If You Build It, She Will Come

Hundreds of women will flock to Washington on Friday to take their first swings at turning pro baseball dreams into reality. Set to debut next year, the AP reports that the Women's Pro Baseball League is holding the first pro women's baseball tryouts in more than 80 years this weekend with the Washington Nationals. The US hasn't had a pro women's league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League—the one immortalized in A League of Their Own—dissolved in 1954. The showcase will culminate in a game at Nationals Park on Aug. 25. In the end, 150 players will advance to the league's inaugural draft in October.

For co-founder Justine Siegal, the tryouts mark a crucial step in creating a true arena for female baseball players to compete against one another, which was the driving force behind her vision for the league. "I didn't get to grow up and play girls baseball. I had to play baseball with the boys," said Siegal, the first woman to coach for an MLB team. "We have players who have been waiting a lifetime for an opportunity." More than 600 players registered for the four-day camp. Five notable competitors:

• Mo'ne Davis, right-handed pitcher, outfielder. At 13, Davis became the first girl to earn a win—and pitch a shutout—in the Little League World Series. She graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and earned AP Female Athlete of the Year honors in 2014. Davis, now 24, has provided commentary on ESPN for Little League games.
• Kelsie Whitmore, pitcher, outfielder. The 27-year-old became the first female player in an MLB-partnered league with the Staten Island FerryHawks in 2022. She first played on the US women's national baseball team as a 14-year-old, helping earn a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games.
• Ayami Sato, right-handed pitcher. Sato, 35, has led the Japan national team to six women's baseball World Cup championships and is widely considered one of the best female pitchers ever, with a nearly 80mph fastball and a precise curveball.
• Alli Schroder, right-handed pitcher. Schroder has played for Canada's national team since 2018, helping Canada win bronze in the 2018 World Cup. She also works grueling two-week stretches fighting major wildfires.
• Kylee Lahners, third base. Now 32, Lahners has played third base for the US national team since 2018 and was a part of the squad's silver-medal run in the World Cup last year.