AUSTIN, TX — The San Diego Padres have announced an all-female expansion team based in Austin. The Madres will be made up entirely of the country's best female ballplayers of Mexican heritage.
"This is a historic moment for baseball and for women in sports," said Padres principal owner Peter Sidewinder. Asked how one MLB club can own another, Sidewinder pointed out that nothing in the rulebook says a team can't have a mother.
The Madres will play in the American League West against the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Angels. General manager A.J. Pratley is confident. "We scoured the country for the best female talent," he said, "and we found a team that can compete with anyone."
The roster includes hard-throwing pitchers, slick-fielding infielders and power-hitting outfielders. The manager is former Olympic softball gold medalist Josefina Mendrake. "This is more than a baseball team," Mendrake said. "It's a movement."
The inaugural season opens in spring 2025. Home games will be played in a new downtown stadium built inside a decommissioned Buc-ee's, which the team says keeps the brisket stand and all 120 gas pumps.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manifold called the Madres "the future of baseball."
