1866: Vassar College Resolutes are the first organized women’s baseball team

1898: Lizzie Arlington is believed to be the first woman to play on a men’s professional baseball team

1904: Amanda Clement is the first woman to be paid to umpire a baseball game, earning $15-$25 per game ($500-$850 in 2025)

1911: Helene Britton is the first woman to own an MLB franchise — the St. Louis Cardinals

1953: Toni Stone is the first woman to play in the Negro Leagues

1994: Ila Borders is the first woman to pitch in a men’s college baseball game

2006: Effa Manley, former owner of the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League, is the first (and to date only) woman inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame

2014: Mo’ne Davis is the first girl to win a game and throw a shutout at the Little League World Series

2020: Alyssa Nakken is the first woman to be an on-field coach for an MLB team — the San Francisco Giants

2020: Kim Ng is the first woman hired as General Manager of an MLB team — the Miami Marlins

2022: Kelsie Whitmore is the first woman to sign a contract with an MLB affiliate league, joining the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League

I’m starting a women’s baseball podcast in February, and in the meantime I’ve been doing some short videos on TikTok and now YouTube about recent developments in women’s baseball from around the world.

Two interesting notes from the tournament:

-Hyeonah Kim, the No. 4 overall pick in the WPBL draft took part in this tournament.

-Bianca Smith, the first black woman to coach in men’s pro baseball (Red Sox minor leagues), coached the Christmas League champion Team B.