The promotional poster for ‘See Her Be Her’ is showcased in the lobby of Desert Ridge AMC Theatres in Phoenix. The documentary highlights the impact on women’s baseball. (Photo by Dan Allison/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX – In the middle of MLB spring training and Cactus League play, a different group of baseball stars is stepping up to the plate in Arizona.
Grassroots Baseball, a non-profit organization that promotes baseball worldwide, released “See Her Be Her” last October. The documentary follows the 2024 Women’s Baseball World Cup and the female athletes involved as they bring women’s baseball into the spotlight.
However, unlike “League of Their Own” and other baseball films, “See Her Be Her” isn’t just for entertainment. Director and producer Jean Fruth and co-producer Jeff Idelson created it to support the fight for gender equality in baseball and sports.
The film debuted during the 2024 World Series on MLB Network. Now, in 2025, Grassroots Baseball is taking the film on the road with a public screening tour across the country at Dolby AMC Theatres. Grassroots Baseball made its way to Arizona for the second stop of their tour Saturday, which fittingly, was International Women’s Day.
The tour supports Little League International’s “Girls With Game” Initiative, with all ticket sales going toward giving more opportunities to girls.
“After all, that’s what we want, right?” Idelson said. “(We want) more opportunities for girls.”
The North Phoenix AMC Theatre filled up with little league teams and baseball fans Saturday evening, with a short interview panel with influential women across the sport set for after the film’s conclusion
“It’s about continuing to grow opportunities for girls at the younger levels,” USA Women’s Baseball manager and Athletics Coordinator Veronica Alvarez said. “We have a whole row of girls here that play baseball in tournaments against boy. I believe the Organization of Little League will be a huge part in growing our sport.”
“See Her Be Her” touches on a wide range of topics outside of the World Cup, such as the challenges faced by young female athletes in a male-dominated sport, like opportunities to play and feeling isolated in a team setting. The film also touches on the process of growing the sport in new countries, such as Uganda, which is shown in the film.
“I do believe Uganda will have a national team, and when they do, I am going back over there,” Fruth said. “That’s the exciting part to me, building this game. From the young girls to the women at the highest level. And then bringing women’s baseball to new places.”
Jean Fruth – the director, producer, and author of the companion book for “See Her Be Her” – engages with fans during a book signing in the lobby of Desert Ridge AMC Theatres in Phoenix following the documentary screening. (Photo by Dan Allison/Cronkite News)
The film concluded with Japan beating the United States in the gold medal game of the tournament. Japan has won the last six World Cups with the last U.S. gold medal coming back in 2006.
“If we played (Japan) again, we would win,” Alvarez said. “We are at the point where we can win, should win and will win next time. I am super cocky about it, but I know what we have.”
While the game grows in popularity in other countries, work remains to be done in the United States. This includes getting rid of the “softball” stereotype, which is the belief that softball is the only option for women to get a taste of baseball.
This is something that has affected Alvarez in her work with the Athletics during spring training in Mesa.
“I was managing during spring training for the A’s in full uniform. Around the seventh inning, the manager from the opposing team called me over and asked where I coached softball,” Alvarez said, “I told him I don’t. I told him like, three times. So many times that I thought my co-workers were playing a prank on me.”
A step in the right direction is the Women’s Pro Baseball League, a league set for its inaugural season with six teams in 2026. It is the first league of its kind in 70 years, since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II.
The league is signing players and staff aboard, including former Team USA star Alex Hugo as special adviser.
“The right people are involved so I think it will be successful,” Hugo said. “There are a lot of talks behind the scenes of who we are going to get and how is it going to look. They are currently working on a television deal, which I think will be a huge piece.”
The “See Her Be Her” Tour will roll to Seattle in April, with nine more stops left before finishing in Miami in the fall.
“People used to ask me when is there gonna be a women’s league for baseball,” former Milwaukee Brewers CEO Wendy Selig-Prieb told the audience. “I used to say, ‘I don’t know but it is not if but when.’ Now, I turn the question on them, and when people say, ‘Why?’ I say, ‘Why not?’