A 72 year absence of a U.S. women’s pro baseball league has ended. 

In Springfield, IL on August 1, the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) had its first ever game starring the Los Angeles Queens and the New York Heights at Robin Roberts Stadium. It marked the first women's professional baseball game in the U.S. since 1954.

This is a huge step in making women’s baseball a mainstream sport, but it’s also doing much more. Simply by its creation, this league is challenging years of stereotyping that have kept girls from baseball and will redefine who the next generation athletes believe the game should be played by. 

It’s Baseball, Not Softball

For the longest time, girls who wanted to keep playing baseball were expected to transition to softball. But, softball is not the women’s version of baseball. They’re completely different sports with their own rules and styles of play.

Some of the features unique to baseball (compared with softball) include:

• A larger field 

• A smaller and harder ball

• Overhand pitching instead of underhand pitching

• A raised pitching mound instead of a flat pitching circle

With so many differences between the two games, this expectation to transition isn’t realistic. Asking girls to completely rewire their entire playing style discourages them from wanting to continue.

Creating the WPBL eliminates this choice. Girls can now see a pathway to continue pursuing their baseball dreams and don’t have to be limited to a “change sports or quit” future. 

“Softball should be celebrated as its own sport, not treated as the alternative for baseball simply because the athlete is a woman,” SF Fireballs 2nd Base Amanda Gianelloni said when responding to “Why don’t you just play softball.”

“Softball should be celebrated as its own sport, not treated as the alternative for baseball simply because the athlete is a woman.”

Amanda Gianelloni

A Field All for Women

At least for the first year, all teams will play their entire season only at Robin Roberts Stadium. While unusual, the decision was made to prioritize the needs of the league and the players.

For a long time, women’s baseball teams haven't had a field exclusively for them. They’ve played on the same fields that MLB teams have, which isn’t practical when the schedule runs from August to September—the peak of the MLB season. 

So for the teams to have a convenient way to play, there needed to be a neutral site where the field is exclusively for the WPBL players. Robin Roberts Stadium is the perfect home base, where the players can make it their own without worrying about conflicts from other teams. 

This doesn’t mean that they’ll be there forever. Starting from scratch often means being sustainable in the beginning so that there can grow more in the future. With more sold out nights and increased fan interest, the league could continue to expand until there’s a potential for more cities and stadiums in the future.

Opening Day Excitement

Unsurprisingly, the first game of this season was a stunner. The night was filled with energy, cheering, and full game dramatics, as a completely sold out stadium watched history being made.

A legendary night requires a legendary story. The first ever victory in this inaugural season belongs to the LA Queens, who won in a dramatic fashion. Despite being down almost the entire time, the Queens railed to score 6 runs in the last 2 innings to get past the Heights in a stunning 10-8 comeback win.

Keeping up with this energy, the San Francisco Fireballs played the Boston Hunters August 2 in another remarkable game. Like the first day, this match mirrored in excitement as the SF Fireballs beat the Hunters in a 11-3 dominant performance.

These first two days of women’s baseball are exactly what the fans were hoping for. Home runs, diving catches, and a league of players ready to prove their talent to a sold out stadium of fans. 

Throughout the nights, anyone could see that even after 72 years without a league, one thing hasn’t changed: women belong wherever the game is played.

Why It Matters

Some girls grow up loving softball and some grow up loving baseball. But no girl should have to give up one sport just because there isn’t an opportunity for them to play.

That’s exactly what the WPBL is fighting for. At a time where women’s sports engagement is at an all time high, this league is keeping girls in sports by creating opportunities for young athletes to continue pursuing their baseball dreams. 

As this league grows, it has the chance to join the PWHL, NWSL, and WNBA in expanding women’s professional sports. 

Every professional league starts somewhere, and for girls who dream of playing baseball, that future starts now.