4. Throw Like This Girl
People in Philly talk about Mo’ne Davis the way Akronites bragged about LeBron James back in the day when he played AAU ball or how Harlemites marveled over tennis legend Althea Gibson decades ago.
The rest of the world got a glimpse of the 13-year-old’s 70-mph fastball last summer during the Little League World Series. One of two girls there, she set all sorts of records from pitching a shutout to earning a win.
She also made Little League history by landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Some subscribers complained that the version with the Kansas City Royals on the front ended up in their mailboxes instead.
The thing is that baseball isn’t even Mo’ne’s best, or favorite, sport, Coach Steve Bandura told SI. That would be basketball. Bandura spotted Mo’ne throwing a football when she was 7 years old and invited her to hoop practice. She’s also good at soccer, too.
The Taney Little League didn’t win the championship, but Mo’ne won hearts. And she’s definitely one to watch. — Yanick Rice Lamb
