Baseball Isn't Just for Boys
After a coach's harsh words, Justine Siegal has spent her life fighting for the inclusion of girls at all levels of baseball.
Justine Siegal first became passionate about baseball at an early age. She began playing when she was seven, and attended Cleveland Indians games on a regular basis.
At age 13, Siegal had just begun playing for a new coach. She was in the dugout alone one day when he approached her.
“I don't want you on my team,” he told her. “Girls should play softball."
Siegal was stunned. She was no bench player; in fact, she was one of the best on the team. While others might have given up, no such thought entered Siegal’s mind.
“It was pretty intimidating, but I didn’t quit,” she said. “I didn’t even tell anyone about it until I was an adult. But it was hard playing for someone who you knew didn’t want you there.”
Siegal certainly isn’t alone. While approximately 100,000 girls currently play youth baseball in the United States, only around 1,000 continue to play by the time they reach high school. Like Siegal, they hear the same harsh refrain from coaches: Girls should play softball, not baseball.
What kept Siegal from giving up? It was simply a matter of not allowing someone to crush a dream she knew was attainable.
“The more people tried to take the game away from me, the more I held on,” Siegal explained. “The harder I had to try to find opportunities the more determined I became.”
Another Roadblock
Siegal applied to an NCAA Division III school who claimed to have a no-cut policy. But when she showed up for the first day of practice, she was told there were no more uniforms available.
It was yet another wall blocking her path. To this day, she believes the explanation was simply an excuse to not include a girl on the team.
“I didn’t know what to do next,” she recalled. “I was alone. I didn’t have a community to help me know my rights.”
It was not long after that when Siegal decided to start that community herself. At 23, she founded Baseball for All, a nonprofit dedicated to creating gender equity in the sport at all levels. Now, finally, girls have a voice, someone to fight for their inclusion in a sport dominated by boys and men.
“I was tired of waiting for opportunities so I decided to make them,” Siegal said. “We are only as strong as our community of volunteers. I am grateful for everyone who has worked towards growing girls baseball and building the Baseball for All community.”
The results of Siegal’s efforts are paying off. The organization started in 2003 with a team of 12 girls who played in an all-boys tournament in Cooperstown, New York. Since then, the number of participants has grown significantly enough to hold an annual tournament featuring girls’ teams from all over the country.
The 2020 tournament had to be canceled because of COVID-19. But last year’s event was the best ever, with 50 teams and 500 girls competing.
“It was so wonderful to see everyone after a year hiatus,” Siegal said.
A Major League Experience
As Baseball for All began to take shape, so did Siegal’s dream of staying close to the game she loved. In 2009, she became the first woman to coach in men’s professional baseball with the Brockton Rox. Two years later, she became the first woman to throw batting practice to an MLB team, the Cleveland Indians. It was quite a thrill, considering that was the team she had rooted for during her childhood. In 2015, Siegal got the opportunity to coach in a major league organization when she joined the Oakland Athletics’ Instructional League team in Arizona.
Since then, other women have been hired in prominent roles for major league teams. Kim Ng became the first woman general manager after being hired by the Miami Marlins. The San Francisco Giants named Alyssa Nakken as its first full-time female coach, and several other women have followed in similar capacities.
Of her experience coaching pro ball, Siegal said, “It was a dream come true.”
Siegal was presented with another unique opportunity last year. Amazon Studios approached her about becoming a baseball coordinator for its A League of Their Own TV series, a reboot of the popular movie about girls’ baseball. The experience was something she’ll never forget.
“It was amazing to work on A League of Their Own and continue sharing the story of the AAGPBL and the women who played baseball in the 1940’s,” she said. “I loved coaching the actors and helping them prepare for the scenes. I’m filled with gratitude.”
Women and College Baseball
For Siegal, the fight for inclusion of girls to play baseball doesn’t stop at the high school level. She’s currently focusing on persuading universities to allow women to do what she could not: play at the NCAA level. Last August, Baseball for All hosted a Women’s College Baseball Invitational, a showcase held at Centenary University in New Jersey. This past fall, the organization partnered with 12 colleges to form women’s club baseball teams, a necessary step to be sanctioned by the NCAA as a women’s sport. Eight women currently play baseball at the college level, a new record.
Siegal hopes this year will see even more women playing college ball.
“Collegiate opportunities have grown significantly, with college coaches open to finding the best players they can,” she said.
As the number of female participants continues to climb in other sports, it may not be long before baseball claims its rightful place as a sport that embraces women players at all levels. If Justine Siegal has anything to say about it, that will happen sooner rather than later.
Hot Takes and Great Reads
Ask any parent trying to buy baseball equipment for their child, and they’ll tell you it can be an expensive undertaking. But a company in Miami is trying to change that.
Erik Rico and Oscar Llarena, two childhood friends, founded Bat Club USA, an Inc. Magazine 5000 honoree. Using the Netflix model, the company allows customers to rent bats, gloves and other equipment through an online subscription service starting at $20 per month. They can even switch out gear if kids either outgrow it or don’t like it.
"It hurts to hear about kids not being able to play this sport because of the cost," Llarena told Inc.com. "To help people afford to play this game, get the equipment they need, and not feel like they're at a disadvantage, it makes the hard work worth it for us."
What a cool idea. Maybe other sporting goods companies will follow this subscription model. It would certainly do a lot to make the cost of youth sports more affordable.
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I’m always excited when the Olympics are on. Not only do I enjoy the events, but the stories of the athletes participating in them.
NBC Universal wants to keep that excitement going, particularly for kids. The media company has partnered with the educational YouTube series Blippi for a Winter Olympics-themed episode.
The company has the broadcast rights to the Olympics through 2032, so it wants to make sure it keeps younger viewers as they grow up. They have mounted an aggressive marketing campaign across its numerous channels including Universal Kids, NBC News, Peacock and NBCUniversal Local.
“What we want to do is create several youth-focused partnerships, which we’ve done, and bring those to life in a way where these moments and these memories around the Olympics are relevant for these younger audiences as they’re going to be growing up with us for these future Games,” Jennifer Storms, chief marketing officer of NBCUniversal entertainment and sports, told Adweek.
You can read the full story here.
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