Former UMPI player hired by MLB
as coach and mentor in Pacific Rim
Oz Sailors is not the sort of person to stand idle.
After having played for the University of Maine at Presque Isle Owls last spring, at that point having been the only female player in NCAA men’s baseball for two years, Sailors was then signed to play for the Virginia Marlins of the World Pro Baseball League. She joined a roster that already included players from nine different countries, coming from as far away as Japan and the Czech Republic, thus adding to the diversity of a globally-minded league that has set its sights on evaluating talent around the world.
She didn’t stop there. In September, it was on to Australia to play for the Central Coast Marlins, a “first-grade” women’s team in the major league division based in Sydney. Baseball leagues in Australia are separated by grade, in similar fashion to the professional leagues in the United States, with first-grade being the highest level.
Sailors was also asked to play in a third-grade men’s league, the equivalent of a Class AA team, and started every game for that team at second base. She played catcher and shortstop for the Marlins, as well as taking on coaching responsibilities for the New South Wales Blue Sox, representing Australia in the 16U division at the National Championships at Canberra back in January. Sailors also worked as a youth development coach in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs Baseball Program.
Her constant work and the passion she has for the game did not go unnoticed. Major League Baseball has hired Sailors to work as a coach at its youth development academy in Nanjing, China. She will be responsible for coaching players from ages 4 to 18, as well as mentoring and training other coaches from the area.
Also, she will be running youth development clinics for MLB in Japan, Cambodia, South Korea, Taiwan, Saipan, the Philippines and other locations in the Pacific Rim.
Sailors will continue her career as a player in addition to her new coaching responsibilities, joining a high-level men’s and women’s league in the area and playing with other instructors from MLB’s academy.
Despite all the time she has spent on the field, her priorities don’t have as much to do with baseball as one might expect. Her focus is set on a somewhat higher aspiration.
“The greatest part about this isn’t the baseball,” said Sailors. “The greatest part for me is to have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, especially kids’ lives.
“To have the opportunity to be a role model as a player and as a coach is the greatest honor,” she added.
