It’s always a pleasure to speak with Jean Fruth. Whatever project she takes on is full of passion, whether it’s photographing baseball across small town America (Grassroots Baseball: Route 66) or talking with some of the greats of the game about how they got their start (Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin), or, in her latest project, how women are overcoming stereotypes and other adversities to become a larger part of the game as players.
Her new documentary and book, See Her Be Her, follows several women on teams competing in the most recent Women’s Baseball World Cup. They came from all over the world: Japan, Canada, Australia, the U.S., and Cuba, to name just a few. There is even a baseball presence in Uganda, which might be the most interesting story.
For all the questions in our latest Conversation, I forgot to ask about the meaning of the title.
“Every girl should have the chance to dream. Dream to be at the highest level, whatever that may be,” Fruth wrote in a follow-up e-mail.
“When boys go to a baseball game, some of them have the dream to be a major league baseball player. When they see their older brother playing high school baseball, they dream of doing that.
“When girls go to an Oakland Ballers game and they see Kelsie Whitmore pitch, they say, ‘Wow, maybe I can do that.’ When they see Alyssa Nakken coaching first base for the San Francisco Giants, they say, ‘Wow, maybe I can do that. When they go to a game in Baltimore and see Nicole Sherry as head groundskeeper taking care of the field, they say, ‘Wow a girl can do that, maybe I can do that.'”
See Her Be Her will be making the rounds this year after making its debut on the MLB Network. According to a press release on the Grass Roots website,
The 2025 12-city SEE HER BE HER Tour will coincide with the Major League Baseball season, kicking off in February when pitchers and catchers report, and concluding in the fall, when a World Series champion is crowned.
Each tour stop will include a screening followed by a Q&A with a panel of women baseball experts and book signing of Grassroots Baseball’s companion book, “See Her Be Her.” Proceeds from ticket and book sales will benefit Little League International’s “Girls with Game” program to increase opportunities for girls in baseball. All students, eight years of age and older, will be admitted free of charge.
You can see the trailer for See Her Be Her here.
And here’s the audio version:
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