okay listen. i have been a one-woman street team many times before but really, seriously, trust me on this:
you want to watch the women's pro baseball league.
"but i don't care about baseball/sports!"
look, i understand. not everyone will be sold. if you're dead-set on Not Caring About Sports, i can't convince you. but if you're willing to give anything a try, or if you've been wanting to get into a sport but weren't sure where to start, or if you specifically want to get into women's sports but missed the PWHL season - here's my pitch (pun intended).
what's happening in the world of baseball is historic, and it's awesome. there have been professional women's leagues before, but never at this level. many of the women in the league are decorated ball players from other avenues - a few play for Banana Ball teams, several have played for Team USA at the Women's World Cup, many of them played high-level baseball or softball in high school or college - and all of them are extremely skilled and passionate about baseball.
a lot of people think baseball as a sport is "slow," which, admittedly, is true when you compare it with the likes of soccer, basketball, and hockey. having grown up on baseball, though, i would argue that the slightly less urgent pace of baseball is actually a selling point. it allows you to look away without missing anything, to clap and cheer or curse and yell in between exciting plays, and to absorb everything that's happened in the game before the next big thing happens.
if you're still dubious about the relaxed pace of baseball, i would point out that the pitch clock has considerably sped things up, and also that (probably due to smaller rosters) the WPBL is currently playing 7-inning games instead of the MLB standard of 9 innings, so the game does actually go by quicker. if you've found yourself getting bored of baseball around the 7th inning (and if so, you're not the only one - the entire concept of the "7th-inning stretch" exists to give people a quick break to stretch their legs), great news! in the WPBL, the 7th inning is the last one!
and if you can't be persuaded to give a shit about a sport, let me close by adding that even if you don't understand a thing, you could still watch a bunch of hot women be hot and competent for several hours. many of whom are openly queer. why would you not want that.
"i'm a baseball fan, but i only support [insert MLB team here]. i don't need more baseball."
counterpoint: MLB and WPBL may both be pro baseball leagues, but they're very different from a fan perspective. and yes, that's because the WPBL is in its infancy, but that makes this the BEST time to get into it. everything is happening for the first time ever! tickets are dirt cheap! the season is only six weeks! every team is making the playoffs, meaning no matter who you root for, you'll be cheering until the very end!
i'm a Washington Nationals fan myself (yes, i know, i don't wanna hear it) and even outside of Nats games i have enjoyed following bits and pieces of other MLB teams or players, but the truth is, the MLB is huge, and it's ruthless. that trade deadline is still fresh. i've lost track of the players my team has had and lost in the last six years. i don't know most of them anymore. it's hard to cheer for a team whose face keeps changing.
the WPBL is so small. there are only four teams (FOUR!!!): the New York Heights, the San Francisco Firebells, the LA Queens, and the Boston Hunters. you can get to know everyone, on every team. you can root for a club - or just for individuals! there's no established rivalries, there's no animosity, there's no dynasties (cough cough dodgers) or reigning champs. you can root for the Heights but still cheer when Queens' ace pitcher Ayami Sato strikes one out. you can back the Firebells and still hoot and holler at Hunters center fielder Gabrielle Haas's incredible catch in the outfield. everyone in the league wants the same thing: for the league, as a whole, to be successful. a win for anyone is a win for everyone.
the teams are probably going to shuffle around after the season ends (and the league hopefully expands), so no one is digging their claws into any kind of club identity. it helps that all the games are played in springfield IL, so no home team advantages of any kind. the playing ground is level (metaphorically - the literal playing ground is actually turtleback), the energy is high, and at the end of the day, baseball is baseball. if you can watch and enjoy an MLB game, i promise you will have the same amount of fun watching the WPBL.
this is an opportunity. you can get in on the ground floor. you can say you were there when the WPBL was only four teams and 120 players total. with any luck, this league will enjoy tremendous success and soar to unexpected heights in the coming years, but right now, it is brand new, and you can be a Day One. it doesn't matter what team you root for, or if you root for all of them. even people who don't know baseball can recognize a name like Babe Ruth, like Aaron Judge. maybe someday, Mo'ne Davis or Kelsie Whitmore will be household names too, and wouldn't it be so fucking cool to say you saw them play their first-ever professional season?
so with all of that said: please watch the women's pro baseball league. there is no time like the present. the games are all live on youtube internationally, which means all you need is a VPN (which, by the way, firefox provides for free!). if you have ESPN+ (or the Disney+ bundle that gives you ESPN), you can also watch there, and many of the games are streaming for free on Tubi via the Scripps Sports Network.
join us. join me. everyone watches women's sports. you can too.
