HARDBALL - A WOMANS BASEBALL ODYSSEY

2018/75 mins/US

A film about the challenges and achievements of girls and women who play baseball, and their fight for recognition
and a future in the sport they love.
“You must mean softball.”
“No,” she replies, “I play baseball.”
“But…”
YOU’RE A GIRL.
GIRLS DON’T PLAY BASEBALL.
SOFTBALL IS FOR GIRLS.
BASEBALL IS FOR BOYS.
ONLY BOYS PLAY BASEBALL.
Girls and women who play baseball have heard all the statements above. Despite over 100,000 girls playing baseball in
Little League, only about 1,000 are still playing by the time they reach high school.
Why so few? What is causing girls and young women to drop-out (or get knocked out) of a game they love, and at which they excel?

HARDBALL: A WOMEN’S BASEBALL ODYSSEY explores and examines these questions, issues, and more, as girls and women at all levels of baseball from around the world tell their stories. We hear from 8 to 10-year old trailblazers training with MLB for the first time in history, from the US Women’s National Team, and from members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (originally made famous by the film “A League of Their Own”).Sixty years ago, a color barrier fell in the wake of Jackie Robinson’s trailblazing career. Now, in the heart of the #MeToo Movement, more barriers are being challenged and, ultimately, falling. This film penetrates the inside world of women’s baseball in addition to following 5 of the sport’s most elite US players during their World Cup experience and beyond as they fight to play the game they love, and refuse to take “no” for an answer.

A dynamic and brutally honest look at the world of female athletes, fighting to gain equality and the right to play baseball.

Crew

Matthew Temple – Director
Jewel Greenberg – Producer