Cleveland Indians players vote to allow daughters in locker room

The Cleveland Indians are once again at the forefront of change in Major League Baseball.  The same team that became the first A.L. squad to sign a black player in Larry Doby has chosen to allow players to bring their daughters into the clubhouse and locker room area.

All throughout baseball history, the locker room has been a boys club.  You may as well have hung a “no girls allowed” sign on the door scrawled in crayon.  Player’s sons have been allowed to come and go at will, but never the daughters.  Until now.

Well, sort of.  As you can imagine, there are a plethora of good reasons to put restrictions on this.  So the Indians only allow players to bring their daughters in after Sunday games.  The Clubhouse manager puts their street clothes on a rolling wardrobe rack so they can dress at the showers before entering the clubhouse proper.

Veteran designated hitter Jason Giambi is the one who set this plan in motion.  He has no sons and one daughter, and he thought it would be important for daughters to see what daddy does as much as it is for the sons.

Manager Terry Francona agreed to put it to a vote.  There was an overwhelming majority of yes votes.

The 43-year-old Giambi continues his path to redemption after being linked to the BALCO scandal, and admitting to using steroids and human growth hormone during his years in Oakland.  Giambi has transformed himself into a family man instead of a fast-living musclebound superstar.

Giambi decided to give playing baseball one more go after he lost out on the Colorado Rockies managerial opening to Walt Weiss.