On a recent trip to the Pawtucket Boys and Girls Club, I photographed two fields and posted the photos on social media.  One of the fields caught the eye of a Facebook member who messaged me “Hey that’s where the Slaterettes play, you should do an article on them.”  I was intrigued and followed up with that poster, who led me to Deb Bettencourt.  Deb is the player agent for the Pawtucket Slatterettes Girls and Womens Baseball League.  I mentioned to Deb that my elementary school teacher was Wilma Briggs, who was a member of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League and then we started a fantastic dialogue about girls baseball, the legacy of the Slaterettes, and why crying is allowed in baseball.  Here is an excerpt from our conversation.  And following our conversation, there are some links so you can learn more about the Pawtucket Slaterettes Baseball League.

he past several months, The RIBBE has visited just about every Little League® town in Rhode Island.  My goal is to promote every Little League® organization, celebrate the great work of volunteers, and help introduce people, sponsors, places, and events to as wide an audience as possible.  There are so many great individuals from Westerly to Smithfield, Woonsocket to Chariho, and all those great towns, cities, and villages in between.  Most of these individuals are responsible for the maintenance, upgrades, and signage at their local Little League® ball fields.  Most have worked tirelessly so their sons and daughters could play in a safe and rewarding environment.  And now, most are continuing to work on these fields even after their child has “graduated” out of Little League®.  The people I have met in this journey to photograph and catalog these fields are tremendous in character and deserve to be recognized.