Abigail Moore: Breaking Barriers

From left, Arlington High School baseball head coach Brian Womack, Abby Moore, and Gloria Rogers. (Arlington High School Instagram)

 

Abby Moore has played baseball in her hometown of Arlington, Texas, since she was four years old, and now the high school student is making a splash on the national stage in women’s baseball. Moore got her start with the North Arlington Little League and loved the experience from day one. She took one swing of the bat and said she was hooked, and she stuck with baseball over the years, even when many of her friends made the switch to softball. This led to her playing baseball at Arlington High School, where she also plays basketball. Baseball coach Brian Womack had never had a girl try out for his team, but as a father of two daughters was willing to give the idea a try when Moore showed up before she entered ninth grade.1

Moore’s hard work paid off and she made the JV baseball team her freshman year, where she caught and played the outfield.2 Making the JV team made her the first woman to ever play baseball at her school. She did not play her sophomore year after tearing her ACL playing basketball. Moore says she loves the strategy of the game. “It’s a slow game. I feel like you’re really in control,” she said. “Especially as a catcher, you control the game. Everything is always in your hands. The scales can flip at any time. Nothing’s ever too far out of reach.”3

Moore’s baseball career until 2024 had all been played with boys. She never really let that bother her; she acknowledged she has received lots of negative comments from opposing teams, but has always had the support of her own teammates. Often the reaction of other teams is initially just surprise, especially when she is catching. Being behind the plate puts her at the center of all the action.

Moore had the opportunity to attend a catcher’s clinic put on by Anna Kimbrell, catcher for the USA Women’s National (baseball) Team. Even there, Moore was the only girl who attended, but that connection to Kimbrell opened up the door for her to be selected to play in the All-American Women’s Baseball Classic, an annual tournament organized by American Girls Baseball, a Florida-based organization promoting baseball for girls and women that was founded by Sue Zipay, who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for the Rockford Peaches, 1953-54.4

Moore also had another chance to connect with women’s baseball history when she was introduced by a neighbor to another former Rockford Peach, Gloria McCloskey Rogers, who played in 1953.5 Rogers, who grew up in Missouri, now lives in North Texas and has become a big supporter of Moore, even attending her high school baseball games when she can.6 Rogers, who is almost 90, still travels around to help promote the game for girls and women.

The All-American Women’s Baseball Classic became Moore’s first chance to play on an all-women’s team. The event—which was hosted by the Baltimore Orioles at their spring training facility in 2022 and 20237—was held in 2024 in Durham, North Carolina, at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. She was chosen as one of 60 players taking part, and one of only a few high school players in the tournament. The rest were in college or beyond, including 13 who have played for the USWNT.8

Moore is playing varsity girls basketball again in 2025, as a starting guard, and has set her sights on college baseball next. Moore, who ranked second in her junior class, hopes to be able to study engineering and play baseball in college at Texas A & M, but understands that the scholarships currently are for softball.11 Perhaps in the future there might even be a women’s professional team that Moore can aspire to, as the WPBL, Women’s Pro Baseball League, is currently set to launch in 2026.12 “I think it’s time for a change,” said Rogers about the new league. “I don’t have to worry about Abby. She’s not gonna quit!”13

Moore says her parents have been her greatest support, making all the sacrifices needed for her to be able to continue to follow her dream of playing baseball at the highest levels she can reach. Her advice for any young girl wanting to play baseball, is this: “Don’t let negativity get to you, and surround yourself with people who will support you and lift you up.”14

LESLIE HEAPHY is an associate professor of history at Kent State University at Stark and has been a SABR member since 1989. She has written extensively about the Negro Leagues and Women’s baseball. Leslie currently serves as the SABR Women in baseball committee chair and as the president of the Board for the IWBC. She is a lifelong Mets fan!!

CECILIA M. TAN joined SABR in 2002 and has not missed a SABR national convention since. She has somehow become SABR’s longest-serving Publications Director (since 2011). She has seen every current major league team play a home game except for Milwaukee and Detroit.

 

Notes

1. “Arlington High School Student Abby Moore Plays in All-American Women’s Baseball Classic,” Arlington Independent School District website, District News, October 29, 2024, https://www.aisd.net/district-news/arlington-high-student-abby-moore-plays-in-all-american-womens-baseball-classic/, accessed February 25, 2025.

2. Sylvia Gutierrez, “Baseball for All: Female Joins JV2 Baseball Team,” The Colt (Arlington high school newspaper), April 5, 2023, https://www.coltnews.com/2023/04/baseball-for-all-female-joins-jv2-baseball-team/, accessed April 26, 2022.

3. “Arlington High School Student Abby Moore Plays in All-American Women’s Baseball Classic.”

4. Sue Zipay Player Profile, AAGBPL website, https://www.aagpbl.org/profiles/sue-parsons-zipay/472, accessed April 26, 2025; American Girls Baseball, “About American Girls Baseball,” https://americangirlsbaseball.org/about/, accessed April 26, 2025.

5. Gloria McCloskey Rogers Player Profile, AAGBPL website, https://www.aagpbl.org/profiles/gloria-mccloskey-rogers-mac/207, accessed April 26, 2025.

6. Katherine Lusby, “Baseball Player to Play in All-American Women’s Baseball Classic,” The Colt, October 1, 2024, https://www.colt-news.com/2024/10/baseball-player-to-play-in-all-american-womens-baseball-classic/, accessed March 1, 2025.

7. “All American Women’s Baseball Classic at Ed Smith Stadium, MLB.com, https://www.mlb.com/orioles/spring-training/all-american-womens-baseball-classic, accessed April 26, 2024.

8. Melanie Martinez-Lopes, “All-American Women’s Baseball Classic honors—and Makes—History,” MLB.com, October 31, 2024, https://www.mlb.com/news/all-american-womens-baseball-classic-2024, accessed April 26, 2025.

9. “Third Annual All-American Women’s Baseball Classic Results,” American Girls Baseball, https://americangirlsbaseball.org/third-annual-all-american-womens-baseball-classic/, accessed April 28, 2025.

10. Martinez-Lopes, “All-American Women’s Baseball Classic honors—and Makes—History.”

11. Lusby, “Baseball Player to Play in All-American Women’s Baseball Classic.”

12. Alanis Thames, “Women’s Baseball Players Could Soon Have a League of Their Own Again,” AP News, November 13, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/womens-pro-baseball-league-2026-e572ee8481c4e0ba3f2b611eaf47f9cd, accessed April 26, 2025.

13. Noelle Walker, “Arlington High School Baseball Players Hopes for a ‘League of Her Own’ One Day” NBC DFW 5, October 23, 2024, https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/arlington-hs-baseball-player-hopes-for-a-league-of-her-own-one-day/, accessed April 26, 2025.

14. Lusby, “Baseball Player to Play in All-American Women’s Baseball Classic.”