At age 38, the Mexican managed to enter the Major Leagues as a Scout

Who is Karla Espinoza?

Karla Espinoza was born 38 years ago in Culiacán (Sinaloa), where she discovered her passion for this sport. Espinoza lived near the facilities of the team called the Tomateros de Sinaloa and that is where she started her career in baseball.

Leer en español: ¿Quién es Karla Espinoza, la latina que está rompiendo barreras en la MLB?

Baseball is a sport led by men and the leagues for women are few and scarcely covered by the press; because of this, Espinoza knew that she should focus on the opportunities women have in this sport.

This is how Karla Espinoza began her career as a sports journalist focusing on baseball. In this position, she lasted 15 years before Eddie Diaz (headhunter supervisor of Los Ray de Tampa Bay) discovered the qualities that the Sinaloan has to sign new talents, since he also fulfilled this role in the Tomateros de Sinaloa.

Now, Karla Espinoza, at 38, must show all the talent she has as a Scout with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Also read: Nicaragua: The great exponent of baseball in Central America

What role do the Scouts play in Baseball?

If you are not associated with this sport, the term Scout may sound to a group of adolescents who camp and have different activities to climb up the ranks. However, in Baseball the Scout plays a major role in identifying and hiring the promises and new talents of the favorite sport of Americans.

Although it sounds easier than it is, Scouts have different difficulties to bring new promises to the clubs where they work, as Karla Espinoza points out "it is a job that, in 98% of cases, you are going to make mistakes, chances of a young player reaching the Major Leagues are minimal".

This is reflected in the qualities Scouts should look for in new promises. An example of this is batting. When looking for a new promise the important thing is to see how strong and far you can hit and how many hits you can connect, in a professional player is measured by statistics.

Now, with this information, it can be understood that the new work of Karla Espinoza in the Tampa Bay Rays will not be easy at all. She should have a skills to identify new promises, she should silence the voices of the unbelievers, and above all she should demonstrate that the women are equal or even better than men in this job.

Latin American Post | Miguel Díaz
Translated from “ ¿Quién es Karla Espinoza, la latina que está rompiendo barreras en la MLB?”