Girls of Summer: Big Diamond Dreams (2018) - full transcript

Go!

Today, we will
witness the first co-ed team

in professional baseball
since the 1950s.

You see baseball all the time,

but you never think about
seeing a woman out there.

I don't know why
they get so hung up on this.

There's nothing wrong with
being not so great at sports.

Like I can't cook
a good soufflé.

What you're about to see

is not a work of fiction,

but it is a story of many dreams



that you've likely never seen it or heard of it before.

A pivotal Group C matchup today.

Two teams collide
on a huge stage.

Both need a victory to advance.

Holmes and her
first triple, the play today,

a double to left
that brought home two runs.

Courage, passion,

perseverance against all odds.

This is the world
of women's baseball.

- Let's go, Ebony, let's go.
- Let's go, Ebony, let's go.

- Let's go, Ebony, let's go.
- Let's go, Ebony, let's go.

People wouldn't believe me

when I'd say I play baseball.

They're like,
"Oh, you mean softball."



I'm like, "No, I play baseball
with all the guys."

And you have to actually do
the function,

- like not this, but...
- Yeah, you can't do it

- like this.
- Yeah.

My coach said
"I don't think you should play

for my team anymore,
because you're taking spots away

from boys that could potentially
be college prospects.

It was after a game,

and this guy had tweeted,

"Why aren't you
playing softball?"

Baseball is for boys
and softball is for girls.

That's something
that's just been kinda carried

in people's head for so long.

I played baseball
since I was five years old,

and ever since then,

I just fell in love
with the game.

I played till I was 14.

Went to high school,
they didn't let me play.

I think that's just something

that we have to deal with

being women playing
in a men's sport.

Women play rugby,
women play soccer,

women play basketball,
mixed martial arts.

Women do all these
violent sports.

What is the issue with baseball?

Whoa!

Good job, Marti,
way to hit the ball, all right.

You are the next
Nomar Garciaparra, baby!

I grew up playing baseball
in Southern California.

My dad trained me
before I could walk.

Marti was adorable.

She looked like Shirley Temple,

striking out boys when
she's seven, eight years old.

KNBC and KABC
would show up.

They thought she was the mascot
or something else,

and then they would see
the windup,

pretty much the same windup
she has now

that she had at seven,

and it just made
for pretty good TV.

Well, it looks like you enjoy
playing baseball,

- is that right?
- Yeah.

If you could have
your baseball dream come true,

what would it be?

That I can be
in the major leagues.

The major leagues? -Mm-hmm.

As far back as I can remember,

I've played baseball
and I've loved the game.

I used to turn on
a baseball game

and fall asleep on the couch,

and my brother would walk in
and change the channel

and I would immediately wake up.

And I would say,
"Hey, I was watching that."

And he would say,
"You were sleeping!"

And I said,
"No, I was watching it."

I like that baseball
is way more complicated

than people think.

The average fans sees the game,
they see home runs,

they see strikeouts...

and that's about
as deep as they get.

But it's so much more
complicated than that.

There's so much more going on.

I can't say that at five,
I appreciated all those things,

but certainly,
the seed was planted.

We start in tee-ball and there's
a handful of other girls,

and then you get to machine
or coach pitch, and...

there are fewer girls.

Then you get to kid pitch
and I was the only girl.

But I love the game.

In 1931, The Yankees were on their way back

from spring training
when they stopped

in Chattanooga, Tennessee
to play an exhibition game.

There, they faced
Jackie Mitchell

who struck out both Babe Ruth
and Lou Gehrig.

The next day in the paper,

Babe Ruth was quoted, saying,

"I don't know
what's going to happen

if they begin
to let women in baseball.

Of course,
they will never make good.

Why?

Because they are too delicate."

No one knows for certain why.

But the next day,

Jackie Mitchell's contract
was voided.

Since then, no woman has played

on a Major League
affiliated team.

Ever since I was six,
I've been playing baseball.

My dad kinda got me into it.

When she was a very young age,

you know, I would teach her
the proper mechanics

to throwing, balance,
the swing mechanics.

I would video tape her,

we'd break it down,
she'd get to watch it.

It got to the point
where he was like,

"Well, don't you wanna get
in a league,

and don't you wanna play?"

And I kept saying no.
I didn't want to do it.

And one of my biggest concerns,
I was like,

"Well, if I gotta play,
do I have to have my hair up?"

She saw every girl

that had her hair in a ponytail,

assumed that it had to be
that way.

I said, "You can have your hair
any way you want to,

first of all."

"Then I wanna play baseball."

At 11 and 12, you know,

I kept getting people
that would say, "Well, you know,

when the boys start getting
stronger and faster,

things are gonna change
a little bit,

and they never did.

She was a baseball player.
You know?

And it wasn't she threw
like a girl or threw like a boy,

she threw like an athlete.

And then high school
came around,

she's like,
"I wanna play baseball."

I'd always wanted to be
on the Dodgers.

And I kept having
these fantasies,

this might be why I became
a political scientist,

that they would change the law

by the time I got to be nine
and I could play Little League.

In 1973,
there were lawsuits

to allow girls
to play Little League Baseball.

One team physician said,

"No, girls' bones are softer
at this age.

They break much easier."

Or there was talk about

if a girl gets hit in the chest
with a ball,

she's gonna get
breast cancer later.

I mean, this is just
crazy science

to keep little boys
and little girls segregated.

Little League
Baseball lost in 1973,

and the Hoboken,
New Jersey Little League

shut down for a year rather than let girls play with boys.

Of course,
legally they couldn't stop

the two girls that played
with the boys,

but they certainly
didn't support them.

Instead of starting
girls baseball

or welcoming co-ed baseball,

they created
the softball league.

And that sort of
became the popular version

of this is what girls do
and this is what boys do.

Totally two different sports.

We're two different sports.

I relay to this
as tennis and ping-pong.

It's the same concept,
different dimensions,

but totally different sport.

She can hit, she can pitch,

but Stacy Piagno
doesn't play softball.

As Fox30's
Brent Martineau explains,

like the movie, Stacy,
she's in a league of her own.

The fastball
is pretty good.

The curveball can be nasty.

Strike!

Not bad stuff
for a pitcher with a ponytail.

This is normal for me, you know.

I've always played baseball
since I was little.

Stacy Piagno
is one of the guys.

I grew up playing
when I was younger.

You know, it just started off
as something fun to do.

Me and my brother,
we both played.

As I got older, um, I definitely
fell in love with the sport,

just how, you know, anybody
falls in love with what they do.

And I had a pretty
easygoing past.

You know, I was always pretty
accepted growing up

with my coaches and teammates.

But it got
to the point where

I have to either, you know,

work my butt off to stay in
this sport or just slide out.

I played high school
baseball with the boys,

then I went to college
and I ended up playing softball.

Softball,
it is a different sport,

but at least I was,
you know, running

and throwing something.

It's tough
being the only one.

You just gotta work
a hundred times harder

to fit in, to earn respect,
and to, to do well.

Whenever I came
into the ballpark,

I was a little nervous,
I was a little scared.

I didn't know what to expect.

I wasn't like the guys
who were able

to change in the locker room.

I changed in the restroom.

As I was walking
to the batting cages,

I literally asked myself,
"Do I want this?"

Like, is this something
I really want?

I, like, paused and I was like,
"Yeah, I want this."

Run! Go!

I definitely had that dream
as a kid.

I wanted to be the first woman
in professional leagues.

I, I think I probably wrote
some story

for some
elementary school essay.

I decided
I was gonna give it a shot

at the high school level.

I actually wrote a letter
to all the high school coaches

uh, at schools
that I could attend.

I wasn't asking
for special treatment,

I was simply asking
for a fair shot.

Frankly, some coaches said no,
there's a softball team,

um, and a handful
of coaches said,

"Sure, if you're good enough,
you can come play."

I stopped going to the games

because the boys
were hurting her.

At that time,
she played second base.

There was a man on first,
there was a ball hit to second.

She charged the ball
and the runner,

put his knee right into her head

as she was going for the ball
and knocked her out.

And I was done,
'cause I was gonna kill somebody

if I continued to watch
what was going on in the field.

For nearly a century,

there were only
two opportunities

for women to play baseball.

In the 1940s, while the men
were away at war, women played

in the All-American Girls
Professional Baseball League

as portrayed in the movie
A League of Their Own.

Even though by the 1990s
the ban on girls

in Little League
had been lifted,

in practice,
very little changed.

From 1994 to 1997,

a few women got to play
for the Silver Bullets,

a professional women's team
that barnstormed the country

playing against men.

Otherwise, girls who play
have no choice

but to play on boys teams
if they're fortunate enough

to have school, league,
and parental support.

- Hooray!
- Hoo-rah!

Every time I go out
to pitch against a guy team,

I hear chatter.

I've been trained
by doing this so many times

that I kinda,
it's like, mute them out.

Come on, dummy,
get 'em out!

- The boy can play!
- Let's go!

Tie game!

What? No.

Got 'em at three!

There were times
I would feel

left out as an athlete.

People in the crowds would,

would sometimes
think differently.

Guys on the other team
would make it a big deal.

One dad
came up to my dad and said,

"She'll never play high school
baseball in this town.

Not as long as I'm around."

I've had people try to peg me.

They went after her
all the time.

They hit her like six
or seven times with a pitch.

Talk about pursuing a dream.
It takes a lot of courage

to come out to this field.

When I finished my senior year,

for all intents and purposes,

I thought that baseball
was over for me.

I wanted to go
to a big Division 1 school,

I wanted to have
that experience.

The best way for me to do that

was to use volleyball
as a means to get a scholarship.

You can't go anywhere
with baseball

if you're an athletic girl.

And, and that's,
that's a real roadblock.

Whenever
people doubted me,

I would take that energy
and that would fuel me.

That's what made me keep going.

Go, go, go! More!

Sometimes baseball
will be tough and it'll be hard,

and I get frustrated with it,

so I'd want
to do something else.

I liked being with women
athletes like my own.

There are times I, I would want
to pursue soccer or golf,

and then there are times
I just thought like,

I just, I just really
love baseball.

Like I just can't imagine
stopping.

Woo!

I was Googling women's baseball,

men's league,

I was just looking for anything,

and I stumbled
on the fact that USA Baseball

had a women's team,
which I didn't know,

and they were having
open tryouts

for the 2006 National Team

that was going to play
in the World Cup in Taiwan.

I thought, well,
I haven't played in a while

but I'm gonna give it a shot.

USA Baseball
is the governing body

for the sport of baseball.

All Olympic sports have one.

One of our jobs
is fielding national teams

to be able to complete
with the best in the world.

Life is such
a special thing,

where you get to come out

and finally, you know,
play baseball together.

So we don't get paid,
we don't have salaries.

It's not like that.

This is purely
the love of the game.

In 2004,

the first Women's Baseball
World Cup was held,

providing international
playing opportunities,

and giving women
their only chance to play

high-level amateur baseball
once every two years.

And in 2015,
women's baseball was included

in the Pan American Games
for the first time.

Team USA won the gold.

The World Cup in South Korea
is next and that's our focus.

We're currently
number two in the world,

but we wanna be number one.

The top 40 female
baseball players in the USA

compete to represent
their country

and the sport they love.

I hope it goes further
than, you know, just this year,

this, this go around.

It'd mean the world
to me to go play,

especially
for the United States.

Only 20 will make the cut

for the rare opportunity

to play baseball with women
and against women.

Every year, we get more girls

that find out about the team
and try out,

and each year it gets better,
and stronger, and bigger

and more of a program.

Did you ever pitch 'em on top?

I did, actually
was a... pitched quite a bit,

about 400 years ago, but...

I probably crossed.

I was really hurt too.

I got pulled out
of the first inning.

Oh, yeah, you were hurt?
You started? And mentally?

I'm actually gonna go
take pitching lessons

and come back to the team

so that I can pitch one inning
and redeem myself.

I got you, Holmsie.

I've never been
more butthurt in my life.

It was awful.

Tamara, she's just like
a goofball, to be honest.

She's just great
to have around,

and it's funny,
'cause she's so intimidating.

Like, physically.

But she's the nicest person
that you've ever met.

Being the oldest
person on the team,

you know, I'm gonna get beat up
with the old person jokes,

but at the same time,
they have to carry the equipment

so it's good to have
the youngins around.

My biggest responsibility

is to, is to lead by example,

and help groom them
in the USA Baseball way.

You can look
at any high-end elite athlete

and you see that, that
what we call that it factor.

You gotta have that heart

and you gotta have
that confidence.

A lot of times,
you can't teach that.

I work as a full-time
firefighter in Oakland,

and I run a CrossFit gym
in my off days

when I'm not playing baseball.

Up in my 20s,
I played the last two years

with the Silver Bullets,

and then USA Baseball
came around

and that also provided
another high level of play.

We can try it out.

Yeah, we need to get it.

There are
a handful of us

who have been playing together
since 2006,

and we've built
a very good camaraderie

and some really
close friendships.

This is what we look like
when we play catch

and Catchphrase.

Recently got married
and then a handful of players

that I'm the closest to
came to my wedding,

so, you know, we are,
in fact, a family.

- Yeah!
- Yeah!

I anticipate this
being my last World Cup.

I'm definitely gonna go down
swinging for sure,

but I don't feel
any extra pressure.

Yeah.

I come and sit here
all the time.

More, more, more!

Hit me, hit me!

Ones are at the 45,
twos are at first base.

How I got into women's baseball
is somewhat of a funny story.

I'd finished up
my college playing career

and my college coach called me,

and he's like,
"Hey, you just graduated."

He's like, "What are you doing
this summer?"

It was an opportunity
to coach and I jumped on it.

When I found out
it was women's baseball,

I went into it
like every other guy.

I was like, "Oh, are they gonna
be able to reach the play?

Are they gonna be able
to hit it out of the infield?"

And I was very pleased

to see within minutes
of being on field

that my ignorance
was inexcusable.

Not only was I amazed
and impressed

with their athletic ability,

their coachability
is off the charts.

The intensity, the drive to win,
the compete level.

I mean, I look for all
those things in my athletes,

you know, at WPI.

Every single one of these girls
has that level about 'em.

And again,
I think part of that

is that path they've taken.

Plenty of sacrifices
they had to make.

So we're lucky as coaches

that we're gonna be dealing
with those type of athletes.

- To two!
- Two!

I love it.

I mean, shoot,
I, when I came walking in,

I saw the third baseman
make a play that,

I mean, it's do or die.

And she made it look easy.

So that's the need to see.

I mean, these girls are playing

and everything full board.

More of like,
old time baseball,

like a manufacture runs
and stuff.

Tell me again
uh, what you do.

- I'm a scout
- All right.

For the Toronto Blue Jays.

I have dreams
about old baseball at night,

like living in Brooklyn
and the Dodgers and stuff.

Baseball was played
totally different.

Power's an added thing to it.

Now that it's so individualized,

everyone wants to see
the guy throwing

a hundred miles an hour
and hitting 495-foot home runs.

You kinda lose
the whole team thing.

While bat and ball games

go back as far as ancient Egypt,

one of the more direct ancestors of the game

was invented by women.

Milkmaids in the 15th century

were the ones
that have been credited

with inventing
a game called stoolball.

They set their
milking stools in a circle.

One served the rock
to the other,

and the other one hit it
and ran to the first stool.

And you got out if a fielder
picked up the rock

and threw it at you
before you got to base.

I mean, you know, simple, right?

Very feminine.

But it wasn't a boys' game.

Twenty women
will go home, and 20 will stay

for a bi-annual opportunity
to play competitive baseball.

The ones who don't make the cut will have to wait two years

for this opportunity
to come around again.

So this next year coming back,

I will definitely be
way more prepared.

It is sad, you know,
you're not going

to South Korea or playing,

but it wouldn't help at all
if we didn't come back.

And then when you go
to your exit meetings

and the coaches sit down
and talk to you

and tell you, you know,
what you're gonna work on,

the positive things
they have to say about you,

it's just motivation
to come back.

The competitiveness of
breaking down to 20 is so hard.

And that sometimes
it's gonna mean

you're not gonna make
that final 20

and it's gonna be devastating.

And it happens
in all sports, right?

I mean, you sign up for that.

Say home team.

So it's gonna be
a culture shock for me,

'cause I'm in little
Southern Louisiana, you know?

In middle school,
everyone always said like,

"No one's gonna take you
in high school for baseball,

but I'm glad
I picked it back up.

I'll send it to Mom.

It's going to be a battle
of who's closer to perfection.

Any of you that have been
at international games,

am I over-exaggerating?

At the high-stakes table
we're at,

that means we let somebody come

and take a gold medal
off your neck.

Give me that ring.

They're taking that ring
off your finger,

and then bring it back
to wherever they're from.

A good solid core

has played together
for long enough,

and that's starting
to show in our play.

And even though
we've gotten beat by Japan

in the last couple
of World Cups,

we're still at least
the number two player.

And I feel like this is gonna be
our year to surpass that

and bring
that championship back.

We're gonna say on three.

One, two, three.

USA!

♪ Give me a game
Underneath the lights ♪

♪ Give me the roar of the fans

♪ Give me the sound
Of the big bat swinging ♪

♪ Best of the best in the land

♪ Just load up the bases

♪ Fire up the crowd

♪ Let's clear out the dugout

♪ We're gonna get real loud

♪ Just throw me a fastball

♪ Smoke from the mound

♪ We're gonna end this thing
With just one swing ♪

♪ I'm gonna knock one out

Freaking L.A. to Tokyo.

Boarding.

- Jessica!
- Ready for takeoff.

Don't wiggle next to us.

When I was playing
in high school,

in my first couple years
playing USA Baseball,

I was playing
'cause I love to play.

Now at 35,

I see the impact that our
success can have on the sport.

Friend,
how was your flight?

I'm hangry.

Every time we play
in the World Cup,

it's like,
"Oh, women play baseball?"

And then two years later,
people forgot

that somebody already wrote
that article.

We almost reiterate
that it's abnormal

in some of the exposures
that we do.

It's nice when they're little.

Everybody appreciates
Mo'ne Davis.

Give it up, everyone.

Mo'ne Davis
from the Taney Dragons!

Remember her name!

It was a sensational
story while she was doing it,

and nobody recognized the fact
that there are thousands

of other girls playing
Little League Baseball.

There are...

At the time, there were women

playing in the Pan Am Games.

And no announcer
even mentioned it.

There's more to this.
It's not just, you know,

us going and trying to win
a gold medal.

Let's, let's pave the way
for these other girls.

- Woo!
- We had the YouTube

streams this year,

and media coverage
has gotten better.

The idea of a woman
playing baseball

to stop being an anomaly
and to be normal.

And that's what
we're shooting for.

Thank you.

- Next stop, South Korea.
- Woo!

- We love USA!
- We love USA!

- We love USA!
- We love USA!

- We love USA!
- We love USA!

- We love USA!
- We love USA!

- We love USA!
- We love USA!

- We love USA!
- We love USA!

It's great to be here
in South Korea.

We're really looking forward
to the tournament

and feel very welcome.

Thank you very much.

- Bye!
- It's like taking

women's baseball
out of the closet.

You're catching a lot
of media exposure,

and people are asking,
"Well, what is that?"

The chapter
of the United States.

We'd like to thank everyone
for their hospitality,

and we very much look forward
to competing

with so many great ball clubs
from all over the world,

um, in such a great baseball
country as South Korea.

So we're very excited.

These new teams coming in

are definitely gonna bring
a good energy

and it's exciting to see it.

We had like,
Pakistan and India, like,

teams that traditionally
would not have been there,

and that's amazing.

Women baseball,
you see a big potential

for this sport in the world.

The last editions of our
World Cup was only eight teams.

We increased that.
Now we have 12 teams.

It's the first time
we ever had live coverage.

They built here in Korea
this new facility,

mainly although for this event,

and for the women's baseball.

I got a group
of women to start a team,

then I did my best
to develop an environment

where they could begin
to play baseball.

We have a specific league
in Australia

for women's baseball.

Well, we have 14 teams
in Sydney.

They all play
in the competitions.

The women's game
is the dirty little secret

that's swept under the rug.

And it won't get on ESPN,

but you put on chess
and you put on poker,

and you put on the spelling bee.

Why wouldn't there be
one highlight?

Women's World Cup today.

Blah, blah, blah.

It's a beautiful event.
Looks great.

The top two teams
from each group

move on to compete
for the gold medal in games

broadcast on live TV
in several countries.

And for the first time,

streamed on the Web
around the globe.

The remaining teams will play
consolation games

before returning home
empty handed.

Women play
on the same field as the men.

There are only
a few differences.

The women play
with an aluminum bat,

the outfield fence
is moved in about 15 feet,

and they play
seven-inning games.

And with that,
a very warm welcome

to Gijang, South Korea

and the 2016 Women's
Baseball World Cup.

The U.S. has been shut out
of the top spot

over the last four editions
of this tournament

by a dominant
Japan national team,

and the Americans looking
to atone for that.

Stacy Piagno gets to start
for the United States

this afternoon,
as the U.S. takes on Hong Kong.

Piagno is a member
of last year's

United States National Team

that won gold
at the Pan American games.

She made history
in that tournament,

tossed the first no-hitter

in women's baseball
at the Pan Am Games.

Piagno to second,
and on to first,

there is a 1-6-3 double play

that cuts down the inning
for Hong Kong.

The United States coming up.

There's a swing

and a drive off the bat
of Baltzell out to center.

That'll get down,
and it'll roll toward the wall.

In to score from second base
is Brittany Gomez.

Right on her heels
flying all the way

around from first,
Jade Gortarez.

The first three U.S. hitters
reached two or home

on Baltzell's two-run double,

and the United States
is on the board quickly

in the bottom of the first.

Malaika Underwood,
one of the best pure athletes

in this tournament, and probably
anywhere else too.

This is her sixth straight
Women's Baseball World Cup,

and her second hit
of the day already.

That brings up
Tamara Holmes.

Ho-Ying Au pitching from the
first base side of the rubber.

Hopefully, it's not just one.

Lifts it down
the left field line.

Seven-inning games here
for this tournament.

U.S. raised out to an early lead
in the first inning.

Americans
have not looked back

as there is a foul tip
into the glove

of evading backstop
by the plate, A.J. Hamilton.

And that'll do it
as the United States

wraps up a tournament
opening victory.

It's the U.S., nine,
and Hong Kong, one.

The American improve to 1-0,
Hong Kong falls to 0-1.

You all today picked
them up, did a really good job.

Malaika gets up, one of
the best players on Earth,

and changes that line drive.

Holmsie, one of the best hitters

in the history of women's
baseball gets up,

and she's willing
to show bunt, pull it back,

and that ball gets into
the backstop, we score a run.

You see what I'm saying?
That's that veteran leadership

that I hope you guys
are picking up on,

and that's how you adjust
to the game.

There's a long history
of women playing baseball.

You can't imagine how
comfortable that uniform was.

The only problem was sliding.

Would you believe
I'm still digging out gravel

in my strawberries?

That was the year of 1948.

That's a couple years ago.

We learned a great deal,
we took the bad with the good,

and we bit our lips
when we wanted to cry.

We were just a team,

and I think it's the most
wonderful thing in the world.

You can go back
to the '90s

with Julie Croteaus,
Ila Borders.

Diamonds truly are a girl's best friend.

Baseball diamonds.

That's not a mistake
on your scorecard,

that's Southern California
College freshman Ila Borders,

becoming the first woman
ever to pitch

in a men's college
baseball game.

I got my entire
education paid for,

and then I was able
to play four years

of professional baseball
and get paid for it.

You can keep going
back, and back, and back,

and there are women
in this game,

and I think we need to start
recognizing that fact too.

There are some basic

unanswered questions about why

male athletes
define athleticism,

and why female athletes

are given the message
at some point or another

that this is not natural
beyond a certain point.

I've been around
baseball forever.

It's been in my blood.

I went to Franklin Pierce,
I was an All-American there.

I got drafted by the Cardinals.

And, um, feels
like every guy,

or at least the baseball players
I was with, was like,

you know, when I have a son,

they're gonna be
a major leaguer.

And I had my girls

that you never trade-in
for the world,

but if my daughter wants
to play baseball,

she's going to play baseball.

We don't really
respect women's athleticism,

and we certainly barely
accept women's team sports.

We teach girls that femininity
is basically disempowerment

or its empowerment
in a devious way.

It's sexual empowerment.

Right, like in middle school,
I was pitching back then

and I thought I was like
the best pitcher there was.

Like, I played on a bunch
of boys' teams

and I was always the best one.

They would always tease me like,

"Oh, you play like a girl,
la, da, da."

Then I would hit bombs
and strike 'em out,

and I'm like, "Okay, well,
if that's what you think

playing like a girl is like,
then I play like a girl."

Big time opening
night matchup

at our main facility here
in Gijang Hyundai Dream Park,

as four-time reigning
champion Japan,

the top-ranked team
in the world,

takes on fourth-ranked Canada.

These games are
on live television in Korea.

They're packing the stands.
I mean, at the main stadium

you couldn't find
a seat anywhere.

Autumn Mills set to deal
the first pitch of the night.

She'll pour in a called strike

to get things started
on the mound for Canada.

Facing Canada, which is like
the greatest rivalry

in like history of women's
sports, especially in baseball.

Last few years
it's been USA-Japan,

USA-Japan in the finals,

so, um, you know, hopefully,
that's starting to change.

Swing and a line
drive back up to center field.

That's a base hit.

Obviously, we wanna be in
that final game, um, next week,

and I, we feel like we have
the players to do that,

and the coaching staff
to help us get there.

They really,
really wanna beat us,

and that's a situation
where it cuffs you.

Beating Japan,
that's certainly, uh, my goal

and high on my list.

I started coaching women's baseball in 2001

before the start
of the World Cup.

Back then, there was no culture of women's baseball in Japan.

I immediately fell in love

with their passion
and will to fight.

It hit me like a bang.

And for the past 15 years,

we have made slow
but steady progress.

And finally, we have
a solid foundation.

And in the next ten years,

our goal is to have
girls baseball

in every high school in Japan.

On the mound for Japan,
Ayami Sato.

Likely the top arm
in this competition

and really in women's
baseball anywhere.

Professionally this year,
a 9-3 record

and 2.17 ERA in 2016.

She's the anchor of this
Japan staff which is in search

of its fifth straight Women's
Baseball World Cup title.

When I first started baseball,

there were no opportunities
for girls to play.

As I kept playing, I thought
about quitting many times,

but the timing was so perfect
for me at every turning point,

and I was able to keep playing.

Now I'm a professional baseball player.

I'm happy that now
there are opportunities

for girls to play baseball.

With the Japanese team,

we always play a very close,
a very tight-knit game,

and it's just all about
who makes that first mistake.

In the last couple
of World Cups,

we didn't make a lot,
but when we did,

they scored the one or two runs
that was needed to beat us.

So I'd like to see us come out
a bit more dominant

with our bats
and tight on defense,

and really just not make
those costly mistakes.

Swing and a miss.

Fastball well spotted
over the outer half,

with the 11th strikeout
of the night from Ayami Sato.

Our final from Gijang
Hyundai Dream Park tonight,

it's Japan, eight,
and Canada, two.

Many of Team USA's players

are recruited
out of Division 1 Softball.

While nearly half of the team

played high school baseball
with boys,

only a select few
had the opportunity

to play competitive baseball
beyond 12th grade.

During summers,
I still plan on trying

to play baseball
and trying to get better at it.

And I was thankful
that Stompers were willing

to give me that opportunity
to prove myself.

Kelsie was drafted
by the Sonoma Stompers.

With the support
of their sponsor,

she became the first woman
to play

men's professional baseball since Ila Borders in the 1990s.

I admire the courage
and the love of sport.

I just would like it
to not happen with one,

it should be four or five

so they have colleagues
on the team.

It's tough being
the only one,

and, yeah, I mean,
I do feel pressured.

I guess that's one
of the reasons why sometimes

I could be so serious
and so hard on myself,

'cause I don't want to hear
people saying this and that.

Being with...
with an all-girls baseball team

is, is a lot different.

And just to come together,
and just to play,

and not feel pressured
is a great feeling.

With a victory today,
one of these teams

will be moving on
to the Super Round,

basically guaranteed
if they trip there,

The United States,

the world's number two
coming into the day off

of that victory
over Hong Kong yesterday,

a big start for the U.S.

Snyder awaits the two, two.

Takes a rip, left side.

A stop there
for Yung-Hsin Cheng.

Bomb thrown to first
from the hole.

Runner breaking for third,
Tamara Holmes.

Very appropriately eased up
on the groundout,

what a great job
of base running.

And she's been a mainstay
on this U.S. roster

for the last two decades.

And in nine games
for the women's team

during 2015 competition,

Tamara got a .345
with an .820 OPS.

They're intrepid
these girls, they're fearless,

and that's the beauty
of watching them.

Born in Newton, Massachusetts

in the United States,
Marti Sementelli,

one of the younger players
on this roster, she's just 23.

But Marti made headlines
back home when she was offered

a partial scholarship
out of high school

to play collegiate baseball.

Former winner of the World Cup's
Best Right-Handed Pitcher Award,

that award came eight years ago

at the 2008 Women's Baseball
World Cup when she was just 15.

That was the first,

a first straight cap
in these towns.

What a good play by
Michelle Snyder on the backside

of the third base bag
to round that baseball.

I thought Marti
was the only one.

And in 2008, they say,
come to Wisconsin.

And there's gonna be
this tryout,

they're gonna play
a bunch of games,

and they're gonna have
the World Cup in 2008 in Japan.

We were shocked
at the talent.

And then she saw other Martis,
she wasn't the only one.

Megan from Stafford, Virginia.

A Longwood University product.

Former Lancer who walked
onto the basketball team there

while playing softball.

Shows you the athleticism of all
the women in this tournament.

Even just watching this

as Megan gets into this one,
crushes it,

high and deep to right.

Racing back is Shen,
and that ball is gone!

Yeah, yeah, woo!

♪ You know how lucky they are
Come on take it on ♪

Right in front
of my country

and hitting a home run,

in front of all these fans,
definitely number one.

♪ Then come lady,
Come on, take it on ♪

♪ You know I like it, baby
Come on, take it on ♪

♪ You know I like it, baby
Come on, take it on ♪

♪ You know I like it, baby
Come on, take it on ♪

♪ You know I like it, baby
Come on, take it on ♪

♪ Take it, take it
Take it, take it ♪

♪ Take it, take it
Take it, take it ♪

Gortarez,
it's a first pitch bouncing back

to the mound,

if that ball hit off
of her foot,

but the United States
is gonna record the out at first

and record the victory with it.

That is a final.

The 1-3 putout
retires Ya-Zhu Wen,

and the United States moves on
in a tight one to 2-0,

a perfect record
to their start here

at the 2016 WBSC
Women's World Cup.

The U.S., they'll collide
with the Australians,

coming at them tomorrow.

We love you!

We love you!

We love you!

Woo!

We were at the Major League
Korean game last night

and our thing's being promoted
on the screen.

Like that's not gonna happen
anywhere else.

That's opportunity.

We looked up at the TV
and we're on the TV.

It was weird,
and we started screaming.

Oh, shit!

- Look at...
- Oh!

It's slow!

Oh, yeah!

Yo, it's like Times Square
in Korea.

We're Australia, traditionally,
the Aussie battler.

We're the underdog
a lot of the time,

our population's not as great
as a lot of the other countries,

and we have to fight and claw

for every little victory
we have.

We understand
that we've got tough opposition,

but on any given day,

baseball's a funny game, um,
and anything can happen.

A pivotal
Group C matchup today.

The final one
of the opening round

for the United States
and Australia,

as these two teams roll powers
in women's baseball,

collide on a huge stage.

Here are the scenarios.

Very simple for each
of these teams,

especially on
the United States side.

If the U.S. gets
a victory today,

the Americans are through
to the Super Round.

The Aussies need a win today

and they need it
by five runs or more.

We have the most female
players of any country

at the moment,
aside from Japan, obviously,

but the challenge we have
is there's not enough depth,

because it's not
our national pastime.

America!

Two out scenario,
here from Malaika Underwood.

And she lifts this one
to center field.

Starting in on it, now racing
back is Chelsea Forkin.

It's over her head.

It's gonna be
an RBI double at least,

for Underwood,
is around second base.

She's gonna dig for third
and then throw on target,

but a little bit off line.

One nothing lead

here in the top half
of the first inning.

There's 20 years,

in his daughter's case,
of development,

- of sacrifice...
- She's been playing

since she was five.

- Of practice.
- We were hitting all--

All the, you don't belong here,
all that, you know, other shit.

You don't wanna get dirty.

Yeah, so it's more
than just this.

Kelsie Whitmore,

a name that has made
a whole lot of headlines

across the United States
in recent months.

Eighteen years old,
a really dynamic talent.

Actually just graduated
high school this year

in Temecula.

2-1 pitch
on the way to Lovering.

That one's lifted
in the air to right field.

This is gonna get over the head
of Megan Baltzell,

that's gonna run
half off the wall.

In to score from third base,
Chelsea Forkin,

and motoring all the way around.

Aussies trying to find a way
into the lead

in this pivotal matchup
with the United States.

Two-one on the way, McMillan
to the left side of the infield,

diving, and not as fast
as shortstop Jade Gortarez,

Michelle Snyder, and that's
gonna enable two runs to score.

And the Aussies
have jumped into the lead

ahead of the United States.

It's 3-1, Australia.

That's the only one
that bounced back to the mound.

Gortarez will go to third,

she'll cut the lead runner
down there, back to first!

In time to get the out!

A 1-5-3 double play,
and a huge swinging momentum

as the United States gets out
of a jam unscathed.

We're a good team and we know...

we think
we're a pretty good team.

They're made to vows as well,

and when we come against them,
yeah, we wanna win.

And the Americans
with the double play possibility

still very much alive.

They got themselves out of
a first and second one-out jam

in the fourth inning
with a double play ball

back to the mound, 1-5-3.

Anglin,

a liner back up the middle.

That's in the center field
for a base hit.

It gets out to Brittany Gomez
in a hurry.

She kicks it.

Coming around third base
is Kim McMillan.

The throw to the plate
is not in time!

McMillan scores

and the Australians
have their five run margin.

They lead at 6-1 here
in the fifth.

You know, you can tell
who's been working

on their women's baseball
program and who hasn't.

I think women's baseball
is a sport in Australia.

Women's baseball
is not a sport in the States.

Our country doesn't even
know women's baseball exists.

I get tired of saying, yes,
I meant women's baseball.

Hello.

Oh, you mean softball?

"There's no way you
coach baseball if it's women."

Kind of an interesting fact

that her connection with this
Australian women's team.

There's a speeding wind up
to the right field.

That one ducked down
for a base hit.

It's gonna bring home
at least one.

If no one scores, third base.

Running around third base
and scoring is now Anglin,

and the Aussies have built
the lead to seven runs now.

It's 8-1.

We were hoping
we'd never see this day.

Rounding third base,
coming to the plate is Doty.

No throw in time
and the Aussies continue

to add to the lead,
that's now an 8-1 lead.

The other countries...

will eventually surpass us
if somebody doesn't step up.

Seeing time
in professional sports.

Another tease,
and she just pitched her team

to the final out of a victory

and a passive win
over the United States

as a fly out from Jade Gortarez
will end it,

and Australia wallops the USA.

Our final score
in game number 14

of the 2016
Women's Baseball World Cup.

The Emeralds
all over the Americans.

Today,
we were swinging bats

and it didn't matter
who came in to pitch.

I think our backs against
the wall helped us a little bit.

Yeah, I should like to know.

Aren't we all, hey?

All right,
let's get to work!

- Are you okay?
- I guess.

Just after we lost
to Australia,

Hong Kong had to beat
Chinese Taipei

in order for us to advance.

And everyone's
just crushed,

and we're trying not to cry.

We went and watched
the game on TV as a team,

just to support Hong Kong
at that point.

The American team,
wherever they are right now,

anxiously awaiting the outcome
of this game.

It was so absurd,
it was so horrible.

And you had to listen
to the announcer

just say every two minutes
about how it unfolded,

and how we're out.

I didn't have,
like, five minutes to myself

to really internalize
and probably go break something,

so I'm sitting there, like,
with this devastating blow

of "This is the end
of my career."

All these things like, you know,

I had visioned
watching this stupid game.

You know, you think about it,
it's like this is something

that you train for
for two years,

and then at the drop of a hat,

something happens and
you're just out of it like that.

And this ballgame is over.

Moving on to the Super Round.

The United States
has been eliminated.

Chinese Taipei, the top seed
coming out of Group C,

will join Australia coming up
starting on Wednesday

for Super Round action.

I was very emotional
that night,

and, uh, everyone was just,
you know, quiet.

I don't like losing,
like, at all.

So when I come across that,
it's definitely hard for me

to accept and to go through.

And it is, like, a real bummer,
because we're a good team.

You know when you have
to tell people what happened,

that's always hard.

Like, ooh, like, you know,
you get a text.

"How are you guys doing,
are you winning?"

And it's like, "Well, five days
ago this is what happened",

and you have to keep
re-bringing it up.

And seeing
how desperate we were

for those YouTube streams,

and how desperate we were
for those articles,

and we finally got it.

Like, this was the tournament
where it seemed

like everything was right there,

and if we could make a run
for the gold,

it would have been
a great story,

and everybody
would have picked it up.

And then now, here we are
in the consolation pool.

And to feel like
you've let down your country,

or your family, or whatever
sacrifices you made back home,

that's a tough pill to swallow.

And there are things that put it
in perspective too.

Like last night
when we played Pakistan,

the, the challenges
that those women

have gone through
to play the game.

Yeah, yeah, I want
you to go from, so down up.

In Pakistan, people don't like
to see women sport too much.

That's why some of the girls

don't do practice regularly.

My family's not supporting me
as really to, uh, play.

I don't go outside
of my hometown,

even for shopping,
for university, or anything.

You have to go with your father,
or your mother, someone.

It gets really difficult

to take off from job,
because every girl's

having financial problem
in Pakistan.

When you go back
to your country,

you don't have anything to do.

You could lose your job.

If you are saying
that they are not

that capable to play baseball
in the USA,

just imagine your national game
and the other country

are playing for it,
and they are winning from you,

you should work on it.

In a stunning
final-inning comeback,

Venezuela scored
the walk off run

against Chinese Taipei
to take home the bronze.

And in the lopsided
gold medal game,

Japan defeated Canada

to take home the gold
for the fifth time in a row.

For the first time

in the history
of the World Cup games,

Team USA watched the final games from the stands.

One loss, no medals,
that's tough.

And we knew
what the math formula was,

and we didn't work out
in the end of that formula.

At times, it can be frustrating

when you look back
and you feel like,

"This is as far as we've gone?"

What great experiences

playing against the USA before.

I'm so bummed that we couldn't
play each other this time.

Yes, yes, yes!

With us not playing Canada,
with us not playing Japan,

some of the most beautiful
baseball you'll see

in the women's game is not
gonna be exposed to the world.

Thank you.

There's no crying
in baseball.

I know, cheers.

It's been a pleasure
playing against all of you.

You guys
are great competitors, and...

I have nothing but the highest
respect for all of you.

Yes, yes, yes!

Yes, yes, yes!

Woo!

So what's
your future with baseball?

I don't know.

I really don't know. Um...

We've been together now,

it'll be three weeks about,
right?

So, you know, when you have
that lifestyle,

then you have to go back home,
it's like...

well, back home
to the regular, old grind.

I don't like
leaving this team

when we get so close together.
It's...

You get used to everyday life.

Just going on the bus,
eating together,

playing games,
going back, hanging out.

So you get in such of a system

that you dread the,
like the, separation.

We just vibe, like,
really well together

and get along so well,
because we understand

what we went through
when we were younger.

People would say, "Oh, I
totally get what you're saying."

Like,
"I know what you're feeling."

Like, "No, you don't." Like...

You're not a girl
that plays baseball,

you don't know what I mean.

I could do a career
165 days a year,

and I guarantee you, everyone
else would say the same thing.

If you could just do this,

it would be just like guys
in the major leagues.

That's what they do.

Few opportunities exist

for these players beyond
the national team.

And two years
is a long time to wait

for the next World Cup games.

Following their bronze
medal victory,

Venezuela mandated a new
women's professional league.

In 2001, Japan opened baseball

to its girls and women,

leading to professional
opportunities.

Australian baseball is as open
to women as it is to men.

And the Canadians now have rules and policies in place

to allow equal access.

The break that our women
are more or less forced to take

in their baseball
development is...

a monumental hurdle.

The US Women's
National Team returned home,

not knowing when their next

baseball opportunity
would arrive.

They work hard
to stay in the game,

training and practicing
wherever they can.

Many return to their day jobs,

while others pursued education.

Kelsie accepted
a full scholarship

to Cal State Fullerton
for softball.

I still constantly think

of baseball every single day.

I'll go out of my way
to get ready for the summer,

and, yeah, like,
I am playing softball,

so it's hard to think, like,

"Is this still something
I can do?"

Twenty-five years ago,
I was told to quit baseball,

and yet in 2017, we're still
seeing the same thing.

It happened to me
in pro-ball my last year.

I had a phenomenal year,
good strikeout to walk ratio,

and had some innings pitched.

Was talking to two teams
and they're like,

"Hey, we're gonna invite you
to spring training camp."

And then I never got that call,
so I called them up.

And they're like,
"We don't want the media.

We don't want all the hoopla
that comes with it.

We don't want you
to be a distraction

to Major League Baseball."

To me, girls playing baseball
is a social justice issue.

If you tell a girl
she can't play baseball,

what else will she think
she can't do?

How can you tell a young girl

who falls in love with the sport
at an early age

that she can't play it?

Boys are allowed
that dream.

I actually have a funny
statistic on my phone

that I read to my athletes
all the time.

"There are currently 455,000
high school players.

There are 25,000
college players.

There are 3,510 D1 scholarships.

There are 750
major league players.

So all these boys can play,

because they're chasing down
a dream

and it's less
than one percent likelihood,

and our girls can't
'cause it's zero percent?"

It's comical.

In the early years,

women weren't
the only ones excluded.

When Branch Rickey wanted
to bring Jackie Robinson up,

there were men who said
he doesn't have what it takes,

athletically, physiologically,
because he's black.

Thinking about the girls,

and how they've been
discriminated against,

I say this is
an absolute parallel

between what happened
to my father.

You're out of the game, Kelly.
Get off the field.

Next time I get on base,
watch out for spikes.

It was a strength
of character.

That is what helped him
to survive and sustain,

until it got to the point
where of acceptance.

And Jackie Robinson
is at the plate.

Come on, Jackie, boy!

He can't bunt now,
he's got to hit straight away.

Okay, let's face it.

Women have always tried
to secretly compete.

- Do you believe that?
- Secretly?

That's right, secretly compete

- against men.
- They're not doing

very well. Doing the secret.

But once in a while, I have to give it to you ladies.

You do get lucky.

America's favorite pastime

takes a swing
at the record books,

signing not one,
but two female players

for minor league ball.

It was 25-year-old Stacy Piagno on the mound,

and 17-year-old
Kelsie Whitmore in left field.

Getting a chance
to continue to play,

um, as a woman,
means a lot to me.

Just like
any other ball player,

they drew the attention
of young autograph hounds

and fans in the stands.

First I heard about it,
they said there was one,

and then they said
there was two.

And I was like,
"That's so cool."

What makes this
even more shocking,

they weren't even lesbians,
that's crazy.

Wow.

There is an unbelievable
amount of pressure

for them to succeed,
not just for them,

but for their entire gender.

So, I remember
my first day here

and Stacy was throwing.

So I kinda just watched her
and she would say,

"Hey, was that downhill plane?"

And, "How was the velocity
on that?"

And I was like, "No way."

She was talking like a pitcher.

And they're the first ones
out there every day

and getting their work done.

Man, I wish my boys
the same way.

Then we automatically, we gonna
have the best team anyway.

I really feel like this
team is such a great family

and I feel so welcomed
by everyone.

Like these guys
are my brothers out here,

close to my sister.

Just stay strong, ladies,

and rest assured
that men all over the world

will be behind you
every time you bend over

to pick up that weight, okay?

Now there's gonna be doubters.

There's always gonna be
people who doubt them,

but they, and they know that.

They're just gonna
prove them wrong.

They're gonna go out there
and they will work

ten times harder than the
naysayers and all that stuff.

She would not have gotten
that opportunity

without this sort
of crazy experiment coming

from Francis Ford Coppola
and his people at Virginia Dare.

If they can play the game

and if some smart talent scout
spots them,

I don't believe
there is any barrier.

Once and for all,

defines that
a professional baseball,

there is no prohibition.

I do feel a responsibility

to, you know, stand up
for women's baseball.

There is a girl
who came out just last night.

She was going into high school,

having trouble with her coach.

And we gave her a lot of talk.

And, um,
she was just so thankful.

And she's going
to a new high school

and it's looking
pretty good for her.

Like, she's hopefully
will be able

to play on our team down there.

I don't know
if the issue really has to be,

"Do women have to play
with men at the elite levels?"

Yeah, would it be great,
and, yeah,

do I think that there
are talented women

that will eventually have
the opportunity to do that?

Absolutely,
but we're not there yet,

and we shouldn't focus on that.

If we keep
celebrating the one girl

that plays with the boys,
we're never gonna get anywhere.

We're just gonna keep
celebrating superstars.

When I was a girl,
what would have I liked?

I'd like to play
with other girls.

I made it work.
I hit a few people.

What's the definition of work?

Struck out one.

Six months
after the World Cup loss,

players from Team USA
came to coach young girls

from across the country, and be a part of an opportunity

they could only have dreamed of
for themselves.

Malaika was telling one
of the little girls on our team,

super talkative, "Hey, so
your coach, Tamara Holmes,

she loves it when you go up
and you talk to her."

She said, "She doesn't like
to be left alone."

See, I'm standing with her.

Oh, good, yes!

They're all great.

Why don't you play softball?

You'd be good at softball.

Bleh!

It's so much harder
than baseball.

I wanna congratulate
the players participating

in our inaugural
Trailblazer Series

hosted by Major League Baseball.

We know this tournament
will forge a path

for the next generation of women who play our great game.

We decided,
"Hey, let's do something

around Jackie Robinson."

He's a trailblazer and he paved
the way for a lot of people.

Let's put together
a tournament that...

that highlights his pathway.

14S slacks, yes?

That could be.

I think it has
to start at the youth level.

We've gotta find ways
to deepen our pool.

We gotta continue, you know,
getting the word out that,

yes, women do play.

- Fine.
- Is there something

I should know about you?
Are you...

I ask a lot of questions.

Oh, good,
I have a lot of answers.

Really, it's the first step,

first time series
for young girls in baseball.

Then, of course, you know,
we're excited,

and excited
to see where it goes.

They all said this was
the first time they've done it,

ever played with other girls.

I think it's really cool
that the MLB

has finally decided
to chip in on girls baseball,

because they've been out of it
for so long.

All right, so we're
gonna start by warming up,

and we're gonna throw
a really short bullpen

just to see what you got,

and then we'll do
an infield, outfield. All right?

Two, four, four, six,
you guys are hitting.

The rest of us,
we're just gonna shag.

You don't have
to say in the infield,

you can just kinda hang back
in the outfield,

'cause balls are gonna be going
all over the place.

I want you to completely
get those hips across

and use all the power
in your legs, okay?

Use that ball better.

Better.

That means you, kitty-kat.

When can I go to the field?

Not yet, hang tight.

We're gonna switch
all together, okay?

I'm pretty sure...

The girls are so great,
they all work hard.

They wanna be here.

They love the game.

They all remind me
of little versions of myself.

Little versions of Lincoln.
Holmes too.

Somebody catch me, catch two.

That's good.

The challenge is how
do you put this girl

in front of all kids
to make them connect to it?

Well, you can see these girls
can play ball.

And all they... and all we want,
Billy, is a league of our own.

Yep.

Before I get six foot
under, I want this thing going,

and I don't have
many more years,

so we had better get started.

Every girl here has
dreamt of playing in the majors.

Every girl,
so to have Rob Manfred say

that, you know, "We believe
in you now, we've heard you."

It matters.

One of, if not the
most important aspect

of this tournament are the women

who have been carrying
the torch for girls

and women playing baseball long

before this tournament
was even created.

And we're proud that we have
so many of them here

serving as our coaches,

and I'd like to introduce
them now.

Marti Sementelli.

Justine Siegal.

Malaika Underwood.

At some point,
it's not just about you

and what you want,

and if you have the knowledge
and you have the ability

to reach out to the kids,
which I hope I do,

'cause I never thought
I would consider myself

a coach or in this position,
but now that I'm here, uh,

it, it's a good feeling.

And our final
but certainly not least coach,

Tamara Holmes.

All right,
we can get on the bus,

we'll figure it out
if I find her.

I'm the worst coach
in charge of herding kids.

♪ Down by the banks
Of the Hanky Panky ♪

♪ Where the bullfrogs jump
From bank to banky ♪

♪ With a ees uuf, soda puff

♪ Hey, Mr. Alligator
Ate your puffs ♪

Dang it.

After you're with me,

we're gonna start
walking out here, okay?

And I have your tickets
right here.

Girls, the third inning,
top of the third,

that's when we're going
to go buy our meals.

David, just taking a photo.

This just should not
be a special event.

It should be here
all across the country

on diamonds in local
communities everywhere.

This is the first event
that we've done for the girls,

but what is beyond that,
you know, who knows.

It could be league,
it could be a woman coach,

it could be a lot
of different things.

- Who's the first?
- I am!

- Who's the best?
- I am!

- Who are you?
- Trailblazers!

The Trailblazer Series ended

with the girls being honored
on the field at Dodger Stadium

as part of the Jackie Robinson
Day celebration.

My hopes and dreams
is that this would continue,

this would be a start,

and that the girls

that develop
and really become real talents

will get an opportunity.

♪ Can you see

♪ By the dawn's early light

♪ What so proudly we hailed

♪ Free

♪ And the home

♪ Of the brave

For a while,
there were a lot of games

where we weren't getting in.

So, you know,
it kinda takes a toll on you.

It starts to make you feel like,
"Am I ever gonna get in?

Am I ever gonna get my chance?"

We're out here,
we're working hard every day,

physically and mentally,
like I said,

and it's like
we wanna get out there

and prove what
we've been working for.

I mean, we're skeptical.

We were wondering
whether they were just there

to fill roster spots,

or just there to, you know,
for the experience.

We didn't know
if they would play

or if they would get
any time on the field.

I have over 20 years

of professional
baseball experience.

Won a World Series with
the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006,

so it's an interesting thing,
you know?

A girl is gonna play
professional baseball.

It's something
you wouldn't normally, uh, see.

And, you know, they'll joke
about it here and there.

One of our guys last year,
he hit one home run last year.

He hit it off of Kelsie.

It was his first
professional homer,

and it was his only
professional homer,

and we said,
"Hey, maybe this year

you can hit a homer off a guy."

She was on the mound,
it was the first inning,

and she came up like this.

Add there must have been
500 to 600 people there,

which for us, is a huge crowd.

And hushed, I said,
"I've never in my whole life,

ever been to a baseball game

where there wasn't
a single sound."

I felt very comfortable,
I felt in my zone,

and, you know, from then on out
they were very quick innings,

and I felt like
I just couldn't be stopped,

and they just weren't getting
a hold of any of my pitches.

Last week, the young recruit, she belongs.

She tossed
seven innings, gave up a run,

struck out four,
and won the game.

Just the third female pitcher

to claim a victory...

in a men's league
since the 1950s.

That night she won,
to me, she looked like

an ex-big league pitcher
that threw,

you know, 78 miles an hour.

Last year,
both me and Kelsie,

we were both being recognized

for just being girls
and being here. You know?

But this year,
what was so special to me

is that I actually got
recognized for playing,

and for something
that I've physically done.

I've grown up playing ball
with Stacy,

so I was definitely, um, honored
to be part of that game,

and I was super proud of her.

I knew she was gonna take care
of business that day.

And she didn't only pitch well,
she dominated.

At least I can say
I played with a girl before.

Not a lot of guys can say that.

That's probably one
of the coolest things

I've ever been a part of.

It was a tough loss to take,

but she deserved the win

and it was neat to, uh,
to be here to see her.

Those of us
who love baseball

know there's no other game
like baseball.

As soon as I hear
the sound of a ball

hitting a leather glove
or see it flying off a bat,

I'm in love again.

It's a great game,

and why can't we be committed

to saying that half
the population of this nation

should also have access to it?

It's not one of those things
where life's not fair.

No, I mean, this is something
that people can change.

This adversity,
this bias that they endure

from an early age, because
of their love of the game

is a challenge.

And part of succeeding
is overcoming the challenge.

I learned so many life lessons
in baseball,

like as a person, as an athlete,
as a teammate,

even as a daughter,
like, and as a sister.

I've been through
so many ups and downs,

and, like, I've learned so much.

Baseball is not
only played on the field,

it is also played in the hearts of players and fans.

And what is played in the heart is then reflected

in all other aspects
of our lives,

from the classrooms
to the living rooms,

from the boardrooms
to the courtrooms.

They're playing
baseball now, but you know what?

They're learning
that they can be anybody.

The future's
in the smile on these girls.

Whatever it is,
it's their choice,

and that's what they're learning
on this baseball field.

They gotta keep fighting,

or else, nothing
will really happen,

but I also think as we go,

you know, the generations
are getting stronger.

And the confidence just oozing,
dripping everywhere,

which is just awesome to see.

I say I think we're
in the middle

or beginning of the story,
not at the end,

and probably, to get to the end,

we'll go this way and that way,

and...

forward and backward,
and everywhere in between.

For every woman and girl

who has been denied
the right to play,

another has stood up.

The game is far from over,

but they stand united
with their allies.

Headed towards one clear goal.

The freedom
to pursue their dreams.

The right to play baseball.

Yeah, yeah!

At seven,
women's baseball World Cup

USA, Venezuela.

Amanda Giovani, a diamond grab
to double up the rudder.

Robbing, Elise Koalina.

USA wins by a score
of three to one.

Like that baseball.

So, uh, let me get this right,

so it's gonna be, uh, my name,
what brought me to baseball.

I swear she wore, like,

it was like a one piece,
like, tights.

She, I swear
she wore it during BP.

Every time I'd look at her,

I'd just picture
that's what's under her uniform.

Never leave home
without it.

And I don't think you can say,
"We want a woman in the pros",

and then work backward
and go try to find her.

She may not be alive yet.

She might be born in February.

All the rookies
had to sing karaoke

before the game
in the locker room

It was really embarrassing.

She's just anti-visor.

Does not want to wear it.

We ordered these, uh,
custom-made Nike baseball hats.

We're gonna do
a little ceremony,

and give her,
her, uh, big baseball hat.

Finally, you've got
something you can wear.

- So cute.
- Yes.

We'll play baseball
in a little bit, okay?

It's okay,
we'll go play baseball.

- I'm very proud of Marti.
- Oh, my god.

Would have loved to go further
but, uh, she did good.

She did everything she could do.

I can't be any prouder
in you than right now.

Then buy me a new car.

No, we'll get some soup
on Witty Street and Waltham.

Oh, cool, I get soup.

I mean I've been there.

A lot of the girls on the team
have been there.

Isn't that life?

Don't you have to make those
hard decisions with anything?

Got a buddy right here.

Um, you have to make
those decisions, I mean,

do you wanna move down
to the other busking zone?

And that's a wrap.

And that's pepper.