Mo’ne Davis Becomes First Little Leaguer to Cover Sports Illustrated

Mo’ne Davis Covers Sports Illustrated August 2014

Now that 13-year-old Mo’ne Davis has captured the nation’s attention, she has also become the first little leaguer to grace the national cover of Sports Illustrated !

“Last week, this week, maybe next week, she’s owned the sports conversation,” Sports Illustrated manager editor Chris Stone said. “How often do you get to say this about a 13-year-old girl? It’s the easiest type of story to identify as a cover story.”

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“The writer, Albert Chen, said it perfectly in the story, ‘She’s a lot of things to a lot of different people, all of them good things: a totem for inner-city baseball, a role model for your 10-year-old niece, a role model for your 10-year-old nephew,’ “ Stone said. “Most of all, she’s a laid-back kid just having a really good time.”

First Mo’Ne used her 70 mph fastball to throw a shutout in the Mid-Atlantic Final that sent Philadelphia’s Taney Dragons to the World Series.

Then she became the first girl to throw a shutout in World Series history, throwing a two-hitter and striking out eight in a 4-0 win over Nashville last Friday .

To give you a personal idea of Mo’ne’s impact, my father ditched me during my emergency oral surgery to watch her play.

However, despite becoming a baseball sensation, her dream is to play basketball for the University of Connecticut. UCONN, BABY!

“To be honest, I never thought I’d be famous for baseball,” she says. “I want to play basketball, and I could also do both basketball and baseball — but I really want to play basketball.”

Read more at si.com .

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