A visit from two baseball friends made October 24 a special day here at the Carlisle Naples. Promptly at noon, into the lobby walked two people prominent in today’s women’s baseball circles.
One was Debbie Pierson, a board member of the International Women’s Baseball Center (she designed and produced the new “Women in Baseball 2017 Calendar”). Debbie, who loves to play baseball, has played in three men’s leagues, participated in baseball tournaments here and abroad, and volunteers in projects promoting women’s baseball.
The other was Cami Kidder, who produces documentary films, including those about baseball. Cami, too, is a director of the IWBC. She is at work on a feature-length documentary about women striving for acceptance in baseball. The title is “Throw like a Girl.” At the same time she is pursuing an MFA in film.
With the three of us in one room, you can imagine how much talk took place about women in baseball today. I learned about Cami’s and Debbie’s current activities to forward the work of women in baseball. In return, I told them that I had been helping Merrie Fidler compose her letter for the retired women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, a letter that will accompany a petition the women plan to send to the Baseball Hall of Fame requesting that the top players of that League receive plaques mounted in the Hall.
After lunch and four hours of talking, we finally ran out of things to say. Just for fun, I played “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on the Carlisle piano for Debbie and Cami.