WPBL Prospects Chime In on the MLB Postseason
Future draftees share their favorite teams and players remaining
As we eagerly await the inaugural Women’s Pro Baseball League draft, thankfully there’s an interesting distraction on TV each night to help us pass the time: MLB playoff baseball.
Not every prospect in the WPBL draft pool follows Major League Baseball, but those who have been tuning in are enjoying this year’s drama. “The postseason is great,” RHP Claire O’Sullivan told me during our conversation on Instagram1. “It’s next level baseball and I love watching it.”
Over a dozen Canadians are on the draft list, and it’s no surprise who many of them are rooting for this October. “I have been brought up as a huge Blue Jays fan and so that is definitely who I am rooting for this postseason,” said Saskatchewan native RF Addie Ziebart. “I think this postseason has been really exciting with the Blue Jays beating the Yankees on their home turf … I’m excited to see how it plays out, but I’m hoping it’s with the Blue Jays winning a World Series!”
RHP Allie Bebbere is a Toronto Blue Jays fan like Ziebart, although as an Australian her path to fandom is a bit more unique. Bebbere was told to “pick a team” when she started playing baseball. She landed on the Blue Jays and has loved them since:
It’s kinda funny how I picked. My favourite TV show is Gilmore Girls2 and that was filmed in Ontario, so: Blue Jays.”
Bebbere says she is “very invested” this postseason and is hopeful the team’s good vibes and off-the-field bromances will lead to the first Blue Jays World Series win in her lifetime. “I know from personal experience that the fun you have with your teammates off the field can really help you on the field,” she said. “I’m excited to see these guys keep playing and I am rooting for them to take it all the way.”
Standing in the way of Bebbere and the Blue Jays’ dreams? The Seattle Mariners. C Alexia Jorge is a New York Yankees fan but she’s cheering for Seattle the rest of the way. “Cal Raleigh is an icon as a catcher in the league and I am rooting for him and the Mariners,” Jorge said. “I’m also a catcher so I’m biased, but he should be the AL MVP3.”
“I’m rooting for the Mariners,” said RHP Arwen McCullough. “I have family in Seattle and I love an underdog.”
As a Boston Red Sox fan who has “grown up hearing about championship droughts,” LF Stephanie Everett is on the Mariners train with McCullough. Everett said: “We love an underdog!”
McCullough said she was “on the edge of her seat the whole time” while watching the epic fifteen-inning Game 5 between the Mariners and Detroit Tigers. 2B Bella Villarreal from Newport, Michigan still loves her Tigers although she is disappointed with the loss. “They had it but lost it with the littlest things,” Villarreal said. “You can’t win a game without hitting and their hitting wasn’t there.”
Villarreal thinks top prospect Max Clark would be a “good fit” for the Tigers next year as they try to return to the playoffs. “[The team] is only getting better. They have risen out of nowhere, and they are not going to stop until they get that big win,” she said.
Like McCullough, familial connections inform 1B Micaela Minner’s rooting interests for the League Championship Series. A Cleveland Guardians fan at heart, Minner is pulling for the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance.
“My sister lives out in California and she’s a huge Dodgers fan, so I’ve got to represent for her,” Minner explained. “Plus, I just love watching Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts play – they make the game look effortless.”
Hoping for your favorite players to advance often informs the rooting interest of those without specific team allegiances. Like Minner, OF Elodie O’Sullivan loves watching Betts on the field: “I like that he does it all; he can play outfield and shortstop. He is a strong contact hitter. He isn’t your stereotypical guy who is huge in stature but he is so consistent.”
Thus, the O’Sullivan sisters are cheering for the Dodgers as Claire’s favorite player is Freddie Freeman. “I like the way he plays the game and the person that he is,” she said.
On the other side of the NLCS, 1B Sabrina Robinson is supporting the Milwaukee Brewers of all the teams remaining, saying, “I used to love the Yelli and Belli duo a few years back!”
“I was born in New York City and I’m a die hard Yankees fan, so that’s where my loyalty starts,” Robinson continued. “Once the Yankees were out, I started rooting for Philly since I coach girls from there and it just felt right to support their city … Overall it’s been a fun postseason to watch, but I’m definitely hoping for a different outcome next year.”
I’m with Sabrina – as I type this, my wife and I are getting ready to head to American Family Field to hopefully see the Brewers beat the Dodgers in NLCS Game 1. This year is the first time I’ve been able to watch Brewers playoff baseball in person, a real treat as we never made it to October when I was an employee with the team back in the day.
Who are you rooting for this postseason? Let me know in the comments below.
For full transparency: all comments and quotes from players in this article were collected via Instagram DMs. To everyone who replied, thank you for your time!
I loved this anecdote from Bebbere. Gilmore Girls is great! I’m watching it for the first time right now and we recently started season three. Last month I wrote about Connecticut as a possible location for the league. Could we see WPBL baseball games in Stars Hollow next year? 😉
I agree with Jorge’s MVP vote, and I think her thoughts are even more notable seeing as Yankees star Aaron Judge is Raleigh’s primary competition for the award.
Fingers Crossed for a Stars Hollow WPBL!