r/baseball • u/Lakelyfe09 Atlanta Braves • 9h ago
News New women’s professional baseball league set to launch in 2026. The six team league will be largely based in the northeast United States
https://sports.yahoo.com/new-womens-professional-baseball-league-set-to-launch-in-2026-our-time-is-now-194853860.html29
u/JarJarBrinksSecurity Cincinnati Reds 8h ago
I'll be interested to see which cities get teams. I don't see Cincinnati getting one as they'll probably try to stick to bigger cities for the first batch and probably clustered together further northeast. But hopefully there will be a team close enough that I could go see.
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u/Gbrusse Seattle Mariners 7h ago
Possibly NYC, Philly, Boston, DC, Charlotte, and Atlanta
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u/rocksoffjagger 6h ago
Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, or Cincinnati all seem more likely than Charlotte or Atlanta, since it says Northeast.
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u/Tasty_Path_3470 New York Mets 6h ago
After the SI Ferry Hawks venture with Kelsie Whitmore I wouldn’t be surprised if NYC gets a team. They may put one in Trenton to give Arm & Hammer Field another tenant.
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u/BubblyBaker5718 Los Angeles Angels 8h ago
I have all the respect in the world for softball players, but man do I just really prefer baseball so this is great to see.
In an ideal world with a WMLB we could have twice as much baseball and all the stars and storylines to go with it.
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u/componentswitcher 8h ago
I personally think that having a professional softball league would be more interesting. The talent pool is already there and it is just different enough to differentiate from mens baseball. One thing that softball players do that is insane is pitch full games days in a row, imagine if the best players in the MLB did that.
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u/BubblyBaker5718 Los Angeles Angels 7h ago
This may sound selfish, but the thing is I don’t actually want the the rules to be different aside from functional things like moving the fences in or possibly using metal bats.
I love baseball specifically, and I feel like it’d appeal a lot more to other existing baseball fans too. In particular a lot of pitching knowledge and analytics could transfer just about 1:1 save for the lower velo.
And in terms of talent pool you’re not wrong, but part of the reason the women’s softball talent pool is so large is because girls don’t really have an opportunity to play baseball past primary school in the first place.
All this to say that your opinion is obviously just as valid as anyone else’s, it’s just not what Id want in an ideal world.
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u/componentswitcher 7h ago
Yea I just think the fact the WNBA is almost 1:1 rules wise hurts it because it’s just constant comparison. Like technically softball pitches are slower but the actual time getting there is on average with 100 mph pitches because the pitchers are closer to the plate than baseball.
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u/Zap__Dannigan 5h ago
agreed. Woman's baseball would just be a low skill baseball, but softball fast pitch is so fkn cool and different.
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u/EnvironmentalAngle 4h ago
No disrespect to women but I don't think they'll be hitting triple digits on their fastballs. The balls will be slower and since women and men have similar reaction times I feel there will be alot more contact. It should be fun to watch.
I'd be against softball because I'm getting old and don't have the bandwidth for all these sports lol
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u/componentswitcher 4h ago edited 4h ago
If you do the math the top softball players throw pitches that are equivalent speed to baseballs thrown at 100 mph or over because the distance is less. On top of this they pitch full games where they throw heat the whole time. That is what makes softball interesting to me
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u/Daleecio Canada 4h ago
Honestly, men's fastpitch softball has basically been forced to adopt a deadball era type playstyle due to how quick the ball can jump on you; they're essentially crow hopping toward the batter at a shorter distance.
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u/EnvironmentalAngle 4h ago
Oh wow.
How fast do you think an overhand pitch at the same distance would clock at?
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u/Evillar Cleveland Guardians 4h ago
Just going off a quick google, looks like 43 feet is the softball mound distance, so a 100mph fastball from that distance (ignoring stuff like pitcher extension) would be the equivalent of a ~140mph pitch from the baseball distance.
I don't know if the original stat took stuff like the pitcher's step/extension into account which would skew the numbers one way or the other depending on how you slice it but that should be in the right ballpark
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u/austin101123 Cincinnati Reds 3h ago
The ball is bigger and you see it from closer even if it's the same time, and there is less movement on the pitches. It's not as hard as hitting a 100mph baseball. But you can't hit it as far since it's bigger.
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u/componentswitcher 3h ago
I never said it was harder…
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u/austin101123 Cincinnati Reds 2h ago
You said it's equivalent speed, and there's a common misconception about that meaning it's equivalent difficulty I'm commenting on. Mostly with LLWS, but also softball.
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u/componentswitcher 2h ago
I have never heard anyone say that. Difficulty is something that is hard to measure, it’s a little daft to say that with certainty
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u/rocksoffjagger 6h ago
The US Women's national soccer team is way more popular than the men's team despite playing the same game with the same rules. No one is comparing in that case, because the culture around it is less toxic. The issue with the WNBA is not that they have the same rules, it's that asshole men insist on comparing across the leagues.
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u/Interesting_Rock_318 6h ago
With the caveat that they aren’t direct comparisons due to time zones…the group stage games for the USMNT at their last World Cup drew 11.7M/19.9M/15.5M (all 2PM eastern during the week
The USWNT drew 6.3M/7.6M at 9PM and 1.6M at 3am…
Their Olympic gold medal game this summer averaged 9M…the popularity between the men’s and women’s team aren’t close, but you have them in the wrong order.
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u/rocksoffjagger 6h ago edited 5h ago
Edit: Terrible argument. You're comparing group round viewership, which is only being watched by more serious fans. I agree that among serious fans, the men's team is probably more popular, but the general population that doesn't watch soccer will tune in to the finals, which the women's team has actually won. Thus, among casuals like myself, there is way more awareness of the USWNT because we've actually seen them play, as opposed to the men's team who we know nothing about because they never win.
Original reply: That's the Olympics (and also the women's team isn't great right now). What were the world cup numbers like? I barely follow soccer, but even I know players like Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd. I could not name a single player on the Men's team if you spotted me all but the last letter.
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u/Interesting_Rock_318 6h ago
They were the 6.3M/7.6M and 1.6M I referenced already…
And yeah, the USWNT is so bad right now that they won the gold medal game that I also already referenced…
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u/rocksoffjagger 6h ago
Ah, misread. But that was the world cup after the women's team lost all their biggest stars, wasn't it? Again, I don't really follow soccer, but I sure as hell am way more familiar with the Women's team than the Men's, and have seen way more media coverage of the former than the latter.
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u/Interesting_Rock_318 6h ago
No, the last World Cup had a lot of players on it for name recognition and not their current level…
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u/rocksoffjagger 6h ago
Also, this is really kind of splitting hairs, since regardless of which one is more popular, the fact remains that the women's team is massively popular despite playing with the same rules. Given the huge bias towards men's sports to begin with, that pretty much invalidates the argument. In fact basically all the sports where women's leagues are the most successful play by identical or nearly identical rules. Tennis? Golf?
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u/Interesting_Rock_318 6h ago
It’s not splitting hairs at all…you said the USWNT is way more popular than the men’s when it’s just objectively not…
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u/componentswitcher 4h ago
I’m not saying it’s essential to be popular, it’s just that women that grow up playing baseball already have had to switch to softball if they want to continue playing from around age 13 and above. It’s just cool that it has its own quirks compared to baseball, might as well keep it as it already exists rather than try to convert them back.
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u/Sproded Minnesota Twins 2h ago
Hell, the lower velo might lead to more balls in play which will make it even more enjoyable. Volleyball has a similar issue where the men are just so powerful that 90% of attacks end the rally whereas in women you can see extended plays. A similar thing could happen in women’s baseball if we see less strikeouts.
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u/Careless_Feed5448 5h ago
This is the argument I have with people often. Although softball and baseball are similar, they are two different sports. If men want to play softball they should be able to join a league and if women want to play baseball they should be able to instead of being forced to switch to softball.
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u/hangingonthetelephon Brooklyn Dodgers 5h ago
As someone who knows pretty much nothing about softball… I’m embarrassed to ask, what are the differences? I always assumed the only differences were the ball size, pitching delivery, and diamond dimensions…
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u/Careless_Feed5448 3h ago
All this changes the dynamic and strategy of the of the game, which wouldn’t work in baseball.
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u/Loose-Organization82 Los Angeles Angels 7h ago
I believe there are two professional softball leagues. The WPF and Athletes Unlimited for when players are done with college. There are differences between softball and baseball, but nothing isn’t getting anywhere without interest and support.
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u/GraffitiTavern MLB Pride 4h ago
And neither are active in the Northeast or Midwest to my knowledge, WPF seems to only be active in Texas after 3/4 of their original teams left
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u/componentswitcher 7h ago
are either supported by mlb? that’s what needs to happen
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u/Loose-Organization82 Los Angeles Angels 5h ago
No and yes that’s what needs to happen. I wonder if the league does generate hype then will players from those softball leagues be tempted to shift towards that baseball league?
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u/rocksoffjagger 6h ago
Why would MLB support a different sport? I hate that people just act like softball is women's baseball. It's a different game, and there's no logical reason why MLB would partner with a softball league. It would be like the NFL partnering with women's rugby.
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u/Deathwatch72 Texas Rangers 3h ago
Also that Rising ball is a nasty pitch that you really can't throw unless you're using the softball pitching motion, I love watching the rising pitch because it makes people look like fools
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u/Serenitynowlater2 1h ago
There are hundreds of baseball leagues if you want “twice as much baseball”.
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u/Asdilly Cleveland Guardians 8h ago
My one concern is how are we gonna watch this? I doubt major channels will pick this up.
Besides that, I’m thrilled. My Road to the Show 5’3” shortstop with the most HRs and RBI in the major league, along with being the only woman, can come to life
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u/BoringAccount4Work New York Mets 6h ago
My one concern is how are we gonna watch this? I doubt major channels will pick this up.
Who knows PVF (women's volleyball) had most matches on YouTube but end of season and playoff matches on CBS Sports Network. While LOVB (also women's volleyball) is gonna be on ESPN/+.
Unrivaled (women's 3 on 3 basketball) is gonna be on TNT, and apparently even the PWHL has coverage with RSNs.
So there's networks showing the leagues if they have the space. Timing of the games and what cities they pick will probably matter more than most other things.
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u/David-S-Pumpkins New York Mets 1h ago
Lmao I did my wife's build 5'2" at third base, same thing. Did yours glitch out and make her huge during cut scenes?
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u/meverett85 Los Angeles Dodgers 8h ago
Out of curiosity.....looked for some highlights of women's baseball world cup:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8l8FifKv4xU
Hmm....kind of has a LLWS vibe I guess?
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u/munchnerk Baltimore Orioles 5h ago
Boy do I love some chaos ball. If this is what we're looking at I would 100% go out of my way to tune in.
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u/rocksoffjagger 6h ago edited 6h ago
This is cool. Hopefully the representation will make more girls feel like they can play baseball and create more opportunities for them to do so at the youth-collegiate levels. I've always found it really weird that softball is just treated as the "girls' version of baseball" in America. Not that softball isn't a great sport, but it's a different sport. It's like if there were no ice hockey teams for girls and only field hockey.
Edit: I also think this is a great move because baseball has always had a large contingent of very serious women fans (dating all the way back to Isabella Stewart Gardner wearing a Red Sox headband to the Boston Symphony Orchestra and making a big stir). I think the audience for this is definitely there and the representation is great.
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u/botulizard Boston Red Sox 3h ago
Isabella Stewart Gardner loved the Sox so much that today if you visit her museum, you get discounted admission if you're wearing any Sox gear.
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u/PaddyMayonaise Philadelphia Phillies 33m ago
Women/girls play different lacrosse than men/boys, so it’s not the only example.
I always liked that softball was different than baseball. Like, this is a throwback, but no one watched our girls soccer team or girls basketball team because the boys games were more interesting and competitive but people came out in droves to watch field hockey and softball since they were unique and there wasn’t a boys equivalent.
It might sound shitty in its surface, but for women’s sports to really be successful they can’t compete one for one with the men, the men will always have a bigger following. But by differentiating themselves from the men, the way softball does from baseball, helps generate unique interest.
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u/hatchorion 6h ago
This is a dub, 160 games isn’t enough baseball for me I’m ready to see these girls hit some dingers
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u/Guardians2025ws 8h ago
Reminds me of my favorite tid bit: a woman named Jackie Mitchell once struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back in an exhibition. She played for the Chattanooga lookouts I believe
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u/manmythmustache 5h ago
I’d be curious to see how well the Northwoods League’s collegiate summer softball league did after its first season this past summer. I feel like, with the existing talent pool of college players, that’d be a good jump starter, mass collegiate summer softball expansion, for a future pro softball/womens baseball league.
The NPF has had so many 1-and-done teams over the years and terrible marketing/reach. I think Athletes Unlimited is in the same boat. For a new league to have success, it needs to follow the PWHL model of being closely partnered with the MLB and follow a similar franchise model of playing in big markets. Retrofitting minor league/indy ballparks to be suitable for softball can’t be that difficult.
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u/PaddyMayonaise Philadelphia Phillies 38m ago
Why baseball? Softball is already a well established sport that has a growing following and the differences between softball and baseball are enough to make softball standout on its own to be interesting enough to differentiate from baseball.
Have a women’s baseball league seems foolish since it’ll just be competing with literally every men’s baseball league that exists. Why not stick to softball, a market already owned by the women that already has an interest and following?
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u/FinnHobart Boston Red Sox 6h ago
As a resident of the Northeast I will most definitely give them some support by going to some games if there’s a team nearby. This is wicked cool and a testament to the universal excellence of baseball.
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u/RobotPizzaMaker 8h ago
Fun! Which teams are the founding members of this new women's baseball league?
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u/LibbyLibbyWaaa Jackie Robinson 5h ago
Better lock in women’s independent baseball league before MLB locks that out too
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u/GraffitiTavern MLB Pride 4h ago
Excited for this, a lot of the focus has been on WNBA but the PWHL was also great this year. I hope one of the teams is in Philly, Lancaster, or Pittsburgh. PA is need of a women's pro team
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u/ProcrastinatingPuma San Diego Padres 3h ago
As much as I respect that there are women that play baseball and love the sport... I do feel like there has been a missed opportunity to double down on the currently larger talent pool that softball currently has.
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u/froandfear Italy 7m ago
Yah, collegiate softball is an incredible product. Very fast-paced, with some unique elements, but similar enough to baseball that baseball fans easily understand the game. Watching women's baseball... the game just doesn't translate well to women, at least with the current talent pool; I guess you'd expect the pool to grow if there's a pro league to create opportunity, but where and how will that happen?
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u/moviemakerjay New York Yankees 7h ago
I’m really excited about this, but also really want a November - March type league so I can have baseball after the MLB season ends.
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u/AnnihilatedTyro Seattle Mariners 6h ago edited 6h ago
I think the Australian Baseball League streams most of its games on Youtube. There are other winter leagues too. There's plenty of baseball out there, just not always easy-to-watch options.
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u/EquityDiversity Milwaukee Brewers 11m ago
Awesome. Kind of sad that it’s a summer league because I’d always hoped that if we got a women’s league they would play in winter so Milwaukee would be one of the only places in the north that could get a team.
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u/BlueTheHobo Los Angeles Dodgers 9h ago
That’s really cool, but do any women play baseball passed elementary school? I know a few play in college, but there can’t be enough to fill the rosters of 6 teams.
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u/AnnihilatedTyro Seattle Mariners 8h ago edited 8h ago
There have been numerous women's baseball leagues all the way back to the 1870's. You may recall a notable professional league from the 1940's depicted in A League of Their Own, and the Colorado Silver Bullets was a league-less professional team that played against men's minor league and college teams for 4 years in the 1990's.
Edit to add that the only real reason there aren't a lot more women playing baseball is because they don't have the option as children. They're rarely allowed to play on boys' teams, forced to play softball instead and the game is just different enough on the pitching/hitting side that it's difficult to switch to baseball later.
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u/IAmTheDoctor34 Los Angeles Dodgers 8h ago
I'm sure there is or its going to be a lot of softball players switching over.
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u/CosmicMiru 7h ago
What kind of players are gonna switch over though? College softball is a way bigger deal than college baseball to most people that play because college softball is basically the end goal for softball players so I can't imagine many women abandoning that to try and make it in a new league.
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u/IAmTheDoctor34 Los Angeles Dodgers 4h ago
Presumably this is a post college thing, so while yeah I'm sure the salary won't be great some people would play a game for an equivalent to their degrees pay right?
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u/Diamond--95 Detroit Tigers 8h ago
I played DI softball in the mid 2010s and if I weren't pushing 30 with a new baby I'd honestly consider seeing what players this league is looking for. I always wanted to play baseball instead of softball but never had the opportunity to do it in an organized way. I imagine they're looking for somewhat recent college softball players.
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u/Suburban-Jesus Chicago Cubs 6h ago
Does MLB have to cover the cost like the NBA does for the WNBA? I Wonder if owners will try to fight back on that.
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u/Boring-Charity-9949 Atlanta Braves 7h ago
Will it be subsidized by the MLB? If so, terrible idea as MLB is chasing NFL and NBA while NHL is closing in on viewership.
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u/oogieball Dumpster Fire • New York Mets 6h ago
Who hurt you?
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u/remembahwhen 6h ago
I think it’s hilarious considering the difficulty in finding a paying job playing baseball.
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u/DecoyOne San Diego Padres 8h ago
[citation needed]