Inez Voyce
Encyclopedia
Inez Ferne Voyce [Lefty] (born August 16, 1924) is a former first basewoman who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...

. Listed at 5' 6", 148 lb., she batted and threw left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...

.

Early life

A native of Rathbun
Rathbun, Iowa
Rathbun is a city in Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 88 at the 2000 census.-History:Incorporated in 1897, Rathbun was established in 1892 as a mining town....

, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, Voyce began playing sandlot ball
Sandlot ball
Sandlot ball is a North American adolescent game that generally follows the basic rules of baseball. More specific rules can be set for games and may vary each time the game is played. These rules are usually agreed upon before the game begins by teams of young boys or girls usually from the same...

 with her brothers at a very early age and listened to radio broadcasts of Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 games. She spent her student years attending Seymour
Seymour, Iowa
Seymour is a city in Wayne County, Iowa, United States. The population was 810 at the 2000 census.-History:The first coal mines in Seymour were opened in 1884. In 1902, the Numa Numa Block Coal Company took over these mines. In 1908, "Big Jim", Numa Block number 2 was 1 mile east of the Chicago,...

 grade school and high school, and played on the girls' basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 teams. She later attended business college at American Institute of Commerce in Davenport
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...

 from 1942 to 1943.

After graduating, Voyce enlisted as an apprentice in the Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

. She served as a secretary to the legal officer at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, attaining the rank of second class yeoman, and working from 1944 to 1946.

At the time of her discharge, Voyce received an invitation to attend a tryout with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1946 spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

, which was held in Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...

. She made the grade and was assigned to the South Bend Blue Sox
South Bend Blue Sox
The South Bend Blue Sox were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

.

AAGPBL career

In 1946 Voyce hit a .210 average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 in 104 games for South Bend. The team advanced to the playoffs, but lost to the Racine Belles
Racine Belles
The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The team played its home games at Horlick Field.-History:...

 in the first round. She was traded to the Grand Rapids Chicks
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....

 at the end of the season.

After being traded, Voyce emerged as one of the most dynamics hitters in the league, helping the Chicks to capture two titles and making each playoff in her seven-year tenure with the team. In 1947 she hit .214 in 113 games and finished third in runs batted in (45), providing a one-two punch along with versatile Connie Wisniewski
Connie Wisniewski
Constance Wisniewski was a starting pitcher and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

 (.291, 24 RBI), to support a pitching
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe 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 a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 staff consisting of Mildred Earp
Mildred Earp
Mildred Earp [Mid or Millie] is a former female pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 135 lb., she batted and threw right handed....

 (20-8), Alice Haylett
Alice Haylett
Alice Haylett [Al or Sis] was a female pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 155 lb., she batted and threw right-handed....

 (19-11) and Wisniewski (16-14). Managed
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 by Johnny Rawlings
Johnny Rawlings
John William Rawlings [Red] was a second baseman and shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for six different teams between the and seasons. Listed at 5'8", 158 lb., he batted and threw right-handed....

, Grand Rapids dispatched South Bend in the first round and defeated Racine in the finals to clinch the championship title. Earp was the heroine of the final, even though she lost Game 1, 2–0, in 11 innings after retiring the first 21 Belles batters. She rebounded to win Game 4 on a 3–0 shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

, and then pitched a four-hit, 1–0 shutout to win decisive Game 7.

Voyce continued to improve in 1948, ending with 52 RBI, 46 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

, 99 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

 and a .227 average in 126 games. In 1949, in a pitching dominated league, she hit .257 (0.021 behind champion bat Doris Sams
Doris Sams
Doris Jane Sams [Sammye] is a former female outfielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 9", 145 lbs., she batted and threw right handed....

) with three home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s and 53 RBI while scoring 51 runs in 113 games. She shared the home run title with Thelma Eisen
Thelma Eisen
Thelma Eisen [Tiby] is a former outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 130 lb., she batted and threw right-handed....

 and Audrey Wagner
Audrey Wagner
Genevieve Wagner [Audrey] was an outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 145 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-Brief profile:...

 and finished second in RBI. The defending champion Chicks won the first round of the playoffs but lost in the semi-finals.

In 1950, Voyce raised her average to .292 and collected career-numbers in RBI (66) and games (113). The next year she hit .285 in 106 games, including 43 runs and 49 RBI. Her most productive season came in 1952, when she posted career-highs in average (.295), home runs (10), hits (115), and runs scored (57) in 107 games, while driving in 54 runs. At this point, Grand Rapids qualified for the playoffs each season, but failed in the first round in 1950 and lost the finals to South Bend in 1951 and 1952.

Voyce dropped to .269 in 1953, her final season with the Chicks, but produced 103 hits, 55 runs and 60 RBI. For the seven consecutive year, she appeared in at least 104 games (112) and reached the playoffs.

First round

The Grand Rapids Chicks, with Woody English
Woody English
Elwood George "Woody" English was an American shortstop who played in Major League Baseball for twelve seasons with the Chicago Cubs and the Brooklyn Dodgers.- Early life :...

 at the helm, faced the Rockford Peaches
Rockford Peaches
The Rockford Peaches were a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing out of Rockford, Illinois for the entire existence of the league from 1943 to 1954....

 in the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-three series.

In Game 1, Rockford scored early and defeated the visiting Chicks, 9–2, to win the opener. The Peaches lined 13 hits off Grand Rapids starter
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 Eleanor Moore
Eleanor Moore
Eleanor Moore [Warner] is a former pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 10", Moore batted and threw right-handed...

 and reliever
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 Mary Lou Studnicka
Mary Lou Studnicka
Mary Lou Studnicka [Brazauskas, Caden] is a former overhand pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Studnicka batted and threw right-handed. She was affectively nicknamed ML....

.

The action shifted to Grand Rapids home ballpark for Game 2, and Earlene Risinger
Earlene Risinger
Helen Earlene Risinger was a pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 6' 2", 137 lb., she batted and threw right-handed....

 silenced the Peaches' bats to just two measly hits en route to a complete game
Complete game
In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...

, 2–0 shutout.

In Game 3, Grand Rapids starter Dorothy Mueller
Dorothy Mueller
Dorothy Mueller [Bajda] was a pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at 5' 11", 160 lb., Mueller batted and threw right handed...

 pitched well enough to beat Rockford, 4–3, and the Chicks advanced to the Championship Series to face the Kalamazoo Lassies
Kalamazoo Lassies
The Kalamazoo Lassies were a team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team represented Kalamazoo, Michigan. Home games were initially played at Lindstrom Field, but later games were played at the Catholic Athletic Association Field, now the...

, who defeated the Fort Wayne Daisies
Fort Wayne Daisies
The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

 in the other first round series games.

Championship Series

In the final series, The Grand Rapids Chicks swept the Kalamazoo Lassies in the best of three game set, by the scores of 5–2 and 4–1.

In Game 1, Studnicka started for Grand Rapids and allowed only two runs in eight innings of work. With the score tied 2–2 going into the fourth inning, the Chicks scored three runs off Lassies’ pitcher Gloria Cordes
Gloria Cordes
Gloria Cordes [Elliott] is a former starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

. A tie-breaking sacrifice fly
Sacrifice fly
In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....

 by Alma Ziegler
Alma Ziegler
Alma Ziegler was an infielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 3", 125 lb., Ziegler batted and threw right-handed....

 scored Dolores Moore
Dolores Moore
Dolores Moore [″Dee″] was an infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 153 lb., she batted and threw right handed....

, and another RBI sacrifice fly Voyce put the Chicks up 4–2. A RBI single by Joyce Ricketts
Joyce Ricketts
Joyce Ricketts [״Rick״] was a right fielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted left handed and threw right handed....

 extended the lead to 5–2. When the Lassies first two batters reached base in the final inning, manager English promptly brought in reliever Eleanor Moore, who retired the next three batters in order. She struck out
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

 Isabel Alvarez
Isabel Álvarez
Isabel Álvarez [Lefty] is a former female pitcher and outfielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons...

 for the first out, retired Dorothy Schroeder
Dorothy Schroeder
Dorothy Schroeder [″Dottie″] was a shortstop who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 150 lb., Schroeder batted and threw right-handed...

 with a pop fly to shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

 Ziegler, and beat June Peppas
June Peppas
June Peppas is a former first basewoman and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 145 lb., she batted and threw left-handed.-Early life:...

 with a sharp grounder to second bagger Dolores Moore who threw to Voyce at first base for the final out of the game.

In Kalamazoo, with cold weather around 40 degrees and windy, both teams’ managers agreed to play the Game 2 in just seven innings. Grand Rapids starter Risinger dominated the Lassies, 4–1, aided by a two-run double in the sixth inning by Ricketts. Doris Sams
Doris Sams
Doris Jane Sams [Sammye] is a former female outfielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 9", 145 lbs., she batted and threw right handed....

 lined a home run for the Lassies only run.

Highlights

In an eight-year career, Voyce posted a .256 average in 894 games, stoled
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

 168 bases, scored 386 runs, and 137 of her 781 hits were for extrabases
Extra base hit
In baseball, an extra base hit , also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire another base runner...

. She ranks 9th in the all-time list with 28 home runs, being one of the few league hitters to belt two homers in a single game.

One of five players with 400 or more RBI, Voyce is second in AAGPBL history for career RBI with 422, behind the leader Dorothy Schroeder (431) and over Eleanor Callow
Eleanor Callow
Eleanor Callow Squirt is a former Canadian female left fielder who played from through for three different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Callow was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed...

 (407), Elizabeth Mahon
Elizabeth Mahon
Elizabeth B. Mahon [″Lib″] was a female outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 7", 135 lb., Mahon batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Greenville, South Carolina.-Early life:Lib Mahon was one of six children of David...

 (400) and Pepper Paire
Pepper Paire
Lavonne Paire Davis [″Pepper″] is a former catcher and infielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 138 lb., she batted and threw right-handed.-Overview profile:...

 (400). A patient batter, she walked 480 times against only 144 strikeouts for an outstanding walk-to-strikeout ratio
Walk-to-strikeout ratio
In baseball statistics, walk-to-strikeout ratio is a measure of a hitter's plate discipline and knowledge of the strike zone. Generally, a hitter with a good walk-to-strikeout ratio must exhibit enough patience at the plate to refrain from swinging at bad pitches and take a base on balls, but he...

 of 3.34, while collecting a .358 on-base percentage and a .329 of slugging for a solid .687 OBP.

Voyce gained prestige as an excellent first base fielder and was even called acrobatic by her teammates. Eventually, she appeared in a few games as an emergency pitcher.

Batting statistics

GP
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...

AB
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...

R
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

H
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

2B
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

3B
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

HR
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

SB
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

BB
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

SO
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

BA
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

OBPSLGOPS
On-base plus slugging
On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...

894 3047 386 781 81 28 28 422 168 480 144 .256 .358 .329 .687


Life after baseball

Following her baseball retirement, Voyce worked for a small company for 32 years because of the skills she had acquired at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. After retiring took up golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

. She currently lives in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...

, and still playing golf.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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