USA Baseball recently announced that Baseball For All has joined the organization as its newest General Member. Baseball For All is a nonprofit organization focused on building gender equity in baseball by providing girls across America opportunities to play, coach and lead.

Prospective USA Baseball members are presented to the Board of Directors before being carefully reviewed and vetted by an internal committee. Selected members conduct programs in baseball or are organizations interested in the advancement of baseball in the United States and throughout the world.

Female baseball teams from the Baseball For All organization, like the L.A. Monarchs, who have representation in Temecula, will now be part of USA Baseball’s member organization. Valley News/Courtesy photo

“Baseball For All’s mission perfectly aligns with our core values as the national governing body for baseball in the United States and we are thrilled to welcome them as our newest general member,” Jenny Dalton-Hill, Chair of USA Baseball’s Membership Committee, said. “Baseball For All has contributed numerous opportunities for young girls across the United States to play baseball and has sustained tremendous growth in its brief history. We cannot wait to provide support to this organization and these young girls and celebrate their positive impact on the baseball landscape in our country.”

“It’s been a longtime goal for Baseball For All to become a USA Baseball member, and we are honored to be a part of this community,” Dr. Justine Siegal, Ph.D., said. “In 2019, about half of the USA Baseball Women’s National Team had previously participated in Baseball For All programming, and now, as members, we are so proud to be able to continue our work to create opportunities that will help build the future of baseball for girls.”

Baseball For All, which has ties to the Temecula Valley (Monarchs Baseball), is led by Dr. Justine Siegal, Ph.D. She was the first to throw batting practice for an MLB Club when she did so for Cleveland during Spring Training in 2011. In 2015, she became MLB’s first female coach when she served as a guest instructor at the Oakland Athletics’ fall instructional league for prospects. She then went on to earn a role as the Mental Performance Coach for Team Israel during the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in 2016. Siegal was named one of the top-100 people in MLB by USA Today in 2006, and her Oakland A’s jersey currently hangs in Cooperstown at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

For more information about Baseball For All, visit www.baseballforall.com.

JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.

JP Raineri
JP Raineri

JP is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and head of the Sports Department for the Valley News. Over his time in the Temecula Valley, JP, a former Southwestern League head baseball coach, was also an on-air radio personality at Q103.3, KATY 101.3, Hot 103.9, and was a television host for the Outdoor Channel. When not covering local, or national sports, JP also serves as an Associate Baseball Scout with NSR.