With USWNT & in Minors, Greenwood models perseverance, authenticity

THUNDER BAY, Ont. -- If baseball is life, it should look like real life.

That’s what Beth Greenwood vies to show the young big league hopefuls she works with at High-A Jersey Shore, an affiliate of the Phillies.

A Minor League development coach since February, Greenwood is preparing her players for the next steps in their pro careers. That includes an introduction to the growing gamut of backgrounds they’ll encounter from clubhouse to clubhouse.

“I think it’s [about exposing] them to different types of people, different perspectives and backgrounds,” Greenwood said on Monday at Port Arthur Stadium, after her Team USA worked an 11-1 win over Mexico in the Women’s Baseball World Cup finals. “It's setting them up to be more open-minded about other things, on the field and off the field.”

Greenwood is the only on-field woman in the Phillies’ organization. She’s also the youngest, at 24 years old. That alone should signal how many bumps she’s encountered on her path through the world of baseball, and how much young Minor Leaguers stand to learn from her. But that's not all.

“Also as a gay woman,” said Greenwood. “I've exposed a lot of my players to some of the stuff that is harder and doesn't get talked about all the time. So I think it's been huge in their development, not just on the field, but as people.”

Among the biggest lessons one can take from Greenwood is plain and simple perseverance.

During her time at the University of Rochester, Greenwood had aspirations to play all four years of college and to put herself closer with the USA National Team. That plan halted when she was cut after her freshman year, but that didn’t stop her from trying out again.

“I made a promise to myself in college that I owed myself four tries -- I was going to try out four times,” Greenwood said. “If I got cut four times, so be it, but I at least owed myself those opportunities.”

She made the team again the following year, earning a spot as a catcher for the remainder of her time in college. In 2018, Greenwood tried out for the National Team for the first time. Once again, resilience was her best friend.

Greenwood was cut from the U.S. team four times before being selected to the 20-person roster that secured a ticket to the Women’s Baseball World Cup finals last year. Now, she has a chance to finish what she and her teammates started.

The last edition of the WBWC was a sobering experience for the squad. After a fourth-place finish in 2018, Team USA went back to the drawing board, using the COVID-induced six-year gap between events to completely overhaul its women’s program and come back hungry for gold.

“To think back at how far we've come, hopefully this puts the USA Women's National Team back on the map a little bit more,” said Greenwood. “We’re showing that we're the best in the world.”

In the interest of putting the National Team and women’s baseball at the cultural forefront, Greenwood took the time to speak to hundreds of girls at the Baseball For All (BFA) Nationals Opening Ceremonies. The organization focuses on building “gender equity in baseball by providing girls with real opportunities to play, coach, and lead in this sport.”

Greenwood -- a board member for the BFA -- spoke in front of more than 500 young female ballplayers and their parents. It was a full-circle moment for Greenwood, since she was sitting in that same spot only six years prior.

“I just told them that I didn’t know that I was going to be able to play in college or for the national team -- or work in professional baseball -- and that there’s all these opportunities that they don’t even know that’s awaiting them,” Greenwood said. “I just said, ‘For some of you guys, this is your first step, but for a lot of you guys, it’s just another step. I want you to realize that there’s always opportunities for you to continue to play, and also beyond playing as well.’”

Greenwood is still figuring out her long-term career plan -- as evidenced by her degree in mechanical engineering. But she’s keeping busy this summer between coaching, speaking engagements and the National Team.

For now, she’s focusing on growing the game.

“I think being able to have the visibility of women playing on the National Team and women working in professional baseball is so important,” said Greenwood. “Because even if [girls] don’t grow up to do those things, they [can grow up] knowing that they could, and they’re going to end up doing something that they’re passionate about. I think that’s really important.”

Day 4 at Port Arthur Stadium

Japan stays undefeated: Misaki Namai had four hits and five RBIs, Miwa Naraoka had a three-hit, three-RBI game and Team Japan handed Mexico a 10-0 defeat to stay perfect going into the last day of group play.

USA shuts out Chinese Taipei: Right-hander Elise Berger led the way with four strikeouts in four innings as the U.S. worked a 9-0 win over Chinese Taipei.

Grand slam helps Canada right ship: After back-to-back losses to Japan and the U.S., Team Canada returned to the win column with a 10-0 victory over Venezuela. Lucie Anctil had by far the biggest hit of the day, launching a grand slam to cap a seven-run fifth inning.