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Opening weekend of the WPBL’s inaugural season is officially in the record books. Around 5,200 fans happily crowded into a wet and windy Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday for the privilege of being able to say they were present for the league’s first pitch. A rain delay lasting just over an hour prolonged the suspense that had been building since the league was first announced early last year, but women are used to waiting their turn.

With the season now underway, I’ll be recapping each week’s action by highlighting the most notable players, moments, and anything else I deem worthy of further commentary. For each edition of the recap, I will re-license the naming rights to this list of highlights to whichever team I feel has won the week. And how does a team win the week? Well, unlike actual wins and losses in baseball, this type of win is purely subjective and will operate under the time-honored tradition of making it up as we go along.

Along with the list of highlights, the Unforced Errors list will discuss the more confounding aspects of the prior week because good faith criticism is a necessary component of continuing progress. And to round things out, we’ll touch on the Historic Firsts of Lesser Renown. The league’s momentous firsts will obviously get their shine, but there’s something to be said for the more strange and mundane firsts, the smaller day-to-day occurrences that make a new league feel familiar and complete. Think of these firsts as the knickknacks on a shelf that make a new house feel like a home. Baseball fans won’t really feel settled into their new league until the first time a player on their favorite team commits a TOOTBLAN.

But before we get into the first week’s action, a quick refresher on the league’s mechanics. The WPBL is currently composed of four teams with 15 players per roster. Each team is scheduled to play 15 games over the course of a six-week regular season. The postseason will begin in mid-September and last just under two weeks with all four teams participating. A pair of three-game series will make up the semifinal round, then the two teams that advance from the semifinals will play a five-game series in the finals. Though each team does represent a city that it will eventually call home, games this season will be played at a single venue, the aforementioned Robin Roberts Stadium.

The league is employing a slightly different set of rules for the games relative to other iterations of the sport. Games last seven innings and are considered official after four innings. Teams are permitted three mound visits per game. Batters are permitted to use metal, wood, or composite bats. Two-way play is permitted and follows the guidelines used by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (see Rule 9.3.8 – 9.3.14). Use of the DH is optional. There is a pitch clock in place, but no ABS or replay review.

Now to the Queen’s List, named in honor of the Los Angeles Queens, who reigned victorious in the very first game of the WPBL’s existence, winning 10-8 in dramatic comeback fashion over the New York Heights (more on that below). The San Francisco Firebells’ definitive 11-3 victory over the Boston Hunters did put them in the running for winner of the week, but a comeback trumps a blowout. The list is loosely ranked, with the best saved for last, but defers to chronological ordering where necessary to minimize confusion.

The Queen’s List

9. The Seven Women Who Can Now Say They Got a Hit off of Ayami Sato

Queens starting pitcher Ayami Sato was not sharp on Saturday. The Japanese hurler left a few too many curveballs over the plate and got knocked around quite a bit. She labored through three innings, allowing 10 hits and seven runs (four earned). It’s possible the weather put a damper on Sato’s WPBL debut. Even though the rain had mostly cleared by the time she took the mound, it was clear even on the broadcast that conditions were still muggy and windy, with a pissy little drizzle that insisted on circling back every other inning or so just to check in.

Regardless, there’s not much the 36-year-old pitcher could do during her WPBL career that would diminish her status as one of the best pitchers the women’s game has ever seen. After winning three-straight World Cup MVPs and writing her name all over the record books of the Japan Women’s Baseball League, she’s well past the point of needing to prove her bonafides (although I’m sure she’d love to add a WPBL championship to her résumé). And though things didn’t go her way on Saturday, she did get to celebrate a win with her team, and seven of the women on the losing side (Val Perez, Natsuki Yonetani, Denae Benites, Kylee Lahners, Jaida Lee, Dianna Ibarra, and London Studer) can take comfort in their newfound bragging rights. Because they’ll always be able to say they got a hit off one of the true legends of the game, and no one will ever be able to take that away from them.

8. Glitter Eye Black

Ballplayers exploring new ways to express themselves with eye black is a longstanding tradition of the game, and I’m delighted to see WPBL players bringing their own unique innovations to the space, with both Thaima Maximiliana of the Queens and Joely Leguizamon of the Firebells choosing to sport glitter eye black during the league’s opening weekend.

7. A Tooled Up Catcher

On Friday, the aforementioned Benites was announced as captain of the Heights (along with Kelsie Whitmore for the Firebells, Ashton Lansdell for the Queens, and Alli Schroder for the Hunters), and then on Saturday, she announced herself to WPBL fans by blasting a solo shot over the fence in center field for the league’s first home run. Perhaps to prove she’s not one of those catchers who only hits for power and moves at a glacial pace, Benites added three singles and a stolen base to her ledger as well. And if the offense wasn’t enough, also consider that she attempted to back pick a runner at second from her knees, and nearly pulled it off.

6. The Seasoned Vet

Pitchers looking uneasy on the mound was a recurring motif across both games over the weekend. Most everyone’s command was a little shaky. Three balks were committed. The running game was barely contained, with basestealers swiping seven bags across the two games. And while it was probably just a case of first-game nerves, you know who didn’t look nervous at all? Whitmore, who started the league’s second game for the Firebells. Whitmore is one of the few players in the league with any meaningful amount of experience playing baseball professionally. After playing for the Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association, the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League, the Oakland Ballers of the Pioneer League, and most recently, the Savannah Bananas, Whitmore has had more of an opportunity to adjust to the bright lights of pro ball, and it showed. She largely cruised through three innings, allowing one hit, one walk, and one run (unearned). After turning in the best pitching performance of the weekend, she casually posted up in center field. At the plate, she went 0-3 with a walk and a sac fly, but at no point did she look the least bit rattled. And a few weeks from now, all four rosters will be populated by women as cool, calm, and collected as Whitmore. Just a bunch of professional ballplayers, showing up to the stadium every day like it’s old hat.

5. The Community Supporting Women’s Sports

During Saturday night’s postgame press conference, several members of the Queens were asked about the energy from the fans in the stadium. Their answers reveal multiple ways in which the women’s sports community distinguishes itself from other fandoms.

Here’s how the reaction from the fans washed over Queens two-way player Maggie Foxx:

Personally, when I walked on the field, I started crying because of how much this moment meant and how much it meant to everybody — all the younger girls, all the older women who were [on the Colorado] Silver Bullets, or in the AAGPBL. Whatever it is, it means everything to us.

This view of the community is the one that tends to live more front and center. It’s the part that’s focused on unifying around the common goal to create more opportunities for women to play baseball, and acknowledging the decades-long effort that it’s taken to get here, as well as the previous iterations of women’s baseball that have come and gone. But that’s not the only perspective on what the women’s baseball community has to offer. Here’s what Queens center fielder Mo’ne Davis had to say on the subject:

There were some fans above our dugout that were screaming [for the] Heights, and I just turned around and I was like, ‘Hey, watch that!’ and we all just started laughing. So all the fans are very respectful, but it’s always nice to, you know, turn around and engage with the fans and have a good laugh, and it just shows this community is just special. It’s nothing like anything else.

One of the perks of following a smaller, upstart league is how much more accessible and engaged the players are with fans. And players are able to be more engaged with fans because of the size and composition of the fanbase. It’s a smaller community made up of folks who only show up because they love the game. There’s no other reason to schlep all the way out to Springfield, Illinois. This isn’t a league that broad swaths of the population are getting into because it’s trendy and they want to seem cool. Everyone is here because we all share the same niche interest, and for now, players and fans can enjoy this experience together.

4. Two-Way Players

With two outs in the top of the first, Foxx — the Queens’ starting left fielder — stepped to the plate with runners on first and second. After both runners advanced on a wild pitch, Foxx deposited a single into center field, simultaneously notching the league’s first hit and plating its first two runs. Right fielder Michelle Roche struck out to end the inning, but not before Foxx swiped second for the WPBL’s first steal. In the top of the fourth, Foxx worked a walk and then scored from first on a double from second baseman Amira Hondras.

Then, in the bottom of the frame, Foxx took the mound in relief of Sato. She threw two innings and allowed one run on one hit (the home run by Benites), one walk, and two strikeouts. On her next trip to the plate, Foxx laced a double over the left fielder’s head and came around to score on a double from Roche.

Foxx provided a pristine showcase of what two-way play can look like in the WPBL. She played a role in the first five runs scored by the Queens, and after the Heights scored seven runs over the game’s first three innings, she held them to just one run over the subsequent two innings, paving the way for her team’s eventual comeback.

3. Defensive Web Gems

Between the weather, the turtleback design of Robin Roberts Stadium, and the general lack of on-field chemistry among rosters of players who only started practicing together a few days prior, strong defensive play was in short supply. But Sunday’s game between the Hunters and the Firebells served up two plays worth watching on a loop.

The first occurred in the top of the fourth with no outs, a runner on first, and the Hunters needing to keep the score where it was if they were to have any hope of mounting a comeback. Firebells third baseman Jua Park was in the box already with two hits to her name. Park connected on a fastball, but then this happened…

The other play came with one out and runners on second and third in the top of the sixth. Firebells second baseman Amanda Gianelloni pulled a groundball to the left side. Defensive wizardry ensued:

Props to whichever company manufactures the WPBL’s pants because Fanatics/Nike could never.

2. “Bella’s First Practice Was Today”

The Queens entered the seventh and final inning down 8-6 to the Heights, but after Los Angeles managed to string together four singles, the game was tied. Pinch-hitter Isabella Villarreal stepped to the plate, calmly worked a 3-1 count, then launched a double to deep center field, scoring both runners and putting her team on top for good. A few innings prior, Villarreal had been in the bullpen, catching warm-up pitches with no gear on. After the game, manager Eric Young Sr. told the media that Villarreal had joined the team later than the other players who had been practicing together all week. And just to make sure that detail did not go unnoticed, Davis interjected to explicitly tell the room, “Bella’s first practice was today.” But apparently, one practice was all Villarreal needed to step into the box for the first time all night, with her team down to its last out, and drive in the game-winning run.

1. Maybelle Blair

A former player in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, Blair is not only one of the women who inspired the movie A League of Their Own, she and several others who played in the league have also spent the years since the AAGPBL disbanded advocating for women to have more opportunities to play baseball. Blair serves as a member of the WPBL’s Advisory Board, so in retrospect, it makes perfect sense that she would serve as the league’s mascot, both figuratively and literally.

After the mascot was introduced on Saturday, Blair further cemented herself as an unparalleled icon by accomplishing a feat heretofore believed to be impossible: She delivered an enjoyable and worthwhile in-game interview. And then she did it again on Sunday. Both interviews should be experienced in their entirety, but I would be remiss not to include at least a couple of her best zingers.

In reference to the Mets, who sent a plane to fly her out for the WPBL’s opening weekend: “They may not be able to play a lick, but they’re sure good people.”

When asked to discuss the advantages players have now as compared to her playing days, Blair opined on how jealous she is that they get to wear sliding shorts: “You can still peel gravel out of my rear-end.”

Unforced Errors

No Pronunciation Guide

The broadcasters calling the game were clearly not given any guidance on how to pronounce the names of players. A pronunciation guide is a very low-effort resource that every league should provide to its broadcast partners, both as a show of respect to its players and so that the broadcast doesn’t sound so bush league. There were other things about the broadcast worthy of criticism, but on those counts I’m willing to extend some grace in the early going. Pronouncing player names correctly doesn’t fall under that umbrella. It’s neither difficult, nor time consuming, and letting it fall by the wayside is extremely careless.

The Scorebug???

If you didn’t watch the games, you might be assuming that I, like everyone else on the Sports Internet, have detailed thoughts on scorebug design. I don’t. I only ask for the information displayed on the scorebug to be accurate. I don’t want to worry about whether the scorebug is secretly an unreliable narrator. Although in this case I really didn’t have to wonder because the scorebug was basically always wrong. It rarely ever displayed runners on base accurately. The count was usually correct, but very slow to update, so without seeing the update happen, it was difficult to be certain that it wasn’t a pitch behind. Credit where it’s due — the score itself was rarely incorrect, so that’s something.

Tony La Russa

There were three ceremonial first pitches on Saturday. The league correctly selected Blair to throw the last of the three to Whitmore. The first was thrown by the mayor of Springfield, and while that’s not of particular interest to anyone who lives outside the region, it’s an understandable choice. As you may have guessed, the second pitch was thrown by Tony La Russa. Yes, that Tony La Russa. For what reason? Probably because he’s pals with Dave Stewart, who is an official advisor to the league. Perhaps there’s another connection here that hasn’t been publicly reported, some contribution to the league that merits recognition. But unless that’s the case, I can’t imagine why a progressive league would want La Russa anywhere near it.

Historic Firsts of Lesser Renown

1. The league’s first balk was committed on Saturday by Queens pitcher Meggie Miedlinger with Los Angeles trailing by two in the bottom of the sixth with two outs and runners on first and second. Though the runners advanced, Miedlinger got a strikeout to end the inning.
2. After the Queens scored four runs to take the lead in the top of the seventh on Saturday, the Heights executed the WPBL’s first mid-inning pitching change, bringing in center fielder Jaida Lee to replace Jacqui Reynolds on the mound.
3. In the top of the second on Sunday, Firebells center fielder Ela Day-Bédard became the first player to have her helmet go flying off while rounding second as she went first to third on a double off the bat of right fielder Skylar Kaplan.
4. With two on and one out in the bottom of the second on Sunday, Hunters third baseman Denver Bryant executed the league’s first headfirst slide into first base as she attempted to avoid a double play. The throw to first was airmailed, making the headfirst slide even less effective than usual.
5. Raine Padgham of the Boston Hunters had the honor of becoming the first pitcher to plunk a batter in the top of the third on Sunday. Later that inning, she became the first pitcher to hit two batters in the same inning, and after Maïka Dumais, who came in to relieve Padgham, drilled Day-Bédard, the Hunters became the first team to tally three pitcher hit-by-pitches in a single inning. (And, conversely, the Firebells became the first team to reach base three times via hit-by-pitch in the same inning.)
6. With one out in the top of the fifth on Sunday, Firebells catcher Alexia Jorge was the league’s first runner to get thrown out trying to stretch a single to a double.