In 2019, Jean Fruth, an official photographer for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, published her first baseball photography book, “Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin.” The book pointed its lens at amateur baseball around the world, blending Fruth’s pictures with essays on the game by baseball superstars like Hank Aaron, Ichiro Suzuki, Vladimir Guerrero and Randy Johnson.
Jeff Idelson was retiring as president of the Hall that year and after the book was completed the two decided to team up and transform the “Grassroots Baseball” idea into a non-profit to help underserved communities. “Kids who play sports have better outcomes with health, grades and in life, so this felt important,” Fruth said in a recent joint video interview.
The San Francisco-based group’s first project, “Grassroots Baseball: Route 66,” a photo book shot along the highway from Chicago to Santa Monica, while the non-profit held clinics and provided basic equipment for kids along the way.
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But when they finished, the pair realized they only had photos of a few girls, mostly playing on boys’ teams. So they reached out to Baseball for All, a Northern California organization that had a thousand girls in a program of all-girls teams, who directed them to a game in Santa Monica. “I shot one game and it was cool as hell,” Fruth says.
That experience inspired Fruth to spend the next three years working on their latest project: “Grassroots Baseball: See Her Be Her.” which is both a documentary that culminates in the 2024 Women’s Baseball World Cup, which debuted on MLB Network during the World Series, and a book focusing on girls and women playing baseball around the globe. The book features contributions from icons Billie Jean King and Cal Ripken Jr. as well as essays from women who played or are still playing baseball at all levels.
Idelson says he hopes the project can capitalize on all the recent attention for women’s sports in soccer, hockey, and, of course, basketball, to help launch women’s baseball to the next level.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q. Why is it important to promote girls and women playing baseball, especially together?
Fruth: When you see a girl on an all-boys team, that’s what becomes the focus: “Do you know there’s a girl on this team? The girl is going to pitch today. Make sure you get photos of the girl.”
But when girls or women play together then they are just athletes. That’s true for them too – when they looked to the left and right of them, they have someone who looks just like them. It’s magical.
Q. Why do both a book and a documentary?
The book is a companion, and you can hold onto it while the movie goes by in an instant, and the essays make it special, but the book itself wasn’t going to really move the needle for the women.
The documentary can show them playing. It’s super important to show their athleticism and the level of play. I’ve had friends say, “I’m really surprised to see that it looks just like a play like a man would make” and think they’re giving a compliment.
It had to be bigger and you need the video to get the visibility, to show it could be an exciting product to watch if it gets to TV. That ideally will lead to more opportunities. We’re starting at a very low point. People don’t even know women play baseball. And I think the opportunities are coming
Q. What’s next for the project?
Fruth: It was great that the documentary was seen during the World Series, especially since it was with two big markets – New York and Los Angeles – but one showing on MLB Network was still too limited. So now we’re close to getting a deal with a streaming partner. The idea is that we can come out of the gate in March promoting the book and the documentary when it’s both spring training for baseball and International Women’s Month.
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Q. How much have things changed for women in baseball in recent years and do you think this project will help build momentum?
Fruth: The door has opened and closed for women playing baseball before, starting with the AAGPBL (the “League of Their Own” that was started during World War II) and the Colorado Silver Bullets (a women’s professional team in the 1990s). But I do believe that when this time, even if it has starts and stops, we’ll get a league. It will be a slog. It will take time. But I believe it will happen.
Idelson: Look at the WNBA, which now has traction and is becoming a big part of everyday sports. And there’s the new Professional Women’s Hockey League, so there are more opportunities for women and girls. In baseball, last year Little League hosted its first-ever all-girls tournament, the Maria Pepe tournament. And for three years there has been a collegiate club championship for women’s baseball, which is growing every year so the girls who were playing baseball know it doesn’t just end. So there’s a lot of reason for hope for girls and women.
This post was originally published on here
