It’s peak baseball season — there’s simply nothing better than an early-August day at the ballpark. Speaking of, the Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL) officially hit the diamond yesterday for its inaugural season.

• The WPBL isn’t just creating chances for women to play pro baseball. It’s also giving women’s sports supporters and baseball fanatics alike a new league to love, expanding and deepening fandom for all.

• No one understands the female baseball fan better than Kait Maniscalco, MLB Network host and the genius behind Baseball for Baddies. So in honor of the WPBL’s opening weekend, we chatted with her about how baseball truly is for the girls, now more than ever.

We all know representation is important, and Baseball for Baddies is a two-way player in the representation game: Maniscalco is a woman thriving in the men’s sports space, interviewing players and joining the broadcast team for the biggest events on the MLB calendar, but she’s also building a fan-centered community where women feel seen and understood.

• Female fandom has long been neglected by baseball culture, but a 2024 survey found that nearly 40% of MLB fans were women, and a 2026 survey indicates that one in three women considers herself a MLB fan. Maniscalco gives them the love and attention they deserve.

Baseball for Baddies’ origin story is a lot like The GIST’s. Maniscalco was at a NY Yankees game with her bestie, who asked her to explain the stats on the jumbotron. Maniscalco realized that casual fans could benefit from these types of guides to help feel included in the fandom.

• She told us, “When I initially started Baseball for Baddies, it was very much trying to grow the game to a female audience to try and get more people interested and involved in the sport, because it is one of the most complex sports, and it has a lot of different rules.”

• “If you’ve never watched a baseball game, you wouldn’t really understand what people are talking about,” she continued. Grateful to have someone who can explain what WHIP is without being condescending.

As Maniscalco expanded her content to dissecting major MLB news, Baseball for Baddies grew. She found it wasn’t only new or casual fans watching her videos — diehard baseball girlies also flocked to her account. “It made me so happy to create a community of women who were just as passionate about baseball as I was,” she said.

• How does she balance explaining to newer fans while still entertaining experienced ones? “If there’s a certain play or new rule…I will come [on-camera] and explain why it’s called that. And I think for a lot of passionate fans, knowing the backstory and knowing why helps them, too.”

But Maniscalco doesn’t just share information — she’s also slinging hot takes. She’ll tell you how something works, why it matters, and what she thinks of it, and that’s what has made her such a trusted and essential voice in baseball for women. “I always try to give context on a situation while I’m also giving a take or an opinion, so everybody’s included,” she said.

When it comes to serving women and growing fandom even further, Maniscalco says the WPBL will be a major driver. “I think it’s actually going to reach more women’s sports fans, people that are interested in the WNBA, in softball, and watching different women’s sports in general.

• “I think there’s a very large group of fans that just love women’s sports and want to support [them]. …[The WPBL] is going to be most impactful to the newer baseball fans and to the casual women’s sports fan.” Women’s sports supporters, meet the game’s very best.