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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2021)
SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021 | 3A Oregon softball alum Goodrum makes MLB history Ryan Thorburn Register-Guard USA TODAY NETWORK Sara Goodrum’s field of dreams has become a reality. The former Oregon softball player was promoted to the position of minor league hitting coordinator of the Mil- waukee Brewers. The 27-year-old Goodrum is the first woman to have that role in any Major League Baseball organization. Goodrum didn’t consider the gravity of being a female in a male-dominated profession while spending the last three seasons in the Brewers' sports science department. “It just becomes your normal way of life,” Goodrum said during an interview with The Register-Guard. “Everyone that I've interacted with has been so supportive. So I never really thought about the gender part of it a lot.” This has been a monumental year for women breaking down barriers in sports. Notable glass ceiling breakers in- clude Becky Hammon (first woman to serve as a head coach in an NBA game), Sarah Fuller (first woman to play in a college football game at the Power Five level), Callie Brownson (first woman to coach a position group in a regular-sea- son NFL game) and Sarah Thomas (pre- paring to be the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl). When Kim Ng was named the general manager of the Miami Marlins in No- vember — the first woman to ascend to the role of full-time general manager in any of the major men’s leagues in North America — Goodrum was inspired to dream about the possibilities for advance- ment in MLB. “That’s kind of when it hit me a little bit more be- cause, for me, I finally Goodrum saw someone at such a high point in their ca- reer,” Goodrum said. “Becoming a gen- eral manager is a really big deal. So for me to be able to see, holy cow, the sky could be the limit for me, look at what Kim Ng just did. “That's when it made me kind of like sit back and think, ‘OK, what could this type of position that I'm in now do for younger women coming up?’” Ng reached out to Goodrum on Friday to congratulate her on the ascension. “I think it's great for the organization, for Milwaukee,” Ng told MLB.com. “I think it's great for baseball to put anoth- er woman in a more visible position for others to see.” Goodrum was a role player for the Ducks from 2012-15, which she de- scribes as “the four best years of my life.” Oregon made three appearances in the Women’s College World Series over those four years. The architect of the historic run, Mike White, now entering his third season coaching at Texas, described Goodrum as a team-first player and said “you could always see that she was studying and learning." Goodrum took the experiences of playing with stars like Cheridan Haw- kins, Jenna Lilley, Janie Takeda and Nikki Udria with her to professional baseball. “I loved working with my teammates. I have kept in touch with some of them very closely,” Goodrum said. “For me, that culture of being around a group of people that are very driven and are working toward a common goal of winning championships — that drive is something that I think will never leave me.” While majoring in human physiology and working as an undergraduate re- search assistant at the Bowerman Sports Science Clinic at Oregon, Goo- drum knew she wanted to pursue a ca- reer in sports after graduating. “I would always joke in classes at Oregon that when I was trying to learn stuff, I’d get frustrated because the in- formation wasn't retained,” Goodrum said. “But I'd always have SportsCenter on in the background and I could retain what SportsCenter was saying when I wasn't even paying attention. “I always had a passion for sports. During my studies, I was learning about how the body moves. And then when I was playing, I was always thinking about my body moving in space. So (sports science) was always something that piqued my interest. For me it was just a matter of kind of realizing that baseball was a potential avenue.” Goodrum earned a master's degree in exercise and sports science from Utah and began interning with the Brewers in April 2017. Her first job title with the or- ganization was coordinator for integra- tive sports performance. Now she will be overseeing the Brew- ers’ minor league hitting apparatus, im- plementing a curriculum that aligns with the organization’s philosophies and traveling around the country to the minor league affiliates to make sure coaches and players throughout the or- ganization are on the same page. “What I'm doing professionally, where we are all working toward a com- mon goal of helping our players get to the major leagues and then also big pic- ture-wise winning championships at the big league level, it's really cool,” Goo- drum said. “I’m able to still be in that kind of competitive environment and work around people that are also very passionate about helping people ac- complish their goals.” Goodrum, who won a high school state championship in Arizona before playing for the Ducks, will be based in Phoenix, where the Brewers conduct spring training. When players report to their field of dreams for the 2021 season, the gender of the new minor league hitting coordi- nator won’t be given a second thought. “The thing about it is that everyone I work with has a ton of passion for what they do, which is why it's so awesome to be in such a great environment and to work for such a great organization,” Goodrum said. “At the end of the day, if you can provide good information that's going to help them accomplish their dream of getting to the big leagues, it really doesn't matter who you are or what you look like. “If you can help and you're there for them and you show them that you care about them, that is the most important thing.” Contact reporter Ryan Thorburn at rthorburn@registerguard.com or 541- 338-2330, and follow him on Twitter @By_RyanThorburn. Vaccine Flu Continued from Page 1A Continued from Page 1A Employees and residents of skilled nursing, long-term care and memory care facilities. h Emergency medical service pro- viders and other first responders. h Tribal health programs. h In-home care and day treatment services. h People working in correctional set- tings. h Death care workers. h K-12 teachers and staff. h Daycare staff. some “low activity” — according to CDC monitoring data. “We’re cautiously optimistic,” Jason Cronin, a doctor of infectious diseases for PeaceHealth, said about the contin- uation of a mild flu season. But the flu season isn’t over yet. Health officials often look to how Australia in the Southern Hemisphere experiences its flu season, which is earlier, to inform what the United States and the Northern Hemisphere may expect, Cronin explained. “The Southern Hemisphere had a low flu year, as well, so we’re hopeful this will continue to correlate, but we don’t want to let our guard down. Even though the flu season is mild thus far, it could rebound — that’s happened be- fore,” Cronin said. Typically, OHA anticipates a second peak of influenza cases in late January and into February or in late February and into March. While social distancing, mask wearing, increased hand washing and fewer social gatherings contribute to the mild flu season, OHA still is en- couraging the influenza vaccine, which can be administered at a variety of pharmacies and even grocery stores. “We need to keep emphasizing that, generally, this time of year we have not peaked yet,” Modie said. “We are still encouraging people to get their flu shots. It’s not too late.” To find a flu vaccine near you, visit the CDC-recommended vaccine finder, https://vaccinefinder.org/find-vaccine . Contact reporter Dana Sparks at dsparks@registerguard.com or 541- 338-2243, and follow her on Twitter @danamsparks and Instagram @danasparksphoto . Sign up for an appointment Eligible residents are asked to regis- ter and sign up for an appointment through the Salem Health's My Chart online at www.salemhealth.org/covid-19/ covid-vaccine. There is no guarantee doses will be available for walk-ins. If you have trouble using My Chart, call 503-562-4278. If you are unable to schedule an ap- pointment in MyChart, other accom- modations can be made at the fair- grounds. However, know that wait times and vaccine availability can vary. Andy Henning, an OHSU nurse practitioner, rings a bell and cheers for a vehicle full of newly-vaccinated people during a drive-thru vaccination clinic at the Portland International Airport in Portland on Jan. 24. ERIK ROBINSON / OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY the Pacific Room of the Werner Center and is currently open the week of Feb. 1 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Enter off Jack- son Street West, to the screening sta- tion in the parking lot south of the WOU football field. The clinics are closed some days due to the lack of vaccine doses available. Go to the clinic enough vaccine is on-hand. If you didn't use My Chart, report to the vaccine clinic on or after your sec- ond dose due date. Be sure to bring the vaccine card you received with your first dose. No reminders will be sent for a second dose. Who is next in line for the vaccine? Get your second shot The Marion County vaccine clinic at the State Fairgrounds, 2330 17th St. NE in Salem is being held in the Jackman- Long Building. On most days, the clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Enter from Silverton Road on the north end of the fairgrounds (Lana Avenue gate). From there, you will be directed by flaggers to a screening area and parking. The Polk County vaccine clinic at Western Oregon University is held in The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is ad- ministered in two doses 21 days apart, while the Moderna vaccine is adminis- tered in two doses 28 days apart. For those used My Chart to reserve your first shot, there will be a reminder notification in your account to reserve a time for your second dose. Second dose appointments are not available until the day before your due date, to ensure On Feb. 8, the state will begin vacci- nating residents 80 and older and will expand eligibility by age in five-year in- crements. The state hopes to expand to a new age group each week, but that will depend on the number of doses available. Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@statesmanjournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler LOCAL ADVISORS Salem Area Michael Wooters Garry Falor CFP® www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR South | 503-362-5439 West | 503-588-5426 Caitlin Davis CFP® Chip Hutchings FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR West | 503-585-1464 Lancaster | 503-585-4689 Jeff Davis Tim Sparks FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR Mission | 503-363-0445 Commercial | 503-370-6159 Tyson Wooters FINANCIAL ADVISOR South | 503-362-5439 Keizer Area Mario Montiel FINANCIAL ADVISOR Keizer | 503-393-8166 Surrounding Area Bridgette Justis Tim Yount FINANCIAL ADVISOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR Sublimity | 503-769-3180 Silverton | 503-873-2454 Kelly Denney FINANCIAL ADVISOR Dallas | 503-623-2146 OR-GCI0555203-01
