Addisyn Baird was competing in a hockey tournament when she was drafted to the Women’s Professional Baseball League by the Los Angeles Queens. The 18-year-old didn’t find out for 30 minutes after she was drafted when the game ended that her life was about to change.
Baird stands out amongst her teammates and competitors in the WPBL. For one, she’s the only rostered player who is still enrolled in high school. Baird re-classed last year to repeat her junior year when transferring to The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa. This past year, Baird played hockey, junior-varsity baseball and softball for the school, making her a three-sport athlete.
Because of her experience juggling multiple sports at once, Baird wasn’t worried about taking on the WPBL schedule amidst her senior year of high school. She just wanted an opportunity to compete in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“I knew I could take [the WPBL] on just as it panned out summer-wise, just because I still have school,” Baird told The IX Sports. “I’ve been doing these women’s events, so I never wanted to stop doing them, I just kept carrying on over. The next big thing was trying out [for the WPBL]. So I was like ‘O.K., I want to try out.’”
It was even more fitting for Baird’s journey to be playing in a high school hockey tournament last winter when she got the WPBL call. The then-junior was obviously excited to join the inaugural season, but her focus remained on the present, which was on her next hockey game.
“I was very happy, very excited, but I also knew that this was coming in the future. So, I still have to live in the moment,” Baird said. “I had a hockey game the next day as well, so I was very locked in. Like ‘This is so cool, but I have a game tomorrow, so I need to be locked in on that as well.’”
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Baird didn’t make her WPBL debut until Sept. 3 when the Queens called her up after shortstop Thaima Maximiliana needed to leave to compete in softball in her home country of Curacao. Baird started at shortstop in the 18–7 loss to the New York Heights that Thursday.
Travis Baird, Addisyn’s father, drove his daughter the 20 hours to Springfield, Ill., once she got the call-up. He’s used to driving her many hours each week to make practices for hockey and baseball, though.
“It’s definitely been a challenge, and part of it is the schedule, part of it is the machismo attitude of playing baseball,” Travis told The IX Sports. Regardless of the challenge, the Bairds have made it work. “She’s growing up really fast, it is really cool to watch. I miss her a ton, I did not expect her to go away early.”
By stepping onto the field that day, Baird made history by becoming the first high schooler to play in the WPBL. However, making history also comes with a lot of uncharted territory.
For starters, Baird’s high school board had to vote on whether she could even compete professionally and how that would impact her schoolwork and eligibility moving forward. Now, looking towards the future as Baird prepares to start college next year, there’s uncertainty about what sports she’ll be able to compete in.
Baird doesn’t necessarily want to play baseball in college, though. She is prioritizing playing hockey collegiately, and then softball, if the NCAA allows it based on her time in the WPBL. But Baird would want to continue playing in the WPBL, if possible.
“Baseball-wise, definitely if this league continues, I’d love to keep playing in it,” Baird said. “I’ve had a great experience so far.”
If, for some reason, Baird doesn’t continue her baseball career, it would still be a pretty incredible to end a lifelong journey of playing the sport. It all started when she was four years old playing tee ball with her younger brother. Baseball was a family affair of sorts as her dad remained her coach for a decade. Baird never really showed interest in playing softball—baseball was where her heart lay.
She definitely dealt with comments throughout her childhood that most, if not all, members of the WPBL could relate to. Travis highlighted the three main questions he was always asked while watching his daughter compete in baseball:
1. Is that a girl?
2. Do you mean she plays softball, not baseball?
3. Well, is she going to play softball?
All of this questioning in her life has led Baird to be humble about her sports experiences.
“She’s a diamond,” Travis said. “She’s been formed from so much pressure that she doesn’t even understand what it’s like. She doesn’t even understand all of this. She’s like, ‘Dad, I’m just a normal kid, this is nothing.’”
The pressure Travis mentions includes the fact that all eyes were and are always on Addisyn when she runs onto the field amongst an all-boys team. As her coach, Travis made sure to highlight to the boys the obstacles his daughter faced that they would never have to worry about.
“I said, ‘Do you know what happens to Addiysn?’ [One player] goes ‘No, coach.’ ‘Addisyn makes a bad play, and she’s a girl. Addisyn has a horrible game, it’s because she’s a girl. Addisyn doesn’t have that luxury. Every time Addisyn steps onto the field, it’s Game 7 of the World Series. All eyes are on her. If she messes up, it’s because she’s a girl,’” Travis said. “She has that kind of pressure on her all of the time.”
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Baird was never “anti-softball,” per se, she just recognized that softball and baseball are completely different sports. She ended up trying softball last summer, and now plans to stick with it if she can.
Her experience competing with and against boys for so long built up her confidence and ability in the game, her dad said.
“She catches for the boys, she has no problem catching 85-mph, and she throws the boys out,” Travis said. “She’s awesome. She’s had quite the experience.”
The WPBL isn’t Baird’s first time competing with and against solely women, though. She participated in Baseball For All, the all-girls baseball organization founded by Justine Siegal, who helped establish the WPBL. Baseball For All led Baird to compete in Japan and the Philippines in her teen years. Those experiences helped draw Baird’s interest to the WPBL, where she could once again play baseball with women.
When arriving in Springfield, Baird was quickly welcomed and established on the Queens roster. She knew some of her teammates beforehand, but really got to know them in the short time she had with them.
For instance, Isabella Villarreal became Baird’s driver since she didn’t have a car. Villarreal helped acclimate Baird to the team and the league. At the plate, Sarah Edwards gave Baird hitting advice. While practicing, Ashton Lansdell became her throwing partner when she didn’t have one. Then, ahead of Baird’s debut on Sept. 3, Mo’ne Davis hyped her up by saying, “Hey, you’re here, let’s do it.”
Baird is extremely grateful for everything her older teammates are teaching her.
“There’s some things that the older women see that you may not see yet just cuz you’re younger without the experience,” Baird said. “Or, even if you’re swinging and your hands are dropping, and you don’t realize your hands are dropping, if you want the advice, they will willingly give that to you. They’ll be like, ‘Hey, let’s try this drill instead.’ They’re really welcoming and really trying to help you for the benefit of the team and helping you out.”
Baird truly is one-of-a-kind as she balances playing three sports, one of which on a professional level, all while keeping up on her schoolwork. Her three high school coaches revelled on her in a recent press release from The Hill School, with her hockey coach Ari Baum saying this:
“What is most noteworthy to me about Addisyn’s accomplishments is that they are all interconnected,” Baum said. “She is a better hockey player, by putting time and effort into excelling at softball, while also dedicating such clear energy to her classwork. In a sports world where there are fewer and fewer examples of true student-athletes, Addisyn Baird has proven something extremely important.”
Baird could potentially add “WPBL champion” to her ever-growing résumé here soon as the Queens face the San Francisco Firebells in the championship series this week.
