Kelsie Whitmore stood near third base at JetBlue Park on Wednesday and looked around at her new norm. Female baseball players from around the world tossed balls back and forth, sharing laughs and taking pointers from MLB coaches.
In less than five months, they are to play in the first women’s professional baseball league in the US in more than 70 years.
“I never thought this would ever happen for me in my prime career,” said Whitmore, a standout pitcher and outfielder who has won multiple medals playing for the US women’s national baseball team. “I never thought it was ever going to happen, truly.”
hoto: AP
Reality set in for Whitmore and players from the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL). The upstart league was taking part in a two-day event in Fort Myers, Florida, at the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox in preparation for the launch of its eight-week season on Aug. 1.
The Red Sox have hosted women’s baseball camps for a decade and welcomed several of the WPBL’s stars for drills. Among them were veteran Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato and former Little League star Mo’ne Davis.
Davis, who at 13 became the first girl to earn a win and pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series, stayed close to coaches throughout the two-hour session to ask questions and refine her game. She left with plenty of helpful tips, including how to stay low in her hitting stance to generate power through her hips.
Photo: AP
“This is another moment that I take when I go back home — what do I need to work on?” Davis said. “For me specifically is hitting approach. That’s the one I’m really focusing on because I want to be a better hitter. I want be a more consistent hitter... I appreciate all the coaches that helped today. Whatever question you had, they were open to answering it.”
The WPBL also played an intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday ahead of the Red Sox spring training game against the Minnesota Twins.
“These athletes have done something that has not existed in 80 years,” said Shawn Smith, Red Sox general manager of Florida operations. “And they’re at the pinnacle of their craft right now only to get better. For us to be here — I feel like a little kid. I can’t describe it any other way.”
The WPBL is launching with four teams — Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York — this summer and is to play a six-week regular season and two-week post-season at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.
The US had not had a pro women’s league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League dissolved in 1954, but the WPBL is hoping to create a lasting path for women to play professional baseball.
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