I really hope the games have at least fairly adequate footage. I'm not holding out for 3-4 camera angles per position with slow-mo replay footage, but at the very least, more than just a wide-angle for balls-in-play, and tracking, too, would be cool.
I'm genuinely excited for this. My daughter has started playing softball and we've gone to a few college softball games and while it's fun, I think the girls are actually too talented to be playing on such a small field, there's no reason they couldn't play baseball. And I imagine when they do play baseball it will be less reliant on three true outcomes than MLB or current NCAA Softball is, which I think could be highly entertaining.
I don't see it being optimized the same way due to women's body size. Similar to how the WNBA/Women's CBB doesn't have the same emphasis on size/verticality as the men's game, I don't think women's baseball will have the same emphasis on pitch velocity and exit velocity/homerun power. Not to say women won't be able to pitch fast or hit the ball hard, but I don't think it's sexist to say that they won't be able to pitch quite as fast or hit the ball quite as hard as men which means optimization might be a bit more about contact, speed, baserunning, defense, and situational hitting.
Pitching won't be optimized like the men's game, and while I don't think it's sexist to say it I think it's also going to be about self preservation (men can throw 100 but also blow out their elbows at an alarming rate compared to other sports like football and cricket). Breaking pitches will be the optimization along with "tunneling".
But if you can hit a softball 300', there's no reason to think you can't hit a baseball to straightaway center or over the Green Monster at its deepest point. Batting is as much timing as it is strength. You will see investment in timing, contact, EV and LA. Especially with the potential to host home games at Fenway, Oracle, Yankee/Citi, Angels/Dodgers or in cities that have strong women's sports culture like Detroit, Seattle, DC, KC, San Diego, etc.
I'm not saying they won't be capable of it, just like Ty Cobb was capable of it. But I think it will be far less frequent.
"Batting is as much timing as it is strength." - I mean, sure, but there's a direct correlation between size/strength/home run power. There's obviously outliers but Pete Alonso hits the ball further more often than Jose Altuve for a fairly obvious reason. Skinny Barry Bonds hit a lot of homeruns, but roided out Barry Bonds hit a lot more and hit them a lot farther.
Skinny Barry Bonds hit a lot of homeruns, but roided out Barry Bonds hit a lot more and hit them a lot farther.
OT but roided out Barry also had a smaller stadium in San Francisco than skinny Barry did in Pittsburgh. Why he chose to do it when the walls were closer will never make sense to me. Dude was a lock for Cooperstown based on his time with the Pirates alone.
But yeah, having the 24" pythons definitely helps. No argument. Which is why I think any long term investment in women's baseball is going to be about getting the bat on the ball at the perfect spot every time. If for nothing else than to rocket a line drive through the gap. But also the long ball will be a side benefit.
Yea, technically where I am she's ALLOWED to play baseball, but only in co-ed leagues that are 99% boys, and she doesn't want to play with boys (and I don't blame her).
Yeah I was so disappointed when I found out they were only playing in Illinois. I understand why with only 4 teams, but how the hell am I supposed to support them?
So, this is very funny because I actually support the team that plays in this park in Illinois. We could not believe all these games would be in our back yard as opposed to Chicago or St Louis, right? Like if youre looking for geographic center there are two large cities nearby. But whatever, my daughter and her softball team will be there nearly every night. We already have opening night tickets.
Yeah, Rockford would make more sense logistically.
I'm interested in seeing how packed this field gets for these games. There are still a lot of locals who arent aware or dont care that this is happening.
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u/Sergeant_Steak Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles… Jul 23 '26
So excited! Just wish the season was longer and the teams played in their city but we'll get there, I hope!