back in 2010 when I was looking for a community to share my excitement with. I wish I had found the site during the 2009 postseason run. As a Yankees fan living in California, I’m surrounded by Dodgers and Giants fans, but hard pressed to find anyone to talk with about the team in person. It wasn’t long before I had made a lot of new friends in the game threads. I happened to be in the right place at the right time in 2013 when Tanya Bondurant was looking to add an editor to the staff. I hadn’t ever written about the Yankees before, but she took a chance on me and I’m still here nearly five years later.
What women in the industry do you look up to?
The Yankees admittedly have many front office issues, but they’ve done something right with Jean Afterman. She became just the third female assistant GM in MLB history when they hired her, and she’s done a lot for the industry. In addition to finding loopholes in Japanese contracts to help players like Hideo Nomo and Alfonso Soriano come to the US much sooner than they would have otherwise been allowed to, she also helped recruit Hideki Matsui. Not to mention that she refused to take George Steinbrenner’s crap. I aspire to be so bold.
Whether you like them or not, Suzyn Waldman and Jessica Mendoza also deserve a lot of credit for their radio and TV work, respectively. It’s tough to break into the baseball universe as a woman, and their representation paves the way for a future that is a maybe a little less male-dominated.
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