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Caitlin Tomotsugu Spotlight

Softball Mario Russo

Caitlin Tomotsugu swings for the fences to break barriers

Over the last ten years, awkward silence has been a craving for Caitlin Tomotsugu every time she's stepped into an elevator wearing high-cut socks and a buttoned up jersey. 

Whether her colours were red and white to represent Team Ontario, or an inverse of the two as part of the Canadian U21 Prospects Team, Tomotsugu continuously found herself in similar situations while taking the hotel elevator to meet with her team. 

A quick glance in her direction would spark a carousel of questions about her equipment, her appearance, as well as the conformed assumption about the game of baseball that she would be playing within the hour. 

Looking the part and playing the part was simply not enough for Tomotsugu, whose answers about going to play baseball would be met with the infamous line: "Oh, you mean underhand softball?" that Tomotsugu and her teammates have become so accustomed to hearing on their summertime road trips. 

"They would always question us and didn't think we were actually talking about baseball. It's just part of this thing where girls "have to" play softball and boys "have to" play baseball," said Tomotsugu. 

The ability to be a dual threat in both is something the fourth-year reenacts with as the months roll along. Playing baseball throughout the summer and softball during the fall has propelled Tomotsugu into an endless cycle of the game, one that she continuously works at to shatter the gender norms between the two. 

The push towards breaking down that barrier started at a young age for Tomotsugu, who at just five years old elected to play baseball alongside a group of boys. The Vaughan, Ont. native's choice would solemnly kickstart the next chapter of her life, birthing a fiery passion that remained seamlessly untamable to the societal norms surrounding the game of baseball. 

Without a familiar face to turn to, Tomotsugu began finding inspiration from within as she worked to rise above the bar set out by her male counterparts. As she became more and more experienced with baseball, Tomotsugu discovered the flaws within the traditional 'get-what-you-give' mentality in the world of sports, and had to make changes to her game as a result. 

"I always wanted to be the top on the team and so I always had to put in that extra effort just to get to the same level."

Yet seeing that extra endeavour translate to success is something Tomotsugu familiarized herself with while climbing the ranks in her baseball and softball careers. By getting a firm grip on the lives of other non-traditional female athletes, Tomotsugu was able to understand the steps that needed to be taken in search of a prominent role in professional baseball. 

Staples in the Canadian baseball landscape such as Ashley Stephenson were some of Tomotsugu's earliest idols and quickly became part of the movement behind her perpetual baseball career in a male-dominated industry. 

Stephenson's 14-year stint with the Canadian National Women's Baseball team highlighted her journey that began in a setting similar to Tomotsugu; with a team full of boys, and elevators full of criticism. 

"Being able to see another woman playing at the highest level is amazing to see and proves to everybody that anybody can compete if they put in the correct amount of effort and hours," said Tomotsugu.

Tying competitiveness together with work ethic would reincarnate itself once more following Tomotsugu's arrival at Toronto Metropolitan University in the fall of 2019. 
 
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Tomotsugu prepares to make a throw to first base. Credit: Curtis Martin

Not wanting to give up her passion for the game of baseball, the then first-year made the decision to take a run at the university softball team and was heavily influenced by an old teammate of hers -  Emma Carr - to do so. 

The two crossed paths as teammates for Team Ontario before Carr eventually landed a spot on Team Canada's roster at the age of 15. Carr would play her final season for what was then the Ryerson Rams in the fall of 2019, but would be successful in bringing over a talent like Tomotsugu to advance the program forward over the next several years. 

"Seeing how much dedication and how much effort people like [Carr] put into the sport, it's just really motivating for myself to try and do that as well," said Tomotsugu. 

At the time, Tomotsugu was unsure if her game would translate well into the nation's top collegiate league, entering her softball career with nerves far from nullified and an experience yet to be effectuated. 

After getting her first year under her belt, Tomotsugu quickly realized just how wrong the public perception of softball really was at the time, mentioning that: "some people might think it's a girls sport and that it's much easier… It is not."

Tomotsugu would spend the next two seasons with the club learning more about the game while simultaneously working towards her degree in Civil Engineering at TMU. Although the program requires equal sittings of attentiveness and work ethic, the fourth-year student believes the game of baseball has prepared her mentality for longstead workloads at a young age. 

Whether it comes in the form of being quick with a pen or in the study process while preparing for a crucial exam, Tomotsugu believes being a student of the game has allowed her to thrive under pressure and be a leading student in the industry. 

"You don't want to think about what you're doing while you're doing it. It just has to be engraved in you," said Tomotsugu. 

Having the ability to see her impact in the work she makes is what drives the 21-year old onwards in the program and continues to fascinate her as the school year progresses. 

Although her industry may be changing by the hour, it is the profession surrounding the current state of female baseball that to this day, remains far less progressive. With no major baseball leagues catering to women in North America, female ball players such as Tomotsugu are left chasing a ceiling that augments itself further and further. 

"Always as a child, I knew at least in my career it was unlikely that women's professional baseball would be an option for me," said Tomotsugu, whose goal in becoming a prominent member of the Canadian national team still lives on at the age of 21. 

"I still think I got years ahead of me to continue to improve and make that team," she added. 

But while she's splitting the field with baseball and softball, Tomotsugu's biggest goal still is centered around inspiring young women to get involved with the sport and: "letting them know that this is a space for you to play" and that the diamond is "not just for guys".

"I grew up being told 'you should just play softball, it's for girls' and I think it's proving that baseball is for everybody and can be played at the highest level by women as well," added Tomotsugu. 

Through every catch and throw, Tomotsugu is making an effort to ensure that change is not just made, but evident in the game of baseball and softball respectively. 

Every slide, every hit, and every out carries a new reckoning towards the gender norms surrounding the two sports, and Tomotsugu is at the centre of it all in a search to one day make elevator trips a little less awkward.

"It's not just a matter of, 'oh you're a woman, you're not able to play'. If we are there and we are pushing hard enough, we can break down those barriers."
 
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Players Mentioned

Caitlin Tomotsugu

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Players Mentioned

Caitlin Tomotsugu

#22 Caitlin Tomotsugu

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