Womens baseball

[ElCaminoSS]

Judging by the pathetic number of posts here everyone doesnt care about womens sports.(They are boring to me but i thought thered be more then 21 threads) I thought thered be atleast a following. Are people like me missing something?

[charlesblalack@yahoo.com]

I think that ppl love home runs, and I dont beleive thers a lot of power from female ballplayers.

[ElCaminoSS]

proving my theory its boring :dance

[Brian McKenna]

I love the discussion of history, especially the AAGPBL.

Female sports will never take off until woman en masse start taking an interest. Even the established sports, like the LPGA, fall well behind male activities. Just note the tournament payoffs in any Monday paper.

It is not that men don't get it. It is that girlfriends, wives, mothers or daughters are not making us get it. It is not the sole responsibility of the men to be pushing female sports as they do every other activity. Just ask 100 woman to tell you about Babe Didrikson and I doubt if few can (or males for that matter.) Perhaps the greatest athlete in American history goes completely unnoticed.

The female sports revolution is in its infancy. It really didn't start until Billie Jean King and Chris Evert and for a long time it was only tennis that drew. Society, as a whole, has only embraced women's golf and tennis.

For my part I like woman's tennis. It is competitive and it has the history and enough top players to keep you interested. Woman's golf can be interesting but the broadcasts do a much better job with men's golf so I'll watch that. I will say that Annika Sorenstam is a treat to watch and may well be the best golfer in the world.

I will watch fast pitch softball. It is kind of intense and has enough differences to MLB to make it interesting in its own rights. Woman's baseball, I don't know. To be the best you have to compete against the best. Not enough woman do that in baseball to make the sport as a whole interesting. And again, MLB will put on a much better show.

There is still the lesbian factor that permeates woman sports. It is a sterotype perpertated by both men and woman. Fill a sport with a bunch of Anna Kournikovas bouncing around and men will watch but only for a time.

[Joltin' Joe]

People want to watch athletes at the highest level. Hence in Baseball, people want to see MLB, not Women or AAA.

[Indylavi]

Women's baseball has a big big problem that other female sports don't have. Baseball is a very long season. I would watch women baseball or softball but it's always played when other games are on. If you have the MLB TV package (like I do) there are at least 2 or 3 MLB games on everyday. I perfer to watch pro sports myself. I don't watch men's college sports either. The biggest problem with female sports is that women themselves don't do a good enough job supporting it. For example, most guys have at least have a passing interest in some type of sport. However, most women I've met don't care about sports.

As bkmckenna said, it's not my job to push female sports. I support my sports and I can't be blamed if others don'ts support theirs. Until women themselves get more women interested than females sports will always be in the shadows

[runningshoes]

The only womans' sporting event I ever watch is curling.:D

[ElCaminoSS]

to intense for me :clapping

[bluezebra]

proving my theory its boring :dance

You must dislike fast pitch softball, especially in high school, even though you play the game. Home runs (hit over a fence) are as rare as hens' teeth.

And you don't know REAL baseball. It's more than hitting home runs.

Bob

[yankees-chick]

part of the problem is that there aren't as many opportunities to watch or even read about womens baseball. i actually know nothing about it, not because i wouldnt be interested, but because theres NO publicity or info on it.

i think another part of the problem could be that there is already so much time/money/tv/internet info on mens pro sports that people dont have a void that could be filled with womens sports. IF someday womens baseball was to really take off, they would have to capitalize on the MLB's offseason and make sure to never directly compete for fans.

[bluezebra]

The main problem with women's sports, not only baseball, is that the average "fan" compares the women's games to the men's, and doesn't (can't) take the games on their own merit.

Until that happens, women's pro sports will never be very popular.

bob

[ElCaminoSS]

And you don't know REAL baseball. It's more than hitting home runs.
Hey bob, I never said It was all about homeruns ok???? That post you quoted was a joke, I thought you would get that. Also, How do I not know real baseball?? You can judge that from 1 post, Jeez calm down. Just because I think softballl is somewhat boring doesnt mean I dont know baseball. Relax

[Yankee Legend]

Women's softball is not that bad.

It was pretty fun to watch during the olympics.

And not to be a pervert but i kinda like the pitcher on the us team (and not as a ballplayer)

[ElCaminoSS]

I know, Jennie Finch is a total hottie.

[charlesblalack@yahoo.com]

I know, Jennie Finch is a total hottie.
Sometimes it's hard to pay attention to the game.

[brewcrew82]

I know, Jennie Finch is a total hottie.

I like softball in its own right but I must say she's the best thing about TWIB.

[Brian McKenna]

likewise - i have to admit my interest in woman's tennis is hardly about the sport

[Tailwind Tommy]

Great Photos!
4508
4509

[Brian McKenna]

are there female baseball leagues around?

[Tailwind Tommy]

I had the opportunity to see the Silver Bullets at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington.

The Colorado Silver Bullets was a women's baseball team that played from 1994 through 1997. The team was founded with the purpose to provide a nurturing environment for top women athletes to learn and play professional baseball against existing men's teams within the ranks of minor league, semi-pro, college, and amateur baseball. Its aspiration was to inspire female athletes to play the game of baseball at all levels, from Little League through professional leagues, and encourage all forms of organized baseball to accept women athletes as players.

4518
4519
4520

[Tailwind Tommy]

Apparently, there is one women's team: The Arizona Cactus Wrens of the 368th of the 306th, 8th U.S. Air Force
There is a website devoted to them at http://hometown.aol.com/azwrens4521.
Looks like there the only active women's baseball team.
SAN JOSE, CA
MEMORIAL DAY 2005 CAL WOMEN'S BASEBALL LEAGUE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT
DISNEYWORLD
COLUMBUS DAY 2005
13U GIRLS TOURNAMENT

[Yankee Legend]

Can you tell me where you got those AAGPBL Pics?

[Tailwind Tommy]

The baseball cards are available on e-bay. Also available are pennants, team cards, and a book written about the Colorado Silver Bullets.

[Kripler1]

likewise - i have to admit my interest in woman's tennis is hardly about the sport
Really i never knew that.

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

Really i never knew that.

Hey Kripler, that's men.
We watch tennis for the women and not for the sport!:waving

[AGeer]

I don't know if anyone is still viewing these, but I stumbled across this page and thought I would let you all know;
I play baseball for the California Women's Baseball League
The league doesn't recruit all that well yet, but there are some great ball players and I hope to see it grow immensely in the next fewe years once people put the time into getting the word out.
We have some former Silver Bullets, some former college softabll players, and everything else you could imagine.
It's a great ball club.
Anyone local should view the website and come check us out; the more people who know about us, the better the league will get (right now only a select few know, so who knows how many great players we haven't reached yet!)

www.cwbl.net

[NotAboutEgo]

are there female baseball leagues around?

There are plenty of women's baseball leagues around, and the numbers are growing. Do a search for "women's baseball", and you will see. There are also several girls' youth leagues popping up.

[NotAboutEgo]

Apparently, there is one women's team: The Arizona Cactus Wrens of the 368th of the 306th, 8th U.S. Air Force
There is a website devoted to them at http://hometown.aol.com/azwrens4521.
Looks like there the only active women's baseball team.
SAN JOSE, CA
MEMORIAL DAY 2005 CAL WOMEN'S BASEBALL LEAGUE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT
DISNEYWORLD
COLUMBUS DAY 2005
13U GIRLS TOURNAMENT

Do a search for women's baseball. You are all missing the boat if you don't do a search.

[NotAboutEgo]

I agree that part of the problem of women's sports not being as popular as men's sports is because more females themselves need to support it. The other side of the problem is that men's sports are what have been marketed over the years, starting back when the TV was first invented. Men's sports were promoted and women's weren't. Women's sports still take a backseat to men's sports in all avenues of marketing and promotion. The same is the case with men's pro sports being developed a long time ago when, at the same time, women's pro sports weren't developed. All of that goes along with the status quo of the times... men have dominated women in all ways throughout history... treating them as being inferior in all ways.

What gets marketed and promoted has everything to do with this. Why would men, who've controlled the media for the most part, promote women's sports when men have seen women as being inferior in all ways? It's like promoting and cheering for the enemy.

Let's face it. Most people are reactive rather than proactive. People eat what is fed to them.

Would things be different now if women's sports were promoted from the beginning and men's sports were not?

I highly think so.

[NotAboutEgo]

For those who have never seen a women's baseball game and who sit and wonder about its quality, perhaps you should get out and see one to experience it for yourselves instead of guessing at what it's like. That's the only way to know.

Maybe women don't hit a lot of homeruns now, but give them time. There are PLENTY of female power hitters out there.

[Pere]

I think the basic problem today is that young girls who might have been baseball players have been overwhelmingly pressured to switch over to softball once they graduate the lowest level coed leagues. I'm talking elementary-school age here. My own daughter experienced this a couple years ago. For the most part, there just aren't organized leagues for young girls to play baseball. There's a truly massive developmental structure and support system for boys who want to be ballplayers, but a girl and her parents have few, if any, options. It's not surprising that only a handful of young women have "survived" the process to play collegiate, semipro, or international baseball.

The girls who get diverted into softball, of course, may be excellent athletes, and I've seen some superbly-played women's softball games. But softball will pretty much always compare poorly with baseball, in perception if not always in fact. The girls get forced onto the softball track, and then they are judged by the track they're on. Even young women who make a successful transition from softball back to baseball are still affected by the stigma that "women's baseball" must be about on a level with softball.

[NotAboutEgo]

I think the basic problem today is that young girls who might have been baseball players have been overwhelmingly pressured to switch over to softball once they graduate the lowest level coed leagues. I'm talking elementary-school age here. My own daughter experienced this a couple years ago. For the most part, there just aren't organized leagues for young girls to play baseball. There's a truly massive developmental structure and support system for boys who want to be ballplayers, but a girl and her parents have few, if any, options. It's not surprising that only a handful of young women have "survived" the process to play collegiate, semipro, or international baseball.

The girls who get diverted into softball, of course, may be excellent athletes, and I've seen some superbly-played women's softball games. But softball will pretty much always compare poorly with baseball, in perception if not always in fact. The girls get forced onto the softball track, and then they are judged by the track they're on. Even young women who make a successful transition from softball back to baseball are still affected by the stigma that "women's baseball" must be about on a level with softball.

I agree with you 100%. Also, women baseball players are constantly compared with MLB players, which is completely ignorant. No one can compare the two, since women have NEVER had the infrastructure that men have had. Women baseball players should be seen as who they are and according to their experience. Right now, in women's baseball, there are players from different levels and types of experience; yet, there isn't the development and levels of organization that guys have had and haven't had to fight for.

[brewers96]

It's called SOFTBALL!!! :dance

[Trickyhop]

I'd watch if women could get into the MLB or even the minors. Maybe someday.

[brewers96]

Maybe someday.

[RightEGirl]

Hey Brewers96,

If you think women's baseball is called "softball," then you obviously didn't make it down to Kenosha (in your home state apparently) on the 4th of July weekend for the USA BASEBALL (not softball) Team USA Women's tryouts and evaluation tournament (Hall of Fame Classic) played at the old Kenosha Comets field and organized excellently by the MSBL in Kenosha. The level was quite high, and the fans there loved it. There were several extra inning games (one going 12 and one going 13), numerous low-scoring pitcher's duels, an upset or two of a nationally-dominant team, at least three stellar pitching performances (one of which a teammate of mine threw ALL 12 innings, 153 pitches -- for the win) and just all-around good baseball. You can read more by going to www.awbf.org or www.msblkenosha.com.

Having played softball (fastpitch) for many years (nationally/internationally/professionally) and then switched back to baseball (I played until I was 15, and was denied the opportunity to tryout in HS), I can safely say, women's baseball is NOT softball. They're both great sports, but you should know that at the elite levels of women's baseball many of us play, we play the game the way it was intended -- with dignity, respect, skill, and a love of the game. Many of us play right alongside you guys on MSBL/MABL teams throughout the country, and a few in HS, Community College, and even a few University teams. The league I play in (with the guys) has a couple of ex-big leaguers, quite a few former minor leaguers, and a BUNCH of former D-1/D-2 and CC players. There aren't a lot of us yet at that level, but we're getting there.

If we can get MLB to lift the ludicrous ban on females playing in the majors or minors (instituted in 1952 I believe), you might, one day -- with the door open and the same training and playing advantages many guys have benefitted from over the years (i.e., playing HS and Legion Ball, access to mentoring, etc.) -- see a few women who can compete at that level. I think there are a few right now who can compete in the Minors, and as they continue to develop, perhaps a few in the bigs...but the door has to be opened first...the ban needs to be lifted.

Please don't take this the wrong way...I'm not a hugely radical feminist or looking for a fight either I just think the best way to combat perceived sarcastic and/or underinformed opinions is to educate and discuss.

Best,

Tiff

[NotAboutEgo]

It's called SOFTBALL!!! :dance

another completely ignorant poster

[brewers96]

I thought about that post after I posted it and I am sorry I put that. I don't live near Kenosha so I didn't even know about it.

[NotAboutEgo]

You are right, Tiff. The MLB ban on women playing there has been in effect since 1952. I haven't been able to find anything stating that the ban has been lifted. The irony of the ban is, since a lot of people think women aren't capable of competing in MLB, why was a ban put in place and why is it still there???

:rofl:

[NotAboutEgo]

I thought about that post after I posted it and I am sorry I put that. I don't live near Kenosha so I didn't even know about it.

I thought so. It's a typical response from someone who knows absolutely nothing about women's baseball but who feels obliged to give an uninformed statement based on their insecurity and limited perceptions of the truth in order to cut others down.

[brewers96]

I'm just gonna stay out of this fourm now since I don't know anything about Women's Baseball.

Best of Luck,

brewers96

[NotAboutEgo]

I'm just gonna stay out of this fourm now since I don't know anything about Women's Baseball.

Best of Luck,

brewers96

Thanks for the "best of luck" wishes.

[RightEGirl]

Hey Brewers96,

Thanks so much for the retraction and the "best wishes." They are appreciated. And please -- in no way should you feel like you can't post here. My only suggestion is to check out a few websites about women's baseball, read a little, then discuss issues in an informed way if you want to...or you can even feel free to ask questions! : )

Most of us in here are happy to educate and are non-confrontational. We just want to be treated as ballplayers ...that's BASEball players! : ) We all love the game, and just want some doors opened (and we're working to help ourselves...not waiting for a handout) just for the opportunities.

Best,

Tiff

[blacksilverfan12]

I'd like to see it, baseball is baseball to me

[RightEGirl]

Cool...thanks for the great attitude, Blacksilverfan!

[blacksilverfan12]

So, is there much of a difference between men and women's baseball?

[NotAboutEgo]

So, is there much of a difference between men and women's baseball?

Thanks for your comments, BSF12. As far as amateur baseball goes in the club baseball and city league realms... from my experiences, I haven't seen a lot of difference between men's and women's baseball. I'd say there may be slight differences, but they aren't dramatic. I've seen really good baseball from both the women's and men's sides, and I've seen some pretty sloppy baseball from both sides. It has more to do with the skill level, experience, and talent of the players and teams.

I haven't seen anything striking that says "this is women's baseball, and that is men's baseball" in terms of style of play.

[blacksilverfan12]

So there would be women's leagues around the nation, right? I know somebody mentioned a California League

[NotAboutEgo]

So there would be women's leagues around the nation, right? I know somebody mentioned a California League

Yep... definitely. Just do a search for "women's baseball", and you'll find umpteen sites for women's baseball teams, leagues, and organizations in the U.S. and around the world.

There's a league in the Bay Area, and there also are 2 travel teams in the SoCal area.

[blacksilverfan12]

Thanks! I'll check it out!

[NotAboutEgo]

Thanks! I'll check it out!

You're welcome!

[Baseball Mum]

The Women's Baseball World Cup is being played in Japan in August this year just after the Olympics. There will be eight countries competing:
* United States
* Australia
* Japan
* Canada
* Hong Kong
* Korea
* Chinese Taipei
* India
This is certainly a growing sport, and the fact that people don't know about it doesn't mean it's not there and doing good things. It only means that people don't know. The trouble comes when people think "I don't know about it therefore it can't be good".

Brewers96, don't stay away from this forum, come and read and ask questions, go and do some reading on the net, etc. You are most welcome here.

An Australian team went up to watch a Brewers game just after they played in the Kenosha tournament. They had a great time in your country and very much enjoyed the MLB games they got to.

[mrakbaseball]

Silver Bullets vs Anchorage Bucs summer collegiate team 1997 Mulcahy Stadium

[NotAboutEgo]

Cool pic! I'm in the midst of writing an article on women's baseball, so I've been looking up info and adding info that I get first-hand from being involved with women's baseball. I was reading about the Silver Bullets last night, and it said that they beat the Cape Cod League all-star team once. I think it was in 1996.

[metfan13]

Cool pic! I'm in the midst of writing an article on women's baseball, so I've been looking up info and adding info that I get first-hand from being involved with women's baseball. I was reading about the Silver Bullets last night, and it said that they beat the Cape Cod League all-star team once. I think it was in 1996.


According to their website: http://www.coloradosilverbullets.org/

I don't see them ever winning a game in Mass., or beating a team identified as the Cape Cod League All-stars anywhere else.

[NotAboutEgo]

I found it on another web site... not on their web site. I'll see if I can find it again.

[mrakbaseball]

Silver Bullets, Anchorage, AK Mulcahy Stadium 6/25/97

[mrakbaseball]

Silver Bullets/Bucs 6/25/97 Mulcahy Stadium Bucs win 7-0. Attendance 6,525

[Milwaukee County Stadium]

I'd Much Rather Have Women's Baseball More Popular Than Women's Softball, I Think That Women's Baseball Is Way Better, and there should be a Across The County Women's Baseball League.

[NotAboutEgo]

I'd Much Rather Have Women's Baseball More Popular Than Women's Softball, I Think That Women's Baseball Is Way Better, and there should be a Across The County Women's Baseball League.

I feel the same. Some of us are going to be working on developing a national umbrella organization/league for girls' and women's baseball soon. I'll post info as soon as I have it.