What Is the WPBL?

The Women’s Pro Baseball League is a four-team professional baseball league that completed its first season in September 2026. It is baseball, not softball. ESPN describes it as the first professional baseball league for women in the U.S. since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ended in 1954 — more than 70 years. The league’s own April schedule post: “the first time in 70+ years that women will take the field as part of an all-women professional league.”

Offseason note (Oct 4, 2026): Update, October 2026: the first season is complete (Los Angeles Queens are champions). Next: WPBL 2027: what we know · tryouts & draft · player pay.

The short answers people search

• Softball or baseball? Baseball. The official name is Women’s Pro Baseball League. ESPN’s explainer calls it a professional baseball league for women. Some players (example: Mo’ne Davis) have softball backgrounds; the games are baseball.
• Why “70 years”? The AAGPBL — the league in A League of Their Own — dissolved in 1954. ESPN and the official schedule post both use that gap.
• Where were the games? Every 2026 regular-season and playoff game was at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois. The CEO has said the plan for 2027 is to play in the four home cities (details). Springfield notes.
• How many teams? Four: Boston Hunters, New York Heights, Los Angeles Queens, San Francisco Firebells (not Firebirds).
• How long was the 2026 season? Regular season August 1–September 6, 15 games per team; best-of-three semifinals; best-of-five championship, won 3–2 by the Los Angeles Queens on September 22. 2027 dates are not announced. Standings · playoffs · full schedule.

World Baseball Network reported regular-season games are seven innings; extras have already been used (Aug. 9 and Aug. 13 both went eight on the stats site). We’re not writing a full rulebook.

Who runs it, who is on the field

ESPN: the league was co-founded by Justine Siegal, the first woman to coach for an MLB team (then-Oakland Athletics, 2015). Official pages quote her as commissioner. ESPN also: more than 600 players at the 2025 tryout; 120 selected in the November draft. Featured names already on this guide include Kelsie Whitmore (San Francisco, No. 1 pick) and Mo’ne Davis (Los Angeles). Boston’s manager as of Aug. 9 is Jemile Weeks.

How to watch or go

U.S. fans: paid ESPN app / ESPN+ for the full slate; 11 regular-season dates also on free Scripps Sports. International: league YouTube. Watch guide · Scripps list · tickets from $22.

This site is an unofficial fan guide — about — not the league.