Leveling the Playing Field
Imagine being a 6th grader who loves baseball so much that you have played on teams since your rookie year of T-ball in kindergarten. At the ripe old age of 12, or maybe 13, you are told by your coaches, teammates, parents, and friends, that your career is over — not because of your talent or interest level, but because you are a girl. Instead, you are directed to the softball diamond. Why? Because that’s what girls do.
Not so fast.
Baseball For All has sought to change the paradigm since becoming a national organization in 2015. The program’s mission is to build gender equity in the national pastime by giving girls opportunities to play, coach, and lead. It functions as a support system, providing a strong community that ensures that no girl or woman in baseball feels alone. Baseball For All empowers girls to believe in themselves and to keep participating in the game they love.
The fledgling organization was the brainchild of Justine Siegal, who graced the diamond through high school. She planned to continue playing — for a small college with a “no-cut” policy — but after her try out, the coach informed her that she was the only one who had been cut, because of a lack of uniforms.
Refusing to be shut out of the game because of her gender, Justine persevered in becoming the first woman to coach baseball professionally, in 2009 with the Brockton Rox, an independent league team outside of Boston. She later became the first woman to throw batting practice in the majors, putting on a baseball uniform for six teams, including her hometown Cleveland Indians, now called the Guardians. In 2015 she fulfilled a lifelong dream by becoming the first woman to coach for a major league franchise, spending two weeks as a guest instructor with the Oakland A’s Instructional League team in Arizona.
In its inaugural year, Baseball For All staged a tournament in Florida for more than 100 pre-teenage girls. Today the program has more than 1,000 players, ages 6-19, who participate in regional tournaments, clinics and events across the United States. This year’s BFA Nationals was held at the Ripken Experience in Aberdeen, Maryland. The organization’s umbrella extends to girls in more than 40 states and five countries who play in 30 programs across America, six of which are based in California, including the Los Angeles Monarchs.
In its inaugural year, Baseball For All staged a tournament in Florida for more than 100 pre-teenage girls. Today the program has more than 1,000 players, ages 6-19, who participate in regional tournaments, clinics and events across the United States
The guiding light of the Monarchs is Gillian Pierce. She became involved after taking her Little League daughter to that first BFA Nationals in the Sunshine State and quickly saw the impact that playing on an all-girls team had on her. She noticed how fast she bonded with other players, how excited her daughter and her new friends were in the new environment.
On her hometown team, she was “the girl” on an otherwise all-male roster. At the tournament, she was just another player. As Gillian recounted, “There’s a big contrast between being the only girl on a boys team, to a team with just girls. At home, some coaches forgot that my daughter existed. At the tournament, the players smiled, laughed and picked each other up. It was very natural.”
The experience in Florida was the impetus for Gillian to start the Monarchs in 2016. She began canvasing the community, reaching out to parents who might be interested. “We started with six girls,” she said, laughing. Today, she is the general manager of three Monarch teams of different age groups.
“There’s a big contrast between being the only girl on a boys team, to a team with just girls. At home, some coaches forgot that my daughter existed. At the tournament, the players smiled, laughed and picked each other up. It was very natural.”
Gillian’s philosophy is to give girls the opportunity to play baseball “for the love of the game,” she says. She also has a ready answer to the oft-asked question from parents, players and coaches, “When is she going to switch to softball?” Gillian’s reply is, “They aren’t.” The Monarchs play with both skill and joy. There are soulful bonds among the girls who no longer have the spotlight of being “the only one.” They play with the same intensity as the boys, but the atmosphere is much more relaxed.
As the Baseball For All program grows, Gillian is hopeful that more California teams will follow the San Diego Mustangs, a 13-U team formed earlier this year. “I’m hopeful we will have a Freeway Series one day,” she said.
Three years ago, Robb Hittner, whose daughter, Arden, plays for the Monarchs, was searching for additional opportunities for her to play outside of the Santa Monica Little League season, where she was the only girl player.
Arden was invited by Gillian to join the Monarchs and play in her first all-girls tournament as an 11-year-old. When she arrived, she encountered 400 other young ladies who were just like her: they shared a love for baseball, excelled at playing, and had no desire to play softball or any other sport. Arden was hooked.
“As soon as she joined the team, it seemed as if she had known the other kids for her entire life,” her father says. “That’s how immediate and strong the bond was. There’s no judgment. There’s no pressure. It’s not ‘the girl who is at bat,’ or ‘the girl on the mound’ – it’s ‘the baseball player.’ The sense of acceptance and then euphoria is very strong and noticed by all of us who are parents.”
Arden told me that she was nervous at first: “I had only played on teams with boys. I met my new teammates ,and we became friends pretty quickly. The nerves went away.” She returned home to Southern California after the tournament and has been a mainstay with the Monarchs for the last three seasons, while also continuing to play on boys’ teams.
“I love playing with the Monarchs because we have so much fun,” she says. “We take the game seriously, but not ourselves. We have a lot of fun practicing and playing in tournaments, but we are also out to prove that girls can play baseball, too.”
The experience for the parents involved has been as enjoyable as it’s been for the hundreds of players on all-girls teams. They see first-hand the differences between being a player who sticks out like a sore thumb, and one who’s part of a team.
“The biggest difference is how I connect,” says Arden. “When I join a new team with boys, I acknowledge them, but it’s all business. I fit in with them, but often feel out of place being the only girl on the team. I feel like I have to work doubly hard. With the girls, we are all going through the same thing. We’re not trying to out-do each other. Girls are more willing to open up and make friends.”
Because the girls have a shared story, there’s an inherently high level of camaraderie and cheering for the opposition. Through Baseball For All, they learn to become leaders and develop self-confidence. With a growing number of regional tournaments and events, there are more opportunities for girls to play as a team.
“The biggest difference is how I connect,” says Arden. “When I join a new team with boys, I acknowledge them, but it’s all business. I fit in with them, but often feel out of place being the only girl on the team. I feel like I have to work doubly hard. With the girls, we are all going through the same thing. We’re not trying to out-do each other. Girls are more willing to open up and make friends.”
“We want every parent who has a girl playing baseball to know there’s a place for them to play the year-round with other girls who are just like their daughter,” says Rob, who sits on the Baseball For All Advisory Board. He’s had a front-row seat view of the organization’s early success stories. Four of the seven women who are rostered to play varsity college baseball next spring are program graduates. Others have returned to help coach in their home towns, and, some have started programs of their own.
With an expanding presence and footprint, Baseball For All is pushing the boundaries and truly moving in a direction that will make their organization’s name a reality.
“There will definitely be a girl playing in the majors one day,” said Arden, a Chicago-born Cubs fan who plans to try out for the Santa Monica High School baseball team in the spring. “I am not sure when, but one day it will happen. We are too powerful not to get there one day. Baseball should not be just a man’s sport.”
The Vikings baseball program at Santa Monica High has produced six major leaguers, including Conner Greene, who made his major league debut with the Orioles in July. Who knows? If Arden makes the team, she may not be far behind.
