Photographer brings women's baseball into focus
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Women play professional baseball around the world. Photo: Courtesy of Jean Fruth
Pretty much everyone knows the World Series is happening right now, but a local photographer is using her art to highlight lesser-known baseball.
The big picture: Women's baseball gets far less attention, but Jean Fruth is using photography to change that.
- Fruth shot Major League Baseball games for most of her career but now is aiming her lens at women's sports to spread awareness.
"Images have the power to shift perspectives or stir emotions, and if you feel moved by a woman's story, maybe it ignites an action," she told Axios. "Art is a form of activism."
Case in point: Fruth documented women playing baseball in Uganda for her book and documentary, both called "See Her Be Her."
- "Nobody knows women are playing baseball in Uganda or the adversity that they face," she said.
- Each woman's face carries the stress and poverty they endure, Fruth said.
- But you also see their power as they play baseball.
"The pictures are not about the sport; they're about the person, and you really feel something for her, and you're rooting for her," she said. "It's just falling in love with that athlete and saying, 'How can I help? What can I do?'"
Catch up quick: The Women's Pro Baseball League launched this summer with four teams in Boston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, but all the games are played in Illinois.
- It's the first time there has been professional women's baseball since the famous WWII league documented in "A League of Their Own."
- There are also more than 25 professional leagues across the world, including in Japan, Cuba and South Korea, and Fruth has documented them all.
Flashback: Fruth was a portrait photographer until her son started playing Little League.
- She coached his teams and also took photos.
- "I ended up shooting for local newspapers and then moved into pro sports," she said.
What's next: She's now documenting women's hockey.
Yes, but: Baseball is her favorite sport to shoot because of the stories, she said.
- "It has such a rich history and a way of connecting generations," she said. "What excites me now is helping tell the stories of women who love and play this game, and making sure the next generation of girls can see what's possible."