As the Girls with Game 50 Celebration comes to a close, Little League® is excited to share that a variety of its players and alumni will be featured in the new documentary and book by Grassroots Baseball, See Her Be Her, that is set to make its debut on MLB Network on Sunday, October 27, at 8 p.m. ET, between Games 2 and 3 of the 2024 MLB World Series.
“We developed our documentary to shine a light on girls and women’s baseball around the globe,” said Jeff Idelson, Co-Founder of Grassroots Baseball, former President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and a producer of See Her Be Her. “Our goal with the film is to see the development of more opportunities for girls and women on and off the field and inspire them to accomplish whatever they set their mind to.”
The story follows the lives of seven women baseball stars who are at the pinnacle of their game and represent the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan, South Korea, Cuba, and Uganda. In the intense battle for the World Cup Championship, they want victory — for themselves, for their team, for their countries, and for the sheer love of the game — but their greatest triumph is the path they are blazing for future generations of female players.
As part of the filming and research for the project, the Grassroots Baseball team made trips out to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the organization’s first-ever all-girls event, the Maria Pepe Little League Baseball Legacy Series, as well as the 2024 Little League Baseball World Series (LLBWS), home to 23 girls who have played in the world’s largest youth sports tournament. During their trip in August, which coordinated with the MLB Little League Classic, the team joined Veronica Alvarez, Team USA Women’s National Team Manager, for an interview on ESPN and a first pitch at the LLBWS.
“I was so excited to be filming in Williamsport, especially for the Maria Pepe Legacy series. Kudos to Little League for not only learning from history, but for also not hiding or burying history and instead doing just the opposite,” said acclaimed photographer Jean Fruth, Co-Founder of Grassroots Baseball and the director and producer of See Her Be Her. “Maria Pepe is a part of history and to name a tournament after her and have all these girls come to Williamsport to play baseball, it’s just so cool to see progress displayed in that way. It’s all about progress, not perfection, and that’s why what happened with Maria Pepe and the growth we have seen since then is so important to include in the documentary.”
See Her Be Her shatters a variety of stereotypes, as the seven players — through perseverance and resilience — push the boundaries of what’s possible both on and off the field. The film highlights their resolve to fight for gender equality for all female athletes and airs during the Girls with Game 50 Celebration in 2024 that honors 50 years of female inclusion in the Little League program.
The documentary also features Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Jr., Tony Pérez, and Ferguson Jenkins, as well as retired major league superstars Ichiro Suzuki, Chan Ho Park, and Jimmy Rollins, all of whom strongly support the women’s game. The companion book is the third book in the Grassroots Baseball Series, following the success of 2019’s Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin and 2022’s Grassroots Baseball: Route 66.
“Having the support of these Hall of Famers and the other retired Major League legends is really important for the women and girls,” said Ms. Fruth. “We need that support. It’s not enough for the women to support the other women, but to also have these retired male athletes who played at the highest level and are showing they want to see women playing baseball at the professional level. It makes a big difference.”
The film is directed and produced by Ms. Fruth and produced by Mr. Idelson. Additionally, the Grassroots Baseball team brought on sports icon and equality champion Billie Jean King, former Milwaukee Brewers President, CEO and Chairman Wendy Selig-Prieb, and Misdee Wrigley Miller, the granddaughter of AAGPBL founder Phil Wrigley, as Executive Producers.
Learn more about See Her Be Her, and pre-order the book today, by visiting SeeHerBeHer.com Grassroots Baseball’s non-profit mission is to promote and celebrate the amateur game around the globe. The overarching goal of Grassroots Baseball is to give back to historically underserved communities through the power of sports.