Empowering the Next Generation of Female Athletes

Following the global success of SEE HER BE HER, a feature-length documentary film (and photography book by the same name) that premiered on the MLB Network and is now streaming on Amazon, the movement is expanding to tell the story of women’s hockey, from frozen ponds to the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and beyond.   

Founded by Grassroots Baseball®, See Her Be Her provides a crystal-clear vision of what female athletic achievement looks like for an entire generation of girls and boys.

Our mission is simple yet powerful: creating opportunities by empowering communities to champion women’s sports through storytelling, advocacy, and visibility. We celebrate their achievements, amplify their voices, and encourage lasting change.

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“Every young girl who wants to play needs to see there’s a place for her in the game,” says Grassroots Baseball and See Her Be Her cofounder Jean Fruth. “Through storytelling, we can open doors, change perspectives, and inspire inclusion.”

Grassroots to the Pros

The ascent to the Major Leagues is a difficult climb and an enormous accomplishment. For the 23,000-plus players who have had the privilege of playing the game at the highest level, their introduction to the game most likely came on a sandlot or hometown field.  Grassroots Baseball looks at some of their early-day stories and improbable journeys from grassroots to the pros.

Jean Fruth’s third book, See Her Be Her!

Companion book to the SEE HER BE HER documentary

Now shipping! The companion book to the See Her Be Her documentary 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.

See Her Be Her celebrates the women of baseball, from the glorious past of the players made famous by Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own, to the ongoing exploits of the most talented females in the game today, to the very real possibility that a woman will one day make her major league debut.

Photographer Jean Fruth traveled the globe, shooting on three continents and assembling the over 250 strikingly beautiful photos that illustrate this book. Also shining a light on both the constant struggle for equality and the joyful passion of baseball are profiles of pioneers like Lois Youngen, players like Kelsie Whitmore and Ayami Sato, and such women of influence as Justine Siegal and Veronica Alvarez.

Lending their perspective are Tennis Hall of Famer Billie Jean King (Foreword), Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken (Introduction), baseball writer Claire Smith (Preface), the first female to be awarded the Hall’s Career Excellence Award, and Maybelle Blair (Afterword), a one-time pitcher in the All-America Girls Professional Baseball League.

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Hall of Fame know-how

  • “You learn discipline, you learn time, you learn to say thank you, you learn manners you learn failure, you learn how to deal with failure because this, let’s face it, this is a sport of many failures, you learn success and how to balance failure to success. We want everyone to be a Hall of Famer. Not everyone can be, but we can each be a great teammate.”  

    Hall of Famer, Jim Thome

  • “The overall team effort determined the outcome of the game, not an individual performance.”

    Hall of Famer, Nolan Ryan

  • “The beauty of the game is that it parallels life in many ways. I tell parents all the time that whether or not your kid makes it to the big leagues is irrelevant. It’s about the journey and what the game teaches you. Even if you don’t make the big leagues, you are going to be a better person with anything else you do, because of baseball.”

    Hall of Famer, Goose Gossage

  • “The importance of being part of a team, and showing up on time for practices and games. I learned that games were a team concept not something you did individually. By listening and learning from your coaches you get better with every practice and game.”

    Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer

  • “Practice, practice, practice. By playing catch, fielding ground balls, and hitting, you will improve your skills.”

    Hall of Famer, Rollie Fingers

Hall of Fame Little League moments

  • “I lied about my age. I was an 8-year old as you had to be nine to play. I made my mom take me. They found out. I went home and cried, and then played the next year. I pitched a perfect game when I was 12. The umpire missed the call on what should have been the final pitch, but I still ended it by ringing up the hitter. I’ll never forget it.”

    Hall of Famer, Tom Seaver

  • “When I played in Asheville, NC we came within one win of going to the Little League World Series. It was such a great experience. It was disappointing as I was the losing pitcher in that game but I remember that experience vividly to this day.”

    Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken, Jr.

  • “On Opening Day 1958 I was 11 and playing for the 7-Ups. I hit two home runs, one to left field and one to right. I’ll never forgot it. My dad gave me $2, one for each of the home runs.”

    Hall of Famer, Rollie Fingers

  • “Getting to walk on to the Oakland A’s field on Little League Day. Growing up 45 minutes east of Oakland, the A’s were my favorite team and Vida Blue was my favorite player. When I was with the Mariners, I was warming up in the bullpen in Oakland, and here it was again, Little League Day. It came full circle for me.” 

    Hall of Famer, Randy Johnson

  • “Pitching seven no-hitters, and, listening to my dad who was my coach and who made me a catcher.”

    Hall of Famer, Pudge Rodriguez

  • “My parents would take me and some of my Beverly Hills Yankee teammates to Hamburger Hamlet, win or lose. Of course, the hamburgers tasted better after wins!” 

    Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer

  • “I threw a no-hitter and lost, 1-0, on my own error.”

    Hall of Famer, Mike Schmidt