New Women’s Pro Baseball League Showcases Talent at Red Sox Spring Training

The Women's Pro Baseball League held its first exhibition game at the Boston Red Sox spring training facility in Fort Myers, Florida. The league will begin its inaugural season on August 1st, marking the first professional women's baseball league in the United States in over 70 years.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Just steps away from where Boston Red Sox players were gearing up for their spring training matchup Thursday, female baseball athletes took center stage in their own showcase — demonstrating the talent of a brand-new professional league.

The Women’s Pro Baseball League made its way to Fort Myers for a two-day showcase hosted by the Red Sox, featuring an intrasquad exhibition game Thursday. This marked the league’s first opportunity since conducting open tryouts last summer to reunite players and fine-tune their competitive product before launching their debut season on August 1st.

Players representing the league’s four franchises — Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York — competed in a seven-inning contest that mirrored the format planned for the WPBL’s eight-week campaign this summer at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois. Following the game, organizers hosted a fan festival prior to the Red Sox taking on the Minnesota Twins, allowing curious baseball enthusiasts to preview what this emerging league brings to the table.

“We’re fairly new (fans),” said Deb Stevens, standing next to her friend Linda Turner as they waited to get a baseball signed by players. “We’re so excited and happy. It takes a long time for them to get to this point. But they’re going to kick butt. That’s what I hope they do.”

During Wednesday’s practice session, WPBL athletes discussed how their aspirations were finally coming to fruition through this league, which represents the first professional women’s baseball organization in America in more than seven decades.

However, Thursday’s exhibition served more than just ceremonial purposes. Athletes demonstrated base-running speed, delivered powerful hits, and displayed pitching versatility that highlighted the elite-level competition the league strives to deliver.

“The visibility of it is going to be really new,” said Bree Nasti, a development coach in the New York Mets organization and WPBL coach. “Hopefully that’s just exciting for people to say, ‘Oh, this is what it looks like.’ I think you’re going to have a lot of preconceived notions. I think a lot of people are going to think that it’s going to be a lower level than it is, because that’s what people think about women’s sports before they see them.”

Nasti commended both the pitching performances and offensive displays — including New York catcher Alyssa Zettlemoyer’s bases-clearing double down the left-field line — though noted players occasionally appeared out of sync positionally, indicating they still need time to develop team chemistry.

She anticipates that first-time spectators will walk away impressed by the caliber of competition.

“I don’t know what that crowd’s going to be like,” Nasti said. “We don’t. But I do think we’re in a really exciting period in women’s sports where we are seeing in real time how we fill stadiums and how passionate people are about watching women compete at a high level.”

James Ciamarro, visiting from Montreal, expressed admiration for the pitching performances from Japanese veteran Ayami Sato and other notable players like Jaida Lee and Alli Schroder.

Elodie Ciamarro, James Ciamarro’s daughter, was selected 43rd by WPBL franchise New York in November and spent years competing in a Canadian women’s baseball league established by her father.

“This is a really good level,” James Ciamarro said. “That was the danger — the talent on the field. But based on the names, based on what I’ve seen already, this has room on the spectrum of professional sports.”

He suggested the league could address growing demand for budget-friendly sports entertainment, noting that escalating ticket costs in many men’s professional leagues have made games financially inaccessible for families.

“I think that’s going to be a part of the success,” James Ciamarro said. “I think there’s a need for affordable professional sports for fans. And I think it meets that need 100%.”