Lorraine Fisher (later Stevens; July 5, 1928 – November 9, 2007) was a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played from through in 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 ...

.Lorraine Stevens – Profile / Obituary
. ''

''. Retrieved 2019-04-12.

Summary

A native of

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 ...

, Lorraine Fisher had a brief but effective role as a pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A hard-thrower, she also combined defensive skills along with good fielding abilities, playing at

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

when not pitching. Fisher entered the league in 1947 with the

Rockford Peaches The Rockford Peaches were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. A founding member, the team represented Rockford, Illinois. The Peaches were one of two teams to pla ...

, a team managed by

Eddie Ainsmith Edward Wilbur Ainsmith (born as Edward Anshmedt; February 4, 1890 – September 6, 1981), nicknamed "Dorf," was a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played fifteen seasons with the Washington Senators (1910–1918), Detroit Tigers (1919� ...

, who used her sparingly as a starter in a strong rotation that included

Mildred Deegan Mildred Eleanor Deegan (December 11, 1919 – July 21, 2002) was an American pitcher, outfielder and second basewoman who played ten seasons in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, from to . Background Deegan was one of 25 ...

Lois Florreich Kathleen Lois "Flash" Florreich (April 29, 1927 – September 11, 1991) was a pitcher and utility who played from through for three different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 140 lb., Florreich batte ...

and

Rose Gacioch Rose M. Gacioch (; August 31, 1915 – September 9, 2004) was a right fielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.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 ...

before the 1948 season. The AAGPBL grew to an all-time peak of ten teams in 1948, representing Eastern and Western zones, just in the first year the circuit shifted to strictly overhand pitching. As an underhand pitcher, Fisher made the adjustments, relying on a strong

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

and a breaking

curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line (geometry), line, but that does not have to be Linearity, straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point (ge ...

. She posted a 16–11 record, joining forces with

Alice Haylett Alice Haylett (April 2, 1923 – March 27, 2004), nicknamed "Al" and "Sis", was a female pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 155 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.

(25–5) and

Mildred Earp Mildred Kathryn Earp (October 7, 1925 – 2017), nicknamed Mid or Millie, was an American female pitcher who played from to in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 135 lb, she batted and threw right-handed. Earp ...

(15–14), to give Grand Rapids three aces at a time when most teams would settle for two in their rotation. Grand Rapids, with

Johnny Rawlings John William Rawlings '' ed' (August 17, 1892 – October 16, 1972) was a second baseman and shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for six different teams between the and seasons. Listed at , 158 lb., he batted and threw right-han ...

at the helm, won the East Division with a 77–47 mark, 10½ games ahead of the second place

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 ...

(66–57). The Chicks defeated the South Bend Blue Sox in the first round of the playoffs, three to two games, but were swept in three games by the expansion

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 ...

in the next round. The league returned to the eight-team format in 1949. Fisher finished with a 13–11 record in 25 pitching appearances, while Grand Rapids failed to repeat the success of the previous season. The team finished third, at 57–54, but advanced to the playoffs. In the first round, Grand Rapids took revenge on Fort Wayne, beating them in three games, but lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Rockford, three games to one.1949 Grand Rapids Chicks
. Retrieved 2019-04-02. In 1950 Fisher stayed in Detroit, where she married and raised seven children. Over the years, 15 grandchildren and one great granddaughter were the highlights of her life. Lorraine Fisher died in her home of Jackson, Michigan at the age of 79 years. She is part of ''Women in Baseball'', the AAGPBL permanent display at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...

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 on November 5, in honor of the entire league rather than individual baseball personalities.

Career statistics

Batting Pitching

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Lorraine All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Rockford Peaches players Grand Rapids Chicks players Baseball players from Detroit 1928 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American people 21st-century American women