Jaynne Berrier Bittner B(March 17, 1926 – April 23, 2017) was a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

who played from through for four teams of the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

. Listed at , 140 lb, she batted and threw right-handed.

Biography

Bittner was a top all-around athlete in high school. She won the

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

championship three years in a row, held the

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

crown for two years and was the leading scorer on the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team. An AAGPBL

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

signed her after seeing her basketball prowess, thinking that she had athletic abilities, endurance and fitness necessary to play baseball. She attended a league tryout in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

, and later was sent to the 1948 spring training held in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. She had no baseball position, but the league was desperate for overhand pitchers, so she was a good pitching prospect. Bittner entered the league in 1947 with the South Bend Blue Sox, playing for them one year before joining the

Muskegon Lassies The Muskegon Lassies were one of the expansion teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season, representing Muskegon, Michigan. The team played their home games at Marsh Field. History The 1946 Muskegon Lassies ...

(1948),

Grand Rapids Chicks The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954, winning championships in 1947 and 1953. History The franchise ...

(1949–52) and

Fort Wayne Daisies The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana that played from through as members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. History The Daisies represented Fort Wayne, Indiana, and ...

(1952–53). Bittner posted a 9–9 record with a 2.55

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

as a 22-year-old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

. Although she led the league in

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...

es (13) in 1949 and the following year issued the most

balk In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so. In games played under the Official Baseball Ru ...

s (five), Bittner emerged in 1951 with Grand Rapids posting a 15–8 mark and a 2.95 ERA. Her most productive season came in 1953 with Fort Wayne, when she posted a 16–7 record and a 2.45 ERA. The Daisies made it to the playoffs in every year that Bittner pitched for them, but never won the Championship Title. She returned to the Chicks in 1954, which turned out to be the AAGPBL's last ever season.Encyclopedia of Women and Baseball After the league folded, Bittner moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, and drove a school bus. She also coached a softball team for 20 years.The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League In 1980, Bittner became the first woman inducted in the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Since 1988 she is part of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Bittner died on April 23, 2017, in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

.Jayne Bittner obituary
/ref>

Pitching statistics

Sources

External links

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Jaynne Bittner
Retrieved 2019-03-27.
Baseball HistorianPennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bittner, Jaynne 1926 births 2017 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Pennsylvania People from Lebanon, Pennsylvania People from Plymouth, Michigan Baseball players from Wayne County, Michigan South Bend Blue Sox players Muskegon Lassies players Grand Rapids Chicks players Fort Wayne Daisies players Baseball pitchers 21st-century American women