Whoops

The ball came in low and inside. It's called the perfect pitch to crank since one has full velocity and the optimum angle at which to hit the ball. I really wanted to just hit a liner down the line, but I connected well. Too well. Let's just say that I hit it far. Very far. Further than most women my size would be able to.

I never intended to play like that. I simply wanted to come out, play some ball with friends, and have a good time. I wanted to exist as simply me and not have to worry about the whole gender thing. Most of the games I have played have been a little drive from where I live, but this is a new league I was invited to play in...that is closer to both home and work.

So, although the hit may have been attention I'd rather not have, seeing a coworker (who knows my situation) playing in the game before ours may have been a bigger problem. He knew me before and now after...even though we only chat once in a while. I deal with him mainly on a professional basis, but we have chatted. He seems pretty cool with my transition.

But...I wonder, since he is on a different team, will he leak my 411? Will my teammates find out? Will that knowledge change how they think of me? I seriously didn't plan to hit it as far as I did, but it happened. I have friends that can almost hit it as far, but they are slightly bigger than me.

Again, my justification for playing women's or co-ed sports is this: Should a 6'3" woman be prevented from playing professional basketball simply because she is 10" taller than the average women's height? Should I be discriminated against any differently?

(EDIT) I suppose part of my concern comes from the same issue Michelle Dumaresq has recently faced. She won the Canadian downhill championships, but the second place woman wore a shirt on the winner's platform that said, "100 Per Cent Pure Woman Champ". Michelle posted on a forum I was on, that she did experience a lot of bias from her fellow athletes. Once people know, they totally treat you differently. Yes, I have a similar past as Michelle, in that we both grew up as boys and participated in sports. We're athletic. So, I suppose we are guilty of having that privileged history where playing sports was expected of us more so than being an exception. Life's not fair though. Growing up, I was typically the smallest boy in most any sport I did. As a senior in high school, I wrestled at 119 pounds (54 kgs). Whenever I played basketball, I learned to shoot from the outside parameter because any shot I took inside the 3 point arch was typically blocked. I never went out for football because I thought I was too small...and I enjoyed cross country much better. Volleyball, and any similar sport, was hampered by my lack of height. Let's face it, the taller one is, the more power one can generate. It's not to say that a 5'5" man can't compete with the bigger boys, but it's damn hard. I can only think of three...two in basketball and one in baseball...who ever played professionally.(EDIT)

Anyway, I probably had the game of my life. I went 5 for 5 in my first 5 at-bats. When I came up to bat a sixth time, the bases were loaded with 2 outs and we were already up by more than 15 runs. The game was basically over. The scorekeeper, who'd noticed my stats for the game, wanted me to crank on one again.

I didn't. I grounded out to the short-stop.