CLEVELAND — A local organization is striving to grow the game of baseball for girls and young women. Baseball for All is a nonprofit that builds gender equity by creating opportunities for girls to play, coach and lead in baseball.
“So many girls are told they shouldn’t play because they’re girls. When I was about 13 years old, I was told I should quit baseball because I’m a girl, and from that day on, I knew I had to keep playing,” said the founder of Baseball for All, Justine Siegal.
It was when she had her own daughter that she was motivated to create a better future for other female players, like 17-year-old Shaker Heights student Molly Milligan, who has been playing baseball for most of her life.
"I play on an all-boys team, it's all I’ve done in all my life. So, I am used to it now and I have fun. Those guys are my friends,” Milligan said.
Today, she had a chance to practice with a room full of girls who all have one thing in common, which is their love for baseball. Baseball for All hosted a girls’ baseball clinic in Cleveland, and they plan to host them monthly at varied locations across Northeast Ohio.
"It always warms my heart when I see a girl playing baseball, but then to get that girl to meet other girls who love baseball and play baseball. To me, that's what it's all about,” Siegal said.
With the recent announcement of a women’s professional baseball league on the horizon for 2026 in the United States, 14-year-old Alexia Van Snick expects to see many more girls and women playing the sport.
“I was very excited to hear that there's a lot of women who didn't get the chance to play when they're younger because they were told not to, but now they'll have the opportunity to shine,” Van Snick said.
At 14, Van Snick plays on an all-boys travel team in Akron and spends time helping younger girls learn the game of baseball.
Women’s sports are bigger than ever, and Cleveland is looking to become a part of the women’s sports industry. Cleveland has already submitted the bid to bring a national women's soccer league team and is working to bring a WNBA expansion team to the land. It makes women baseball players wonder if a team could ever come to Cleveland.
“It'll shock Cleveland because we need more diversity in sports and baseball in general,” said Van Snick.
