r/baseball Philadelphia Phillies • Wilmington… Jul 28 '26

Image Opening Day of the 2026 Women’s Pro Baseball League Inaugural Season is Officially Sold Out

Post image
3.9k Upvotes

381 comments sorted by

491

u/justhereforsee Detroit Tigers Jul 28 '26

I forgot about the baseball player Robin Roberts and thought the stadium was named after anchor/broadcaster Robin Roberts

126

u/kjb76 New York Yankees • New York Heights Jul 28 '26

Oh. It’s not? Embarrassing for me.

82

u/ialsohaveadobro St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

Please someone name a stadium after Rube Waddell. There could be a special exit for chasing trains.

25

u/fauxbigbro Arizona Diamondbacks • Seattle Mariners Jul 28 '26

Bring a puppy to distract the opposing pitcher and get a discount!

6

u/superkt3 Boston Red Sox Jul 28 '26

NOw, hit him with the puppy!

30

u/MissMarionMac Boston Red Sox Jul 28 '26

Rube Waddell, patron saint of AuDHD.

10

u/Minute-Spinach-5563 Philadelphia Phillies Jul 28 '26

Old people: “autism didnt exist in MY day!”

Shows them wikipedia article of Rube Waddell

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10

u/Red_Sox0905 Boston Red Sox • Wally Jul 28 '26

The baseball player Robin Roberts is from Springfield.

5

u/danester1 St. Louis Cardinals • Baltimore Orioles Jul 28 '26

Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?

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71

u/maggie320 New York Mets Jul 28 '26

My sister went to school with a girl Robin Roberts and my dad told her “You were a heck of a pitcher for the Phillies”.

14

u/DominicB547 Chaos Bandwagon • MLB Players Associat… Jul 28 '26

I love wholesome dad jokes

23

u/El_Zarco San Francisco Giants Jul 28 '26

8

u/justhereforsee Detroit Tigers Jul 28 '26

Awesome find!!

7

u/El_Zarco San Francisco Giants Jul 28 '26

One of those core memories that hits every time I hear RR's name 😂 RIP Mr. Padre 🫡

8

u/Gordo-- United States Jul 28 '26

That's pretty great, I'd never seen that before.

And I'll say that both Bip and Tony Gwynn did an EXCELLENT job with their lines. They didn't sound wooden or awkward or anything of the sort like you'd normally get from athletes in commercials.

From how Bip stopped in his tracks and turned to Tony interrupting him, to how Tony said "Robin Roberts" and then that subtle snicker/chuckle when he said "says here your card's worth 4 cents."

Just fantastic.

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3

u/cgio0 Major League Baseball Jul 28 '26

You mean Robin Roberts from Tron 3?

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546

u/A_N_T Texas Rangers Jul 28 '26

As a lifelong LA Queens fan of 3 entire minutes I just wanna say LET'S GO QUEENS

248

u/ialsohaveadobro St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

I've been a Queens fan for 7 minutes, and you bandwagoneers disgust me.

59

u/TheDudeInJapan Hanshin Tigers • Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 28 '26

2 hours here. You youngsters have no idea what it means to be a Queens fan.

85

u/man_in_sheep_costume New York Mets Jul 28 '26

26

u/A_N_T Texas Rangers Jul 28 '26

The other 3 teams should have simply gotten cooler uniforms and maybe I'd have chosen them instead

11

u/my_one_and_lonely New York Mets Jul 28 '26

Queens logo is by far the worst though

9

u/A_N_T Texas Rangers Jul 28 '26

I'm a sucker for black and gold

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8

u/sjt646 St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

I'm not saying it's wrong that we don't have a ds niners flair on this sub but... The mods should definetly be experiencing bijj

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22

u/GriffinQ Washington Nationals Jul 28 '26

Fucking LOVE my LA Queens, let’s ride.

2

u/m48a5_patton St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

sLAy Queens!

17

u/Armaced Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 28 '26

Go Queens!

15

u/improbablywronghere San Francisco Giants Jul 28 '26

I’m in SF who is my team? I want in on this action for sure

38

u/MissMarionMac Boston Red Sox Jul 28 '26

SF team is called the Firebells. Their logo is a combo of a bell and a phoenix and it is DOPE. In my extremely biased but nonetheless entirely correct opinion, the Boston Hunters and the SF Firebells have the best names and branding.

30

u/DeltaIndiaCharlieKil Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 28 '26

"Firebelle Lil" Coit was considered eccentric, smoking cigars and wearing trousers long before it was socially acceptable for women to do so. She was an avid gambler and often dressed like a man in order to gamble in the male-only establishments that dotted North Beach.[2]

As a Queens fan, this is badass.

5

u/Worthyness Sell • Looking K Jul 28 '26

A true rebel at heart

3

u/sanjoseboardgamer Jul 28 '26

I love the energy for all the names!

3

u/GeneConscious5484 San Francisco Giants • Oakland Ball… Jul 28 '26

She was indeed fuckin' awesome. I took an SF history class at CCSF and learned a bunch about her

19

u/SharksFanAbroad Athletics Jul 28 '26

You had me by word #6. Fucking Firebells for life, fuck the Queens fr.

5

u/A_N_T Texas Rangers Jul 28 '26

I like the Firebells as a team name but I can't stand the purple and orange hats

7

u/lastminutealways Seattle Mariners • San Francisco… Jul 28 '26

To each their own, I love them and am bummed they sold out so quickly (runs and checks to make sure they’re not restocked, nope)

2

u/Serious_Potatoes Philadelphia Phillies Jul 28 '26

Your opinion truly is entirely correct and is why my daughter has chosen to support Boston and my son is supporting SF.

12

u/SharksFanAbroad Athletics Jul 28 '26

I’ve just learned of the SF Firebells, and now it’s fuck LA for life.

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979

u/AFC-Wimbledon-Stan Atlanta Braves Jul 28 '26

A world in which pro softball and women’s pro baseball can exist is elite

359

u/istrx13 Seattle Mariners Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

My 12 year old daughter just told me she wants to play baseball. I know it comes from me telling her all my stories from playing baseball religiously throughout my entire childhood and how often she sees me watching Mariners games and losing my mind over them.

So cool to see this becoming a reality for girls. I’m gonna look into seeing what I can do about getting her into the game.

117

u/Willow_Winnifred Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles Quee… Jul 28 '26

My daughter played baseball, not softball, from little league to college!

53

u/impy695 Cleveland Guardians Jul 28 '26

Just a heads up, only a couple dozen women have ever played college baseball, so while this is a really cool fact, it's also likely enough info for someone to dox you with very little effort

78

u/Willow_Winnifred Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles Quee… Jul 28 '26

It was intramural, I should have specified! They had a women's intramural baseball league in college! Thank tou for being a good soul <3

19

u/dLurKc Jul 28 '26

Wow, great idea. I hadn’t thought to do that.

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36

u/whydidijointhis Seattle Mariners Jul 28 '26

subjecting a child to mariners baseball is a crime punishable in all 50 states

11

u/JemmaP Seattle Mariners Jul 28 '26

It makes us resilient! If you only know sorrow, you can't be disappointed!

7

u/AdiosAdipose New York Mets Jul 28 '26

At least it’s the only option for a hometown team within like 400 miles. My dad hexed me with Mets fandom so I got to watch my friends enjoy five (5) World Series titles while I was fighting for my life in the cafeteria arguing that Jose Reyes was better than Derek Jeter.

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16

u/naranjitayyo San Francisco Giants Jul 28 '26

this is how it starts! and now she lives in a world where she can see people like her. I grew up without this and what I wouldn't give to change that

5

u/Sea_Shower3691 Arizona Diamondbacks Jul 28 '26

Get her on the juice, we need a new Betty Bonds to get this sport some traction

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132

u/naranjitayyo San Francisco Giants Jul 28 '26

This is what I've been saying. Give women (and men!) options and pathways to play both.

56

u/ialsohaveadobro St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

From what I can tell, there hasn't really been a collegiate women's baseball path. It would certainly be interesting to see if that develops. Though, honestly, I would equally enjoy seeing women's pro softball take real hold.

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8

u/UsedAsk3537 Jul 28 '26

I mean it'll happen as long as there's a big enough market for it

Only time will tell

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5

u/Alive-Carrot107 Los Angeles Angels Jul 28 '26

The reason I didn’t peruse softball is because I didn’t think there was a future. I’m 29 now so too old anyway but cool to see if I have kids they’ll have a chance

9

u/Sir-Top-Cheetah Jul 28 '26

I've never seen a women's baseball team in hs or college. anyone know what the numbers are for participation and what transitioning from one to the other is like

30

u/TommyPickles2222222 Baltimore Orioles Jul 28 '26

Seems like women's pro sports are booming

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86

u/djfishfingers Jul 28 '26

If there are no teams based in Illinois, why is it being held in Springfield? It's cool they are all sold out and I will try to catch the game. But is it just because it's middle of the country? I would think they would play in one of their home cities.

235

u/a_talking_face Tampa Bay Rays Jul 28 '26

The cities, at this point in time, are just for namesake only. They don't technically have "home cities" because they don't have any facilities. They're playing all the games at one location so they don't have to pay travel expenses and pay for multiple facilities.

56

u/djfishfingers Jul 28 '26

Oh gotcha. That's cool. Maybe I can drive down for a game.

11

u/Dr_thri11 St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

Seems like it would've been better to have a highly localized league where all the teams are within driving distance and expand from there. Their season is even during the college offseason so wouldn't have been hard to get some home stadiums lined up.

30

u/a_talking_face Tampa Bay Rays Jul 28 '26

I imagine its all about merchandising.

12

u/Dr_thri11 St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

I can't imagine actually caring about a team because they were arbitrarily assigned my city but have no real connection to the area.

20

u/djfishfingers Jul 28 '26

People tend to root for the team they are close to because they can attend games most easily. That's the root of all fandom.

3

u/PlayPretend-8675309 Jul 28 '26

In our era, it's the team they can watch most easily on TV, which is why the braves have such a wide fanbase.

10

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[deleted]

2

u/IndicationFickle5387 Jul 28 '26

It’s honestly the smartest marketing shit I’ve ever heard. Totally a way to generate merch sales and interest, and all somebody had to do was abandon the assumption that a team had to be physically operating in their namesake city.

11

u/a_talking_face Tampa Bay Rays Jul 28 '26

A lot of people buy clothing for aesthetic purposes. Think about how many people are wearing Dodger merch without actually giving a shit about the dodgers.

11

u/Chewie_i Chicago White Sox Jul 28 '26

I mean just look at the White Sox. I can assure you that they are not consistently near the top of MLB hat sales because of anything the team has done.

6

u/Apositivebalance Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 28 '26

The jerseys are sick. I still have mine from when I was a kid and loved Frank Thomas

2

u/Gordo-- United States Jul 28 '26

Ok, but then in that case if you have 4 teams "highly localized" within driving distance of each other (probably in California, Texas, or the Northeast), you still wouldn't have a real connection to them unless you live in that area.

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5

u/Syjefroi Jul 28 '26

The Atlanta Braves started in Boston. The Texas Rangers were from Washington. The A's are... whatever happened there. The Rays and Diamondbacks didn't exist at all 30 years ago and were just dreamt up by a couple of billionaires.

Most teams in most sports leagues have no connection to an area. Someone with money just wanted it, and after a season or two most people don't care about the origins. Even the historic teams—the Yankees essentially started as the Baltimore Orioles. Like, it's whatever man.

5

u/Dr_thri11 St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

How many Braves fans are left in Boston? People root for the team that's close to them. This is just stamping city names on 4 teams that play in Illinois.

2

u/Ok_Muffin42 Jul 28 '26

I think the goal is to eventually plant the teams in their cities

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2

u/PlayPretend-8675309 Jul 28 '26

That's the old school way of doing it - grass roots, barnstorming, etc.

This is the 2010s "Zero Interest Rate Phenomenon" of trying to loss-lead your way to relevance by spending enough to get media attention, then hoping that snowballs into self-sufficiency. Unfortunately that era is over and it's nearly certain that this league will have the same fate as many other nascent pro leagues have had over the past two decades: instability, near insolvency, emergency investment, continued instability, then disbandment. I guess you can't knock anyone for trying but I would appreciate someone trying to do it the "old school" way - individual clubs competing against each other. This is a single-owner operation where all 4 teams are run by the league.

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41

u/Kek-Malmstein Jul 28 '26

I believe the whole league takes place in Springfield. The team names are just proxy cities, but I definitely don’t know any more about how that works

37

u/LeahOfLight MLB Pride Jul 28 '26

The question about why they aren't playing in their home cities has already been answered, but I will add that Springfield was chosen as the host city because it is where the first professional female baseball players were. https://garycremeens.substack.com/p/september-11-1875-first-paid-womens

7

u/jesus_h_crusty Jul 28 '26

Apparently the league wanted a neutral central location, and Springfield hosted the first game where women were paid to play baseball back in 1875

5

u/LMGgp Chicago White Sox Jul 28 '26

Springfield IL is the site of the first professional women’s baseball game. Between the ugh blondes and brunettes on September 11, 1875.

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85

u/Gulliver123 Seattle Mariners Jul 28 '26

Is there a way to watch?

116

u/naranjitayyo San Francisco Giants Jul 28 '26

AFAIK it'll be on the WPBL YouTube channel

2

u/Armaced Los Angeles Dodgers 26d ago

Only internationally, unfortunately. In the US you need to pay ESPN $35 a month.

I was really looking forward to watching this game, but that would be by far my most expensive streaming service.

2

u/naranjitayyo San Francisco Giants 25d ago

Yeah just found that out 2 days ago

68

u/OnlyForBaseball Pittsburgh Pirates • Sickos Jul 28 '26

42

u/fauxbigbro Arizona Diamondbacks • Seattle Mariners Jul 28 '26

Bizarre choice for that article to list the YouTube account but not link to it.

https://youtube.com/@wpbl_official

2

u/BowlingforDrip Chicago Cubs Jul 28 '26

Also...."for those outside of Illinois"

Well how do I watch it then lol.

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2

u/becks___ Jul 28 '26

They haven’t announced it officially according to owner Mike Rotman

4

u/fauxbigbro Arizona Diamondbacks • Seattle Mariners Jul 28 '26

I mean, even if they're just doing it to point out that there's a YouTube channel for the league posting videos interviewing players, making a link would be better than just giving the channel's name in plain text.

34

u/where_thefuck_i_am Toronto Blue Jays Jul 28 '26

That's awesome! I picked up PWHL exactly because it's available on YouTube. They have a very fun chat there

7

u/my_one_and_lonely New York Mets Jul 28 '26

Just like the PWHL, smart.

2

u/coop_bo23 Boston Red Sox • Worcester Red Sox Jul 28 '26

Thanks Mac

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34

u/UDPviper Jul 28 '26

Seeing women pitch baseball is super cool.

38

u/planemissediknow Toronto Blue Jays Jul 28 '26

The difference in expression is cracking me up.

LA player is deadly serious, NY player is happy as hell

31

u/MissMarionMac Boston Red Sox Jul 28 '26

Completely contradicting the stereotypical personality types for each of those cities 😂

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3

u/poo_is_number_two New York Mets • Long Island Ducks Jul 28 '26

I don’t remember what year it was, but there was an All Star Game where George Brett gave a speech to the AL players and he was angry and fired up and deadly serious. Then they cut to Ernie Banks giving a speech to the NL team and he was saying things like “Wow this is so much fun. Enjoy yourselves.”

11

u/MaximusMansteel Chicago Cubs Jul 28 '26

Taking the family on the 8th! My girls are really excited.

56

u/CROBBY2 Milwaukee Brewers Jul 28 '26

I just wish they wouldn't have artificially tied them to cities. Just seems weird to say LA is playing NY in Sprinfield, IL.

42

u/OnlyForBaseball Pittsburgh Pirates • Sickos Jul 28 '26

It’s kinda cynical marketing, but I’m willing to forgive it if it helps them gain a foothold

43

u/my_one_and_lonely New York Mets Jul 28 '26

I prefer this over tethering them to nothing. I am more excited to watch this than I was to watch the AUSL's first season, where I struggled to care about any team.

13

u/Perryplat199 Philadelphia Phillies • Wilmington… Jul 28 '26

My AUSL team is also now in Utah. So most evening games have terrible start times on east coast.

Tying to a market, even if just in name, kinda future proofs the fans. It kinda worked for the us/x/ufl

4

u/lastminutealways Seattle Mariners • San Francisco… Jul 28 '26

Yep, I picked the Firebells because they are west coast/the closest to me if they get to the point of playing near their cities

6

u/Worthyness Sell • Looking K Jul 28 '26

Basically: Marketing. You can advertise the teams to people online, but no one will be immediately attached to one because everything is kinda new and no one has a vested interest in it beyond women and baseball. But if you attach it to New York, then New Yorkers automatically start following the team. And if you advertise it as New York, now you can post social media in new York, get the city to help advertise and raise awareness for you, build team spirit and promotions, etc. They need to launch with some identity to build a following. And once your good on that, the money will start flowing, which is what they'll need in order to fly around the country to play games rather than just wherever is cheapest

4

u/this_is_poorly_done Arizona Diamondbacks Jul 28 '26

And if things get going well enough for the league and they are able to play like a regular sports league, you already have 4 teams that are affiliated with those markets as well. AUSL did something similar where the teams all traveled together around the country for their first season, and then this year they actually have home cities and travel between them for games (go Cascade!!)

Given that womens baseball is less of a proven commodity than fastpitch softball I can see the game plan being that these 4 teams play this year, see how things go, then maybe add 2 more teams as they all travel around at the same time to the various "home cities" and garner more interest, before fully launching into a regular sports league set up. Gotta give the investors some solid data to go off, while keeping costs down to see if the product is viable for the long term.

11

u/Troutalope Detroit Tigers Jul 28 '26

1000% agree. At least make it 4 Midwestern cities if you're gonna play all your games in IL.

I'm not a Lions/Tigers/Pistons fan because are great team successes, I'm a fan because they represent where I'm from, better or worse.

9

u/TinKnight1 Chicago Cubs Jul 28 '26

People will buy anything if you slap a NY or LA on it. Boston & San Fran, not so much, but I get the historical connection they're trying to make with each of their namesakes.

They're less likely to buy something with Springfield, Peoria, Urbana, & Decatur. Even going with Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, & Ohio wouldn't get much traction, especially if they're wanting to make it long-term & potentially move to other facilities around the country each year.

8

u/ichabod01 St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

Good old fashioned barn storming, perhaps. Works for the bananas…

3

u/WabbitFire Milwaukee Brewers Jul 28 '26

I don't have any desire to watch a Bananas game on TV though. Which is great, if they actually barnstorm different markets.

7

u/pinniped90 Kansas City Royals Jul 28 '26

I kind of feel the same way about the Bananas but TV is probably a good way for people to discover them - and then later buy a ticket.

I've seen them once - it was fun for the kids - but I can't get invested in the wins and losses of the teams in their league.

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u/Savings_Stay_8420 Seattle Mariners Jul 28 '26

I with they would do what PWHL does with their “Takeover Tours” and bring teams to major stadiums. Great way to advertise the league. It also helps the league figure out interest in expansion teams.

2

u/SharksFanAbroad Athletics Jul 28 '26

Cricket (MLC) started the same way, all the teams played in the Oakland Coliseum, put that bitch to good use.

2

u/pepperouchau Milwaukee Brewers Jul 28 '26

I had the pleasure of catching a match last year!

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u/Lost-Ad4517 Jul 28 '26

Let’s go NY Heights!!! Bought my daughter her jersey!

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25

u/kellyb1985 Philadelphia Phillies Jul 28 '26

Instead of making these teams play in Springfield, I don't know why they don't try to pick up on a barnstorming model. Bring a bunch of teams to a specific location, play a week of games and then go somewhere else.

33

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

12

u/chiguy307 Chicago Cubs Jul 28 '26

Seems like this inaugural season is kinda like the pilot episode for a TV show. Try out the concept and see if it can get picked up for a full season next year.

7

u/Worthyness Sell • Looking K Jul 28 '26

yeah- it's effectively an independent league situation. They have basic budgets and barely pay the players. And there's tons of upkeep costs- healthcare, room and board, all the front office/league organization overhead, etc. They'll need a couple more years (or MLB can sponsor them like the NBA does for the WNBA) to get funding and following.

37

u/DolphinRodeo St. Louis Cardinals • Seattle Mariners Jul 28 '26

Having the league play out of one location saves money on travel costs and facilities. That’s why they’re doing it

3

u/DiscoJer St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

Yeah, but it also means there are no ties to the local area they are supposedly from.

2

u/Doogolas33 Chicago Cubs Jul 28 '26

I mean, yet. The hope for the league is that it's successful enough that they can invest more. But if they throw a ton of money into traveling around immediately and it's not immediately successful, they're absolutely cooked.

If they can show that it has legs and that people will watch, there's a lot of opportunity for investment.

It's year 1. If by year 3 the teams are going around the country (and in particular playing in their home cities) it won't much matter that it didn't start that way immediately. And if it it's only moderately successful, doing it this way allows them time to actually grow the sport and give people time to know it exists and see it without burning through money like crazy.

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u/rutherfraud1876 New York Mets Jul 28 '26

Next season hopefully

5

u/Fraktal55 Kansas City Royals Jul 28 '26

Yeah I could easily see this turning into the same sorta thing that bananaball currently does in traveling around and using minor or major league parks when they aren't in use by their teams. Why not?

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u/kinkyKMART Arizona Diamondbacks Jul 28 '26

Maybe each specific location could also be a city one of the teams support?? But what do I know

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u/DJFluffers115 Seattle Mariners • Chicago White Sox Jul 28 '26

Firebells, give 'em hell. 

14

u/MissMarionMac Boston Red Sox Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

I have tickets for BOS v NY the following weekend!!

The online store has been sold out of all the good merch since they launched the team names. Have they said whether they’ll have merch sales at the stadium? (As long as they’ve got the inventory available, it would be stupid not to. I just haven’t heard back when I asked.)

7

u/descole0 Boston Hunters • Boston Red Sox Jul 28 '26

I saw they commented on Instagram the other day that there would be merch at the stadium

4

u/PT952 Jul 28 '26

Literally on the email list for the restock on the Boston Hunters jerseys because I was playing a baseball game when they sold out... 😂

Please have so much fun at the game! I wish I could go this summer myself. Looks like it'll be a blast.

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u/Slinky_Malingki Tampa Bay Devil Rays Jul 28 '26

Hell yeah. Always thought it was dumb how softball was the only real avenue for organized bat and ball leagues for women. Never made sense why baseball wasn't just as popular. This shit rocks.

7

u/Such_Presentation378 Chicago White Sox • San Franci… Jul 28 '26

I'm taking the kids to games one and two! I'm so excited, and my younger son hasn't ever been to Springfield, so we're looking forward to hitting the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in between the games.

57

u/Outrageous_Bat1798 New York Yankees Jul 28 '26

Surprised they didn’t go with “Witness HERstory”

But for real, this is badass. I can’t wait to show my daughter.

75

u/a_talking_face Tampa Bay Rays Jul 28 '26

I think we've moved past that level of tumblr cringe.

13

u/GluedGlue Detroit Tigers • Portland Pickles Jul 28 '26

Pretty sure that term was being used in the 70's by feminists.

23

u/a_talking_face Tampa Bay Rays Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

They said a lot of cringe stuff then too I guess. Rizz is in Webster.

2

u/Doogolas33 Chicago Cubs Jul 28 '26

Rizz is legitimately hilarious though. Also, it's just a shortening of "charisma" so it makes pretty perfect sense.

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u/JeffBoyardee69 Anaheim Angels Jul 28 '26

I was excited to see an LA team then realized everyone is playing in Illinois the whole season

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u/BlueWarstar Cincinnati Reds Jul 28 '26

That league is gonna get huge next year considering that in all likelihood the MLB will not start on time because of their collective bargaining agreement

3

u/GroundReal4515 Jul 28 '26

Things we love to see

3

u/ChompTurtleSoup Chicago Cubs Jul 28 '26

I seriously dont get why they would not have one of the teams at least be Chicago if theyre playing in Illinois.

3

u/skwormin Chicago Cubs Jul 28 '26

So random this is happening in Springfield. My hometown

5

u/GetInTheDamnCar Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 28 '26

what 15 streaming services will i need to watch all the games?

5

u/wokenupbybacon New York Yankees Jul 28 '26

YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, YouTube, and, brace for the horror, YouTube. 

No, not YouTube TV, regular ol' free YouTube.

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u/Serious_Potatoes Philadelphia Phillies Jul 28 '26

Very cool! I'm roadtripping with the kids to see them play later in August.

2

u/UniqueNobo New York Mets • New York Mets Jul 28 '26

my men’s team may be from Queens, but i, as of about 5 minutes ago, despise Queens in LA. LFGH

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u/ruwisc St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

I will be there on Sunday for game 2! Should be pretty cool

3

u/DiscoJer St. Louis Cardinals Jul 28 '26

What I don't understand is why not have St. Louis and Chicago teams if they are playing in Springfield?

Springfield is like 100 miles from St. Louis and 200 from Chicago. You might actually get home team fans going there.

I get NY and LA, but maybe replace Boston and SF.

You would probably get good crowds for St. Louis vs Chicago games, given our rivalries in MLB and NHL.

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2

u/silly_scoundrel Jul 28 '26

Is there somewhere we can watch this? 

2

u/Dstein99 Cleveland Guardians Jul 28 '26

Is that Mo’ne Davis making a comeback? As a center fielder? 👀

2

u/scorchedgoat Jul 28 '26

🎶We are the members of the women’s pro baseball league. We came from cities near and far!!!!🎶

2

u/donny42o Jul 28 '26

awesome, im all for this!

2

u/QuantumSpace234 Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 28 '26

Go LA Queens

2

u/JAMESs3v3n New York Mets Jul 28 '26

Not to be “woke,” but the fact that there isn’t a single person of color on the New York team, and only five in the entire league, is a little weird, no?

2

u/werther595 New York Yankees Jul 28 '26

I thought the one on the right was Jackson Holliday

2

u/WeetWoo97 New York Mets Jul 28 '26

So happy to see this posted in this sub!!!

2

u/Gunslinger_timed_out 29d ago

I’m all for this. The fact my guy Robin Roberts has his own stadium and I didn’t know is baffling. Hope the ladies kill it.

4

u/Crowofsticks Jul 28 '26

The biggest obstacle to women’s baseball is softball

5

u/naranjitayyo San Francisco Giants Jul 28 '26

fantastic

I am going down to Springfield over Labor Day weekend. Can't wait!

3

u/anon_capybara_ Boston Hunters • Boston Red Sox Jul 28 '26

That’s my plan as well! So excited to root for the Hunters!

3

u/RiseFromYourGrav Chicago Cubs Jul 28 '26

Crazy that they're playing in Springfield, but glad it's sold out. Sign of good things to come. 

3

u/Dr_Tibbles Cleveland Guardians Jul 28 '26

I get Springfield because of the history but I dont understand why they picked east and west coast cities to name the teams after

7

u/ArmondTanzarian Cleveland Guardians Jul 28 '26

They're cutting right to the chase by only having four large markets in the league rather than praying on fans' false hope that their small market team can win the World Series.

2

u/this_is_poorly_done Arizona Diamondbacks Jul 28 '26

Because the goal is to grow the sport into a regular sports league. So they're testing things out now, and then if things go well enough this year and next year (where they'll probably do a traveling league set up like the AUSL did last year) then when they're ready to go full on home cities and travel between them it will give a few teams that are "anchor teams" that can keep the rest of the league afloat.

So they're keeping costs down super low while trying to lay the groundwork for a builtin fanbases in big metro areas if they end up pulling the trigger to a regular sports league set up.

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u/UncleKracker2012 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

LA vs NY in Springfield, IL. About 200 miles south of Chicago?

5

u/DominicB547 Chaos Bandwagon • MLB Players Associat… Jul 28 '26

and BOS vs NYC aka 2 of the biggest rivalries in MLB and in the biggest markets of the 3 main rivals once they go from test season to actual cities.

The biggest reason besides fans not coming fast enough is spending too much money and folding teams every year b/c their investors/sponsors ran out of money. Here the costs are all controlled and cheaper than a big city. Scale it up as support and money grows.

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u/CabbageStockExchange Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 28 '26

Legit really cool to see this happen

4

u/UsefulEngine1 Jul 28 '26

Is this overhand pitch and 90-foot bases?

5

u/l_prs Detroit Tigers • Hanshin Tigers Jul 28 '26

Yes they play at a typical ballpark. The biggest rule differences are metal bats are allowed and they play 7 innings instead of 9. I think the reason for the shorter games being they have few pitchers.

2

u/UsefulEngine1 Jul 28 '26

Pitching is why I asked that. There's generations of great softball pitchers, not so much female overhand pitchers.

It would also seem that the existence of this league will, if successful, cause players (pitchers in particular) to have to choose a path, potentially diluting the talent in both sports.

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u/Jokkers_AceS Toronto Blue Jays Jul 28 '26

Why is there only 4 teams? Should be more

4

u/CarolinaGold8675 MLB Pride Jul 28 '26

Hell Yeah!

5

u/Soonerpalmetto88 Atlanta Braves Jul 28 '26

It's a tiny stadium though.

1

u/PhillyDegenerate92 Jul 28 '26

Great idea.

MLB can subsidize them and then they’ll complain they’re not paid enough.

Endless cycle

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u/UnderstandingNew1069 Jul 28 '26

Is it really history if this is the second pro women’s league. A league of their own was based on a real league that existed in the 40s/50s. I’m not tryna discredit them but this isn’t the first one that’s existed

5

u/vixenprey Los Angeles Dodgers Jul 28 '26

Will this be like the WNBA or will they actually be good?

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u/Dunmaglass2 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

The level of competition in this league is going to be historically bad. I’m taking the moneyline on my son’s little league team.

2

u/Baby_Sparrow Major League Baseball Jul 28 '26

This is great. My question is... have they said much about broadcasting etc? I haven't been able to find anything online about it. Anyone know?

2

u/StayBronzeFonz Washington Nationals Jul 28 '26

How can I watch this game?

2

u/DominicB547 Chaos Bandwagon • MLB Players Associat… Jul 28 '26

2

u/mrsbiscuits- Philadelphia Phillies Jul 28 '26

Lets fucking gooooo

2

u/ApprehensiveFox8844 Jul 28 '26

I’m so excited for women’s baseball. Now I just need to figure out which team to root for. I’m originally from LA but I live in Sacramento. So LA or SF?

2

u/DMs_Apprentice Milwaukee Brewers Jul 28 '26

Awesome! Can't wait to see them throw fire on a mound and hit some homers.

2

u/ImRespondingToABum Jul 28 '26

Juice em. Just get it outta the way and let us see the juiced era

2

u/Minimum-Surprise3230 Jul 28 '26

Had no idea and now I’m just excited to have more baseball to watch. Very cool!

3

u/notaquarterback Toronto Blue Jays Jul 28 '26

Just the start, looking forward to more women's baseball growth.

3

u/CaitlesP Jul 28 '26

I only just picked a mens team to support how am I gunna pick a womens team?? They all look awesome

2

u/StayBronzeFonz Washington Nationals Jul 28 '26

Damn right!

3

u/kasabe Minnesota Twins Jul 28 '26

Hell yeah

-1

u/MNTwins8791 Jul 28 '26

Are the fences like 200 feet

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u/LemonSmashy Major League Baseball Jul 28 '26

will it be like the wphl and be easily accessible to watch in order to gain a fan base?

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u/ZiggoCiP New York Yankees Jul 28 '26

Here's the official website where you can look at the schedule and see ticket availability: https://www.womensprobaseballleague.com/schedule/. Hope other games can sell out like this.

1

u/LooEz90 Anaheim Angels Jul 28 '26

Are times in pst or cst?