The NBA isn't the only major league sport going the way of the ladies. On Thursday, Major League Baseball announced that it's investing in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, a women's softball league that's debuting next month, per CBS. "We've been very engaged in the softball space as part of our youth participation programs, and the growing popularity in women's sports motivated us to look around," MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred said during an appearance on CBS Mornings. "We looked at startups, we looked at making an investment, and we thought AUSL was a great fit for us."
Kim Ng, who has at least a decade of MLB work experience under her belt, will serve as commissioner of the new league. An MLB release notes that Ng was the first female GM of a major men's pro sports team (the Miami Marlins) and served as senior VP of baseball operations for MLB. The new league will feature four teams—the Bandits, Blaze, Talons, and Volts—competing against each other in a 24-game season. The league plans to expand to six teams and be city-based by 2026, per the AP. Opening day is June 7, with the season stretching through the end of July, when the championship series will be held at the University of Alabama.
Exactly how much MLB invested is unclear, though those funds will help take care of operational and promotional costs, including marketing, sales, and social media. It seemed to be more viable for Major League Baseball to put its money into the AUSL than start a whole new league of its own, according to Manfred. "Finding a place where we could invest and grow a business was a better opportunity," he said. Manfred added that MLB chose to invest in women's softball over baseball, as the softball infrastructure was already well established. "We thought that we could get to the point of having a sustainable league much quicker with softball," he said Thursday, per CBS. More here about the new league from MLB. (More MLB stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
