See Her Be Her – the book
October 2024
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.
“There I was, a girl who was good at sports, realizing that because I was female, I could not grow up to be a baseball player.”
— Billie Jean King
“My sister Elly is one reason you don’t have to convince me that women have a place in baseball.”
— Cal Ripken, Jr.
“I had to prove, day in, day out, what I wasn’t. I wasn’t weak. I wasn’t a quitter.”
— Claire Smith