The Phillies' Champion Filly

That hoary male chauvinist putdown, "She throws like a girl," will never be applied to Crystal Fields, 11, an outfielder for the Phillies in the Cumberland, Md., Little League. In the annual Pitch, Hit and Run competition before the major league All-Star game in Seattle last week, Crystal became the first female to win a championship when she outpointed seven boys in the finals of the nine-to-twelve age group. One of two girls on her Little League team, Crystal has been a stalwart--this year she's hitting .528 and getting on base 70% of the time--since her coach discovered her throwing a ball against a building. Besides baseball, her interests include basketball, music, bike riding and the Pittsburgh Pirates (her idol: Outfielder Dave Parker, who strong-armed the National League's 7-6 win in Seattle). Crystal, a B student, will enter the sixth grade this fall. But right now she's concentrating on leading the Phillies into the league playoffs and pursuing what used to be only a little boy's dream: to be a major league baseball player.

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