, EXACTLY. YOU NEED TO HAVE A SPLASHY ANIMALS HAVE WON. ALL
RIGHT. WE'LL SEE YOU IN A BIT.
MORRIS HEY, AFTER A TWEET
INSPIRING HIS DAUGHTER TO PLAY
BASEBALL, A LOCAL DATA ENDED UP
WRITING A BOOK ABOUT EVERYONE
BEING ABLE TO PLAY BALL. THAT'S
RIGHT. THE BOOK IS CALLED YES,
PEPPER GIRLS PLAY BASEBALL, TOO,
AND WE HAVE THE AUTHOR JASON
KLEIN HERE TO TELL US MORE ABOUT
A GOOD MORNING, JASON. GOOD
MORNING TO CALL SCOTT. THANKS SO
MUCH FOR HAVING ME TODAY.
PLEASURE ALRIGHT, SO TELL US
WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT. IT'S
SURE. SO YES, PEPPER. I WROTE
THE BOOK TO EMPOWER YOUNG GIRLS
WHO WANT TO PLAY BASEBALL. UM
BUT THE MESSAGE OF INCLUSION
ACTUALLY GOES BEYOND THE GAME OF
BASEBALL. UM THIS IS REALLY A
BOOK ABOUT INCLUSION AND
INSPIRING YOUNG GIRLS TO DO WHAT
MAKES THEM HAPPY, REGARDLESS OF
ANY PUSHBACK FROM SOCIETY. UM
THE MAIN CHARACTER. ABBY IS A
LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN MOST
OF HER PEERS. SHE LIKES BASEBALL
. UM AND THE BOYS AT SCHOOL.
TELL HER THAT SHE CAN'T PLAY
WITH THEM BECAUSE SHE'S A GIRL.
SO NATURALLY, THIS LEAVES HER
FEELING A LITTLE BIT LONELY AND
INSECURE. UM SO THE BOOK KIND OF
FOLLOWS HER JOURNEY AS SHE DEALS
WITH THESE INITIAL INSECURITIES
, UM, ULTIMATELY ACCEPTS WHAT
MAKES HER DIFFERENT. AND GAINS
THE CONFIDENCE SHE NEEDS TO GO
AHEAD AND PLAY AND THE ENDING. I
THINK MOST READERS WILL FIND
VERY INSPIRING. NOW JASON UM YOU
KNOW, I GREW UP PLAYING SOFTBALL
, SO BASEBALL WASN'T EVEN A
THING. OR YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU
KNOW IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE
BOYS PLAYED TAKE US BACK TO THE
MOMENT THAT STARTED ALL THIS.
THAT TWEETED RIGHT. YOUR
DAUGHTER WANTED TO PLAY
BASEBALL. JASON IS FROZEN IN
TIME. THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE OH,
IS HE COMING BACK? GO AHEAD,
JASON. SORRY WE LOST YOU FOR A
LITTLE BIT. THAT'S OKAY. I'M
HERE. ALL RIGHT, SO WE WERE
TALKING ABOUT THAT TWEET, RIGHT?
YES SO I HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS. EVA
IS 12 AND JADE IS EIGHT AND A
FEW YEARS BACK. IT HAD COME TO
ME AND EXPRESSED SOME INTEREST
IN PLAYING BASEBALL. AND SHE BUT
BEFORE WE SIGNED HER UP, SHE
ACTUALLY SAID TO ME, YOU KNOW,
DAD IS BASEBALL SUPPORT. THE
GIRLS CAN PLAY TOO. MHM AND MY
WIFE AND I HAVE MADE IT A
PRIORITY OF OURS TO RAISE BOTH
OUR DAUGHTERS TO, YOU KNOW, NOT
ONLY BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, BUT
TO ALWAYS DO WHAT MAKES THEM
HAPPY. SO WHEN SHE HAD THESE
INITIAL CONCERNS, AN EXPERIMENT
I WENT ON TWITTER AND I ENDED UP
POSTING HER CONCERNS LOOKING FOR
RETWEETS FROM ANYBODY WHO YOU
KNOW WHO SUPPORTED THE IDEA OF
GIRLS PLAYING BASEBALL. AND I
WAS REALLY HOPING TO GET A
HANDFUL OF PEOPLE RESPOND AND
JUST SOMETHING TO SHOW HER AND
HELP MOTIVATE HER AND I ENDED UP
HEARING FROM OVER 100,000
PEOPLE. WOW. MAJOR LEAGUE
BASEBALL LITTLE LEAGUE
INTERNATIONAL USA WOMEN'S
BASEBALL. THEY ALL REACHED OUT
TO ME, UH, I HAD A WRITER FROM
THE WASHINGTON POST CONTACT US
AND HE WROTE A FEATURE PIECE ON
US, UM, SO THE WHOLE RESPONSE
WAS SO OVERWHELMING AND BUT
HONESTLY, THE THING THAT REALLY
IMPACTED ME THE MOST WAS I HEARD
FROM THOUSANDS OF EVERYDAY
PARENTS. YEAH THE COUNTRY WHO
YOU KNOW THEY'RE NOT ONLY WANTED
TO LEND THEIR SUPPORT FOR EVA.
UM THEY ALSO WANTED TO SHARE
THEIR STORIES ABOUT THEIR OWN
DAUGHTERS AND THEIR JOURNEYS
THROUGH BASEBALL. AND UM, THAT
HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON ME. AND IT
REALLY PROVED THAT THERE WAS A
NEED FOR A BOOK LIKE THIS OUT
THERE, SO THAT WAS A MAJOR
REASON WHY I DECIDED TO WRITE
IT. OKAY I WAS GOING TO SAY IT'S
HUGE BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THIS IS A
BOOK LIKE THIS IS REALLY KIND OF
SQUASHING THOSE SOCIAL STIGMAS
SURROUNDING GIRLS IN BASEBALL,
RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY. I
MEAN, IT'S A STIGMA AND YOU KNOW
THE MAIN CHARACTER. HER NAME IS
ABBY. LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER,
AND SHE SHE STRUGGLES WITH SOME
OF THESE INSECURITIES AND DOUBTS
, UM, THAT GO ALONG WITH
SOCIETY'S STIGMA. UM, AND A LOT
OF US DEAL WITH THOSE ON AN
EVERYDAY BASIS. UM, BUT THE COOL
THING IS THROUGHOUT THE STORY.
SHE KIND OF REALIZES THAT A LOT
OF THIS IS JUST IN HER HEAD,
WHICH MAKES HER VERY RELATABLE
CHARACTER FOR YOUNG GIRLS TO
APPRECIATE. UM AND, YOU KNOW, I
THINK THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY A
GREAT STORY FOR BOYS TO READ,
TOO, BECAUSE IT KIND OF YOU KNOW
IS PROVIDES A BLUEPRINT ON HOW
TO, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY TREAT
PEOPLE WITH RESPECT BUT ALSO BE
MORE ACCEPTING OF PEOPLE WHO ARE
A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN YOU ARE,
UM ALL GREAT THINGS TO INSTILL
AT A YOUNG AGE AND YOU KNOW AND
NORMALIZE AND I'M I'M JUST PROUD
THAT MY BOOK CAN SOMEHOW YOU
KNOW, DO THIS TO A SMALL DEGREE
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROXY LYNN ARE
INCREDIBLE AS WELL. JASON, WE
CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR BEING
WITH US ON THE SHOW. THANK YOU
SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME GUYS. I
REALLY APPRECIATE IT. ALRIGHT
ALRIGHT. AND THAT BOOK, BY THE
WAY IS AVAILABLE AT TARGET TOO.
WHICH IS GREAT, AWESOME.
CONGRATS, JASON