7/22/26 - 7/26/26

What a week.

Five days, 15 games. Six countries. Hundreds of conversations. Thousands of photos. More baseball than one could shake a stick at.

Somewhere along the way, the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup became more than just another event I was covering. I left with a notebook full of observations and more appreciation for the game. I had an absolute blast spending time with players from different countries with different languages, but with the same baseball people.

I have two daughters- 24 and 26 -and found out the day before the tournament started that my oldest is expecting her first child; naturally a girl. As I began shooting, my perspective shifted. I found myself thinking a little less about results and a little more about what these women are building for the girls watching from the stands. My daughters didn’t play baseball or softball- maybe the newest edition will. And she’ll have plenty of people to look up to if she does. I have the photos and conversations to prove it

8/1/26-8/2/26: Springfield, IL. The Women’s Pro Baseball League held its inaugural games this past weekend, and I’ll be there every couple of weeks through the end of the season, documenting the season.

Go Baseball.

The sound of the tournament- You hear the tournament before you fully understand it. English. French. Korean. Cantonese. Spanish. Australian accents. Dugout chatter traveling farther than usual in a quiet ballpark.

Canada- The Canadian dugout has its own rhythm. French phrases, sharp little bursts of chatter, and sounds that carry across the field even when I have no idea what is being said. I thought I heard someone yell garçon. I could be wrong. Either way, they were chirping.

The ball sounds different- the ball comes off Team USA’s bats differently. The lineup feels like an SEC team dropped into a tournament where most opponents do not have the same depth, power, or margin for error. They wait. Then they punish mistakes.

Hong Kong, China-USA scored 13 runs in the first inning against Hong Kong. That was the expected part. What mattered more was watching Hong Kong continue talking, moving, and encouraging one another after the game had already gotten away from them.

Uneven games- International baseball is not always balanced. Some teams have deeper pitching staffs, better facilities, more funding, and generations of infrastructure behind them. Others are still building. They all still showed up.

The loudest sound- The loudest sound in a quiet ballpark might be a pitch hitting a batter. Not a crack. More like a deep clap that travels through the entire stadium. You feel it before the crowd reacts.

Jamie Bastian, Catcher, Team Australia, after being hit by a pitch. Photos by Chris Rodriguez

Too deep- A lot of balls fell into the outfield this week that probably should not have. The decision to play in or save an extra-base hit was real. Soft contact became hits because nobody was close enough to catch it quite a few times.

Australia- Australia played with feel. They read situations well, stayed patient at the plate, and seemed comfortable letting the game come to them. Even when a moment got away from them, the instincts were still visible.

Broccoli- The Australians wanted vegetables. They complained about how processed the food felt and celebrated when they finally found broccoli at Panda Express. They also recommended not ordering fish in northern Illinois.

Access- Players stayed after games. They ate in the stands, watched other teams, signed autographs, talked with kids, and spent time around the park. Australia and Canada did it constantly. Mexico sat in the crowd watching the Korea and Hong Kong-China teams. That accessibility was one of the best parts of the week.

Team USA- From the outside, a player described Team USA as exactly what people expect Team USA to be. Loud, confident, boisterous. Extremely American. The description was of a group of strong individuals who play well together but do not always appear as connected as some of the other teams. That is one perspective, not a definitive conclusion. But parts of it were noticeable.

After the game- Not every team remained around the ballpark in the same way. Some stayed for a while. Some disappeared rather quickly. That does not tell you everything about a team, but it does give you a glimpse into how each group moved through the tournament.

The girls in the stands- There were girls everywhere wearing baseball jerseys. Not softball jerseys. Baseball jerseys. The sport does not need anyone to invent an audience for it. The audience is already here.

Photos- I gave players access to the photos without charging per image. I included a Venmo link, but made it clear that nobody owed me anything. Back in 2021 when I was living in Arizona and shooting complex league games, a player told me he never had a photo of himself in his Cubs uniform. At that moment, I decided to let the kids have them.

Media- The baseball deserved better media coverage than it received, officially. The event felt overcontrolled in some places and underprepared in others. There were restrictions, while field access did not seem connected to production. The stories were better than the operation built around them. That made me go even harder with the photos.

The Gray- The games mattered, and the scores mattered. But most of what I will remember happened before the first pitch, between innings or after the final out. That’s where baseball kept happening; in the gray.

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If your organization, league, team, or brand is looking for documentary-style photography, editorial storytelling, interviews, or event coverage, I’d love to talk. DM or email: crod@9inningnomad.com

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