Trailblazing baseball umpire hoping to get more women behind the plate

A new initiative under the umbrella of Baseball Canada is hoping to get more women behind the plate as umpires — one of the most challenging jobs in professional sports.

Lisa Turbitt of Burlington has been a trailblazer for female umpires and is one of the sport’s most respected in North America. Turbitt has been an umpire since she was 11 years old, when she had the opportunity to call her brother’s t-ball game.

After realizing how difficult it has been to try and break the glass ceiling in having a woman ump in professional baseball, she and a few other women joined together to create Behind The Plate.

Their goal is to encourage young women across the country to become umpires and, hopefully, one day sees a woman behind the plate at a Major League Baseball game.

“I wanted all those same opportunities, and I wasn’t aware that maybe it was different for me initially. And then as I got older and started to have more opportunities to do things, I started to realize, ‘Hey, I do have a chance to try and make some of these barriers that I’ve overcome, some of them difficult to have overcome, maybe I can help to remove some of them for those behind me,” Turbitt told CityNews.

She said some of the barriers include even having the proper equipment.

“One of the things that we talked about was creating opportunities and how to adapt our equipment so that it fits girls and women, especially if they’re smaller. Our bodies are different, and there are some safety concerns if your equipment doesn’t fit,” said Turbitt.

“Once you’re safe and protected, it’s a lot easier to umpire.”

Since she began umping, Turbitt has been at the centre of multiple historical moments. She was the first woman to serve as the Umpire Director at an International Baseball Tournament.

She is hoping that Behind The Plate — an influential program that has women in the sport telling their stories — that it helps continue to break barriers in the sport.

“In each of the videos, the women have something to share, like a tip, trying to pass on some knowledge or some experience that they have to hopefully encourage and inspire others to become an umpire as well.”

Turbitt, who is also a teacher and librarian at an elementary school in Milton, made history in 2004 when she became the first woman honoured with the Dick Willis Senior Umpire of the Year Award, which recognizes Baseball Canada’s top on-field official.

“I think one of the things that people forget is to become a major league umpire is challenging, whether you are a man or woman,” said Turbitt.

“Historically, we have a lot of associations that don’t have girls playing. They don’t have girls and women coaching. They don’t have girls and women umpiring. It makes that pool of Major League umpires even smaller for an opportunity for a woman to get there.”

MLB has not had a female umpire, whereas the NFL, NBA and the NHL have all had female referees. But Turbitt admits she has seen improvement in the league.

“We’re seeing at the MLB, more and more women involved in the front office and as trainers in different roles and responsibilities with baseball,” she explained.

“As girls and women see themselves in baseball, it’s starting to shift. It’s starting to change. They’re getting the opportunities to be involved in the sport where maybe they didn’t in the past, building that capacity and moving up and having that opportunity.”

With files from Meredith Bond