The Big Leagues

The crack of the bat. The roar of the crowd. A home run! Professional baseball is exciting. Now, women’s teams have taken the field. It is the first time that has happened in 70 years.

Jaida Lee moves to tag Alli Schroder out, at WPBL spring training, in Fort Myers, Florida.

The Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) is new. Its inaugural season began on August 1. The United States has not had a professional league for women since 1954. That year, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ended. It started in 1943. There have been few other opportunities for women in pro baseball. The WPBL has changed that.

Manager Eddie Stumpf coaches the Rockford Peaches in 1943, the team’s first season.

Home Run History

The WPBL started with teams from four cities: Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. They played in Springfield, Illinois. The season lasted eight weeks.

Justine Siegal started the WPBL. In 2015, she was hired by the Oakland Athletics as a guest coach. That made her the first female coach in Major League Baseball. She is one of many women to influence the sport. In a letter published March 19, she called the WPBL “a longtime dream.”

Mo’ne Davis plays in the WPBL. In 2014, she pitched in the Little League World Series. She became the first girl to pitch a shutout in a Little League game. She was 13.

Davis is making history again. She plays for WPBL Los Angeles. She told TFK it feels “really nice to finally get out there and just play.” Davis also shared advice for girls interested in playing baseball: “Never let anyone stop you from achieving your dream.”

WPBL player Mo’ne Davis (right) greets Maybelle Blair, who played in 1948.