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Maybe it’s a sign of our times that musicals about the aftermath of loss and grief have become so prominent in 21st-century life, from Next to…

Sports

Rockford Peaches — 30 years after ‘A League of Their Own’ — live on in a new series: ‘We didn’t know we were part of something bigger’

For many of the women and girls playing baseball this summer, the Rockford Peaches — a team that hasn’t played in more than 60 years — remain a source of inspiration. One of the original four teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), the Peaches won the most championships in league history.AdvertisementEven though the team dissolved in 1954, the organization lives again through the efforts of baseball historian Kat Williams and the International Women’s Baseball Center along with the City of Rockford — and of course the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.”The film has allowed the spirit of the Peaches to continue through new generations, and Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara proclaimed Friday and Saturday “A League of Their Own 30th Anniversary Celebration Days” in the city. Both the IWBC and Rockford will honor the movie’s anniversary with a series of events concluding with a premiere of the upcoming Prime Video series that reimagines the beloved baseball film.Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Title IX turns 50: Meet 50 women in Illinois who have impacted sports on — and off — the field of play ]“Women have always been part of the game,” said Williams, the IWBC president, whose goal is to commemorate the contributions women have made to the sport throughout the years. “We’ve always played, umpired, coached, tended the fields, kept the stats, owned the teams. We have always been there.“We did not start playing in 1943 and we did not stop in 1954. And internationally, women’s baseball is huge right now. So that is precisely why we at the International Women’s Baseball Center set out to make a home for women’s baseball. You know, men’s baseball has a home in Cooperstown, New York, at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Little League Baseball has a home in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where they have all the fields, play games and have a museum. Women’s baseball does not have a home.“Well, they do now and it’s Rockford, Illinois.”Founded in 1943 by Chicago Cubs President and owner P.K. Wrigley and Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey, the AAGPBL featured teams of female baseball players from cities within reasonable driving distance of Chicago.”Rockford Gives Up on Baseball League for Girls” in Chicago Daily Tribune on Nov. 22, 1953, (Chicago Tribune)An announcement in the Chicago Tribune in February 1943 said “the girls will wear dainty raiment instead of the customary mannish attire. They will not be bloomer girls, tho.” Tryouts were held in various cities with spring training at Wrigley Field. It was baseball, not softball, same as the men’s game but with some adjustments. For example, the basepaths were 65 feet instead of 90.For the women chosen, it meant an opportunity to get paid to play, but just like the majors, that did not extend to everyone as the league was segregated. The AAGPBL folded in 1954 but remains an important piece of women’s baseball history. Nearly 600 women played in the league.AdvertisementThe Rockford Peaches — both the real ones and the Hollywood version — are a big part of that legacy. When “A League of Their Own” debuted in theaters in 1992, Penny Marshall’s film reawakened fandom and breathed new life into the long-defunct ballclub.“I saw the movie the day it premiered,” Williams told the Tribune. “I laughed and I cried and I cheered. I was just so overwhelmed. At the end of the movie, the credits started rolling and the old-timers are out there playing a game and Madonna was singing ‘This Used to Be My Playground’ and I lost it. I couldn’t get up.“Eventually the lights came up and I looked around the room. There were about 10 other women sitting in that theater and we couldn’t leave. We had no idea we struggled. I played baseball and softball long before Title IX. And we struggled and we fought and we thought something was wrong with us. We didn’t know we were part of that history. We didn’t know we were part of something bigger.“And so to find that out, it just changed my world. It absolutely changed my life.”Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Title IX turns 50: A look at how those 37 words have impacted women in sports ]In the movie, Geena Davis played Dottie Hinson, a character loosely based on real-life Peach Dorothy Kamenshek. Kamenshek, who joined the team for its inaugural season, had been a softball player in Cincinnati. She went on to become the AAGPBL’s star player.A two-time batting champion and seven-time All-Star, the left-handed first baseman was known to jump three or four feet in the air and do splits to snag the ball. “Kammie,” as she also was known, was such a big star that the Fort Lauderdale club in the Class B Florida International League attempted to buy her contract, but the AAGPBL’s board of advisers rejected the offer because, according to league President Fred Leo, “women should play among themselves and they could not help but appear inferior in athletic competition with men.”In their first season, the Peaches finished last in the league with a 43-65 record, but Kamensky scored 58 runs and hit .271 with 39 RBIs. With the league’s best player in Kamensky, the Peaches won league championships in 1945, 1948, 1949 and 1950.”File Notice to Dissolve Rockford Peaches Club” in Chicago Daily Tribune on Feb. 26, 1956. (Chicago Tribune)The league’s final season was in 1954, and the Peaches dissolved without much fanfare. The Tribune ran this item in February 1956:“Notice of legal action to dissolve the Rockford Peaches Girls’ Softball Club, Inc., has been served by the attorney general. The corporation, which took over the club in 1954, has failed to file annual reports or pay charges and fees required by corporation laws. Officials in Rockford said no effort has been planned to revive the organization.”It was over. Or so it seemed.AdvertisementBut thanks in large part to “A League of Their Own,” the Peaches live on — as evident in this weekend’s events in Rockford.“The Peaches are an important part of Rockford’s history,” McNamara said in a statement, “and we are honored that Prime Video has not only created a series based upon the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, but is also hosting the series debut right here in Rockford — weeks before it is available to the public.“I’m excited to watch as the launch of this series, as well as the creation of the International Women’s Baseball Center in Rockford, usher in a new era of AAGPBL fans.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Sports

Marcus Stroman was ‘gutted’ after Roe overturned. ‘It’s their body, it’s their choice until the day I die,’ the Chicago Cubs pitcher says.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman does not shy away from sharing his thoughts.Stroman, a fixture on Twitter with more than 513,000 followers, fervently voices his opinions and beliefs. So when the Supreme Court controversially overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case Friday morning, Stroman publicly expressed his feelings.AdvertisementOn Saturday, about 24 hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, Stroman tweeted:“The strength of our women is unmatched. We must protect them all at costs. Unimaginable to see their rights taken away. Men should never be allowed to make laws about women’s bodies. Those of you who disagree need to realize you’re a direct part of the problem. Change is needed!”AdvertisementThe strength of our women is unmatched. We must protect them all at costs. Unimaginable to see their rights taken away. Men should never be allowed to make laws about women’s bodies. Those of you who disagree need to realize you’re a direct part of the problem. Change is needed!— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) June 25, 2022

Between Friday morning and Tuesday evening, Stroman shared about 18 retweets on his timeline relating to Roe v. Wade being overturned. Among them were thoughts from NBA star Kyrie Irving and former Cy Young Award winner David Price.“I was gutted when that decision came out,” Stroman told the Tribune on Tuesday. “So, yeah, I’m siding with the females and the ones out there who truly believe that we should never be in the position to take away any types of rights from females.“It’s their body, it’s their choice until the day I die. That’s how I’ll always believe.”[ [Don’t miss] What makes Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman tick? Mindfulness, mental well-being and an endless amount of outside interests. ]Stroman believes supporting Roe v. Wade, abortion rights and, by extension, human rights is “common sense and how everyone should think, but unfortunately it’s not.” He mentioned important women in his life — including his mother, his personal trainer and his chef — and the strength he sees from them.Stroman’s comments are notable. He is one of only a few male professional athletes to publicly criticize the Supreme Court’s ruling and its societal impact, and the 31-year-old plays a sport that tends to skew more conservative within clubhouses. Stroman said his tweets did not elicit any reaction from his Cubs teammates or spark conversations.Cubs starter Marcus Stroman pitches against the White Sox on May 29, 2022, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)“My personal opinion on it is we fall into some really tricky areas when you start telling people what to do with their bodies, right?” manager David Ross told the Tribune. “I’m definitely not the person that makes all these political stances, but I do feel pretty strongly that guys that have a platform like Stro and use that to voice their opinion and the things that are important to them, I think that’s great.”White Sox closer Liam Hendriks also spoke out publicly after the Roe reversal.“Obviously, today is a terrible, terrible day for women’s rights,” Hendriks said Friday on WSCR-AM 670’s “Parkins & Spiegel Show.” “I mean, what’s next? Are they going to take voting for women as well now? It’s just something that is absurd in the fact that they thought that this is their thing.Advertisement“If this had anything to do with men, there’d be no chance that this would be overturned. And that’s something that’s disgraceful in this day and age.”Instead of clubhouse conversations, Stroman has talked with his family and those close to him but “not many baseball individuals.” Stroman, who did not want to call out specific people, recalled being told in the past by front-office personnel to get off Twitter and stop sharing his opinions.[ [Don’t miss] ‘We’re doing a disservice to an entire generation’: How Chicago athletes and teams reacted to Roe being overturned ]“I suppose it’s the slowest sport when it comes to change, and when it comes to speaking out against any inequalities, baseball’s usually very, very, very slow,” Stroman said. “That’s why I said I’m always going to put my piece out. I don’t care how baseball is going to handle it.”Stroman would like to see other male athletes speak up; however, he thinks a lot are afraid to be vocal.“The reactions to my tweet are not going to change how I live life or change my happiness,” Stroman said. “I know there are a lot of people out there who are pretty affected by this and who are damaged by this decision. I‘m always going to be someone who stands up for females, who stands up for inequalities, who stands up for those people who don’t get treated right in America because I’m a minority, so I fall into that category as well.”Stroman can understand why some male athletes could be hesitant. In the first year or two of his major-league career, Stroman, now in his ninth season, acknowledges he might not have felt as comfortable speaking out — “unfortunately,” he noted.AdvertisementChicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“Before you get to your free agency, you don’t want to do anything that will kind of push you the wrong way, which is terrible to even say, but it’s like that in baseball,” Stroman said.[ [Don’t miss] Title IX turns 50: Meet 50 women in Illinois who have impacted sports on — and off — the field of play ]Stroman understands the faith-based anti-abortion perspective, stating he has the utmost respect for anybody who is religious. While everybody is entitled to their opinion, Stroman said, that shouldn’t mean people can impose their religious beliefs on others and dictate how someone lives their life.“It’s their body, their choice,” Stroman said. “I think that’s the only way people should view it, but in America that’s not even close to a common reaction.”Amid the expected angry responses to his tweets, Stroman said he has received countless messages from women worldwide, and even some men, thanking him for speaking up.As an African American/Puerto Rican star in Major League Baseball, Stroman occupies a rare space. He hopes his voice can amplify and support those who need it.“When it comes to how I think and how I process things, I’m a minority. The things that I’ve been through, I see life from a whole different angle,” Stroman said. “No matter what way you go with, there’s going to be people to bash you. You just have to be greater than that and stronger than that and realize that I’m speaking out confidently in how I actually believe in things and what I truly believe in.Advertisement“I would hope that at some point this world would start to change towards it, but I truly feel like we’re going backwards.”