One thing I do want to stress with the WPBL is there is going to be some aspects that seem unpolished or rough compared to other recent women league start ups, or even compared to early days nwsl / wnba. And thatâs because there has been very very limited opportunities for women to pursue baseball on any level, and even less to play baseball with other women. The most traditionally organized womenâs baseball that I know of exists in Japan with the Venus league, which is a large amateur baseball league that has tiers involving high school, university, and club teams (Japan also used to have a pro league that folded in the pandemic.) there are national team programs, but the womenâs baseball World Cup only started as recently as 2002 and has not been held 9 times. Most of the womenâs playing experience comes with playing for indie ball and vasity teams or programs where theyâd frequently be the only women (and many of them faced being pushed out / giving less opportunities + focus from coaches because of that) and their national team opportunities.
And while national team opportunities have improved in recent years, here is an excerpt on what it was like for former Team USA veteran player Malaika Underwood to train with the team (source)
âAfter the national team trials in June, Underwood invited teammates who also lived in the Southeast to spend weekends at her house in Jacksonville so that they could practice together. They also met up in Atlanta. All the training and travel happened on their own dimes. When they could, players sent videos of their pitches and swings to their coaches, who would try to make adjustments remotely.
âItâs all on us,â Underwood says. âIn terms of time and personal investment, weâve all given up a lot to be here. Guys make sacrifices to play baseball, too, but thereâs just a much clearer path for them.â
Basically I say this because I know thereâs a lot of people coming over from being recent wnba/pwhl/nwsl fans, and particularly if you watched the latter two leagues, understand that the WPBL is coming at it with significantly less infrastructure in place in America. Thereâs no ncaa programs, no high school programs, the only previously attempted league after the AAGPBL was the amateur league, North American Women's Baseball League, which existed for five years. The nwsl and PWHL all had several attempted leagues before if, several overseas leagues, college programs, and stronger national team programs that appeared in major tournaments like the Olympics they were building off of. I also donât want to entirely compare to wnba, because I think the time period and how it came about puts it in a different cultural context, but even they had a few attempts at pro leagues and several decades of organized college play.
There is going to be growing pains with this and itâs an ambitious project, and itâs crucial to understand that context and how different the sport infrastructure is when supporting these athletes and respect for what theyâre trying to build here
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