Justine Warren remembers the day that changed her life.
It was one of those warm summer days when someone somewhere had to be playing a game of baseball. Later in the day, the task would fall to the Cleveland Indians, who would take the field in the team’s newly built ballpark, Jacobs Field. As for Warren, she was mesmerized by the team on the field — the Colorado Silver Bullets, a women’s professional baseball team, which was matched against a semi-pro men’s team.
When Warren took a break from watching the game, she sought out a speed pitch machine in the concourse and practiced her fastball. She was throwing in the mid to upper 70s when a man approached, asking if she would be interested in pitching at a women’s tournament in Michigan.
That was when “I got connected with the women’s baseball community,” says Warren, president of Women’s Baseball League Inc.
The experience made a lasting impression, and a little over a year ago, Warren parlayed it into a league of her own. Her goal was to capitalize on the dearth of opportunities for adult women interested in playing hardball.
Warren started playing tee ball as a child. A search turns up plenty of softball leagues, but for someone raised on the smaller sphere, even fast pitch softball isn’t enough. Explains Warren, “I was tired of waiting for opportunity, so I decided to make it.”
With $3,000 of her own money, Warren financed the inaugural season. She divided her time three ways — as league president, a coach and a player. Like the entrepreneur who must do everything with limited resources, Warren quickly learned that playing those three roles was simply too much to handle.
And while her knowledge of the game of baseball is vast, Warren admits that running a business — even if it is a baseball league — is far more difficult than mastering the double switch. As the Cleveland-based league enters its second year, Warren plans to make some fundamental structural changes to lighten her load and move operations forward.
Here’s what she learned through her second inning of play:
It takes money to make money
Warren launched the WBL with her own money. This year, she received a $25,000 loan from her grandfather, Alvin A. Siegal, chairman emeritus of The Leader Mortgage Co. He offered one bit of advice with the dough: “It’s very easy to spend money. Make sure you spend it wisely.”
It’s a lesson Warren has taken to heart. Last year, players paid $55 to play in the league. The price was based more on instinct than on any hard data. Warren later realized it was too low a figure to make the venture self-sufficient. This year, she’s raised the price about $20.
There is another reason the capital is important, Warren says. The league needs to gain a level of respectability. In the past, there have been numerous attempts to create women’s baseball leagues. Almost all of them have ended in failure.
Currently, the Silver Bullets are the most well-known — and successful — women’s team. Unlike the NBA’s venture into a woman’s league — the WNBA — Major League Baseball has been entirely uncooperative in efforts to create a parallel venture for America’s pastime.
Warren has worked to develop partnerships with other women’s baseball teams and leagues. Through the league Web site, www.Ms.WBL.com, Warren offers a way for other women to get involved in the game. The site includes a history of women in baseball, information about local teams, events, baseball fundamentals, coaching strategies, stories, research and opinions about the game.
Business needs a chain of command
Last year, the WBL had only four teams and things began to fall apart. Players stopped coming to games and others went home disgruntled.
The problem, Warren explains, was a lack of qualified coaches who could disseminate information. As volunteers, they lacked a vested interest in the league. This year, coaches will be paid.
There were also no channels through which she could deliver directives, and it felt as if she was reporting to 60 people every week.
“Last year I wanted so much to please everybody. You have to lead, because if you let everyone else lead, you get nowhere,” she says.
So Warren, a cadet in the National Guard, adopted a military approach for this year. The teams will be deeper to accommodate players who return to school toward the end of the playing season and Warren will hire dedicated coaches who can perform the job duties. She says it will be run more like a professional organization and less like a Sunday afternoon softball league.
Commissioner or CEO, every business needs a leader
The leadership vacuum among the coaches wasn’t the only problem. As the league founder, president, marketing director, commissioner, coach and player, Warren found herself spread thin. She simply couldn’t dedicate her full attention or energy to any one aspect. And the league suffered because of it.
The first step to rectifying the situation was the commitment to bring in qualified coaches. Warren’s next step was to hire Bloom Marketing as the public relations agency to promote the league. She also brought her sister aboard to handle some administrative and sales duties, and an intern to run the league when she is called away for National Guard duty.
The promotion arm is in full swing. The WBL recently sponsored the Citrus Blast in Orlando, Fla. The national women’s baseball tournament is held at Baseball City, spring training home to the Kansas City Royals.
WBL sponsorship of the tournament made it much more affordable for teams to participate, Warren says. That’s part of Warren’s overall strategy to make baseball accessible for women everywhere. And, while the gains she has made are incremental, Warren is clearly looking ahead to the future.
“I want my 2-year old daughter to have a place to play baseball when she grows older,” Warren says. “My daughter, Jasmine, symbolizes all of the other daughters from around the world who want a chance to participate.
“This is what MsWBL is all about, creating opportunities for the daughters of the world.”
How to reach: Women’s Baseball League Inc. (216) 381-2858 or www.MsWBL.com
Daniel G. Jacobs ([email protected]) is senior editor of SBN.
