Watch highlights from the Telling Their Story panel at the 2023 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference

At the fifth annual SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference on October 1, 2023, the Telling Their Story panel included Shae Sloan and Missy Coombes of the Colorado Silver Bullets, Marlene Vogelsang, and moderator Kat Williams of the International Women’s Baseball Center.

Here are some highlights:

On the importance of recording stories from different perspectives

  • Williams: “I believe that we all have a … baseball story, an origin story, and every single one of them, particularly when it comes to women, every single one of them is important. … Baseball is all of us.”

On playing for the Colorado Silver Bullets

  • Sloan: “Playing for the Silver Bullets was the time of my life. … Playing sports has completely shaped my personality and character. Baseball has affected every single part of everything that I do.”

On her journey as a baseball fan

  • Vogelsang: “An invitation from a friend to an A’s game in 1971 was the beginning of an enduring love of the game. … There’s so much to learn about with baseball, so much to read about, and so much to enjoy, and these conferences share so much about it. I have friends who I would not know if it weren’t for baseball, and SABR, and the IWBC.”

On getting into baseball and why she still loves it

  • Coombes: “Baseball basically tells the history of our country. It’s a historical game that has so much rich history within it, and women in baseball have been part of it from the very beginning. … My very first love was a right-handed glove. Baseball was an escape … to be a part of something that was bigger than yourself.”

Transcription assistance by Enrique Montañez.

For more coverage of the 2023 SABR/IWBC Women in Baseball Conference, visit SABR.org/women-in-baseball-conference/2023.



Originally published: October 8, 2023. Last Updated: October 8, 2023.