little league world series

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — For the last few years, Mo’ne Davis has enjoyed her anonymity.

It had been 11 years since Davis was the first girl to pitch a shutout at the Little League World Series when she decided to give pro women’s baseball a shot despite having never played baseball with women before.

It had been five years since she played competitive baseball, and at age 24, she wasn’t sure if a comeback was in the cards.

Then, she decided, why not? After playing flag football last summer, she felt the competitive juices start to flow again, so she entered her name in the Women’s Pro Baseball League draft and became one of the first members of the Los Angeles Queens.

Mo’ne Davis hits during a Women’s Pro Baseball League exhibition game in Fort Myers, Fla.

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

“I just wanted to try it out,” she said from the warning track at Robin Roberts Field in Springfield, Ill., where the league was set to play its first games this weekend. “I don’t like to go through life regretting anything. I want to make sure I can look back and be like, ‘Hey, I tried it out.’”

Davis won’t be looking to rediscover what made her a sensation all those years ago.

“No matter how many times anyone asks, the answer is gonna stay the same: I’m not pitching,” she said. “I am doing what I want to do. I’m not doing what everyone else wants me to do. So whether you like it or not, I’m still gonna live my life, but I just want to show people, like, I’m gonna go out there and have fun.”

In the 2014 Little League World Series, Davis fired a 70-mph fastball and became the first female pitcher to win a game in the tournament when she tossed a shutout with eight strikeouts in Philadelphia’s opening game against Nashville.

Philadelphia’s Mo’ne Davis pitches against Nashville at the Little League World Series on Aug. 15, 2014.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

She played center field for the Hampton University softball team and where she posted a career batting average of .225 with 34 hits, 24 runs and 16 RBIs over two seasons.

Baseball hadn’t been on her radar since she started playing softball in college, but the WPBL changed everything. She said she was “still mad” that she didn’t hit well in the Little League World Series and wants to show off her skills in the batter’s box.

“If I did go pitch more, I would get compared to my younger self more,” she said. “My goal is to do what I want to do, not to be compared to my 13-year-old self, and let people know that I’ve grown. I’m an adult woman now, so you have to separate the two.”

That Little League run led to her being on the cover of Wheaties boxes and Sports Illustrated and becoming one of the most well-known female athletes of her era. She grew up wanting to play basketball and dabbling in football, but she has been the de facto face of women who play baseball without picking a bat up for a half-decade.

Mo’ne Davis throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a Dodgers game on Nov. 17, 2014.

(Mark J. Terrill/AP)

Though some of the attention on her is “annoying,” channeling her competitiveness into a professional sport was an opportunity she wouldn’t miss.

“She’s been in the spotlight most of her life,” Queens third baseman Ashton Lansdell said. “People kind of expect her to be this celebrity person, and she’s honestly just such a chill girl. Like she just wants to be a normal person. It takes her a little bit to warm up to people, I think because she’s been in the spotlight her whole life, so maybe she can be a little shy at times. But when she starts breaking out of her shell, she’s awesome.”

The Queens selected Davis with the 10th pick in December’s draft after she participated in the league’s tryout last August.

In April, Davis signed with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Banana Ball League, where she got in some innings as a relief pitcher. The Clowns are a revival of a 1940s and 1950s barnstorming Negro League team that included Toni Stone, the first woman to play in a professional men’s baseball league.

Former MLB center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. has been a mentor for Davis, and she said working with him and other Banana Ball players helped her develop her “baseball IQ.”

“It’s such an honor to be able to learn and soak up how she carries herself and, like, what she’s learned from her careers,” Queens outfielder Brittany Apagar said. “The exposure she’s gotten exposes us as well.”

Davis, who has degrees from Hampton and Columbia, became the third person from that Little League team to be drafted professionally, joining Scott Bandura (San Francisco Giants, now in triple A) and Jared Sprague-Lott (Athletics, now in class A).

But once again, Davis finds herself in the middle of history. This time, she’s not alone in making it.

“I try to protect my peace,” she said. “I don’t want my teammates to look at me any differently. … I don’t want them to look at me as like, ‘Oh, she’s only here for this.’ … I want them to know I’m here for you guys. I’m here to, you know, win games with you guys, and I’m here for the team.”