New women’s pro baseball league turns long-held dreams into reality at Red Sox spring home

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Kelsie Whitmore stood near third base at JetBlue Park and looked around at her new norm.

Women baseball players from around the world tossed balls back and forth, sharing laughs and taking pointers from major league coaches. In less than five months, they will play in the first women's professional baseball league in the United States in more than 70 years.

“I never thought this would ever happen for me in my prime career,” said Whitmore, a standout pitcher and outfielder who has won multiple medals playing for the U.S. women’s national baseball team. “I never thought it was ever going to happen, truly.”

Reality set in Wednesday for Whitmore and players from the Women's Pro Baseball League. The upstart league is taking part in a two-day event in Fort Myers, Florida, at the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox in preparation for the launch of its eight-week season on August 1.

The Red Sox have hosted women's baseball camps for a decade and welcomed several of the WPBL's stars for drills on Wednesday. Among them were veteran Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato and former Little League star Mo'ne Davis.

Davis, who at 13 became the first girl to earn a win and pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series, stayed close to coaches throughout the two-hour session to ask questions and refine her game. She left with plenty of helpful tips, including how to stay low in her hitting stance to generate power through her hips.

“This is another moment that I take when I go back home — what do I need to work on?” Davis said. “For me specifically is hitting approach. That’s the one I’m really focusing on because I want to be a better hitter. I want be a more consistent hitter. ... I appreciate all the coaches that helped today. Whatever question you had, they were open to answering it.”

The WPBL will also play an intrasquad scrimmage Thursday ahead of the Red Sox spring training game against the Minnesota Twins.

“These athletes have done something that hasn’t existed in 80 years,” said Shawn Smith, Red Sox general manager of Florida operations. “And they’re at the pinnacle of their craft right now only to get better. For us to be here — I feel like a little kid. I can’t describe it any other way.”

The WPBL is launching with four teams — Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York — this summer and will play a six-week regular season and two-week postseason at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.

The U.S. hadn't had a pro women’s league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League dissolved in 1954, but the WPBL is hoping to create a lasting path for women to play professional baseball. That's a rarity in the U.S., where opportunities beyond youth leagues have so often required girls to take unusual paths, most of them alongside men.

Whitmore is from San Diego and made her professional debut in the Bay Area with a coed team, the Sonoma Stompers, in 2016. The 27-year-old has won two silver medals representing the U.S. at the Women’s Baseball World Cup and won gold at the 2015 Pan-Am Games in Toronto.

Whitmore, the No. 1 overall selection to San Diego in the WPBL's inaugural draft, had grown accustomed to being the only woman on most teams and said she's often dreamt of what it would be like to play alongside other women.

Now that it's a reality, the hope is that this creates a pipeline that didn't exist for Whitmore and many of her peers.

“A lot of us women have created the path and created it without knowing what that looked like,” Whitmore said. “Now there is a path for them, and so these young girls have something to look forward to.”

AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Ayami Sato pitches during a Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) practice, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A player hits during a Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) practice, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Mo'ne Davis fields a ball during a Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) practice, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Mo'ne Davis fields a ball during a Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) practice, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Kelsie Whitmore talks with another player as they use resistance bands during a Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) practice, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi has reached another milestone, getting his 900th career goal in the opening minutes of Inter Miami's CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 match against Nashville on Wednesday night.

The back-to-back Major League Soccer MVP, eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and World Cup champion got it as would be expected — with his left foot, like the majority of his career goals for club and country. He took a pass in the middle of the box in the seventh minute, controlled the ball, spun and lined a low shot through a maze of defenders and into the far corner of the net.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the only other men's player with more than 900 goals — at least, by official counts. It took Ronaldo about 100 more matches to get to the milestone than Messi needed; Ronaldo was 39 when he got to 900 goals in September 2024, while Messi doesn't turn 39 until June.

There are some who have suggested Brazilian legend Pelé topped 1,000 goals for his career, though his “official” total is closer to 800. Different sources, counting different sets of games, list Pelé’s goal totals anywhere from around 650 in league matches to somewhere near 1,300 in all matches — some against low-level competition.

It was a night where Messi surely didn't feel like celebrating. Nashville tied Inter Miami 1-1, advancing to the tournament quarterfinals on an away-goal tiebreaker. The teams played to a 0-0 tie in Nashville last week, the opening leg of the Round of 16 matchup.

Messi remains the game's most popular and most-followed player. His No. 10 Inter Miami jersey has been the bestseller in the league since he arrived in MLS, and everything he does becomes major news in all corners of the soccer world.

This milestone joins countless other awards and accomplishments over Messi’s career, including eight Pichichi trophies as La Liga’s top scorer, six La Liga best player nods, three Best FIFA Men’s Player awards, three UEFA Men’s Player of the Year wins, two FIFA World Cup Golden Balls and no fewer than 15 selections as Argentina’s best player in a given year.

Messi has also been part of winning 47 trophies for club and country — including the 2022 World Cup for Argentina and last season's MLS title with Inter Miami — making him the most decorated player the men’s game has ever seen. He is likely to play again for Argentina this summer when the World Cup is held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“The reality,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said late last season, “is that Leo clears all doubts.”

More than half of Messi's goals came with Barcelona, the place he played for nearly two decades. He joined Inter Miami in 2023, was under contract through the end of last season originally and now has a new deal stretching into 2028.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) aims to score his 900th goal during a CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 soccer match against Nashville, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) aims to score his 900th goal during a CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 soccer match against Nashville, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi gestures after scoring his 900th goal during a CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 soccer match against Nashville, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi leaves the field in the rain after a draw against Nashville SC in a CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 soccer match, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)