Imagine a time when Major League Baseball has imploded under the weight of its own making-a scandal over hall of fame elections-and has been forced to restructure on a new model. Teams are now owned and run by the cities in which they play, and in addition to playing baseball, players must work as city employees. In New York, the team's first baseman also works as a NYPD plainclothes detective.
When the mayor recruits local businesswoman, Veronica Silvers, aka Nica, to become the new Yankees general manager, it's seen as a new era for women and for baseball. And Nica meets the challenge when she signs a young talented left-handed hurler to the big club. Ellie Ford is the granddaughter of legendary Yankee players Whitey Ford and Elston Howard.
Despite Ellie's talent, not everyone is rooting for her. The city's male management secretly wants the team to fail for financial reasons. When they demand that Ellie is benched, Nica must stand up to them. With the help of rookie sports writer Beth Cooper, Nica allows Ellie to prove that women are strong and talented enough to excel in the male-dominated world of professional baseball.
In
Pinstripes
, Rutkoff, author of
Shadow Ball
, imagines the New New York Yankees and the opportunities that MLB 2.0 will offer to women for the first time.