Women Leading Baseball
Bellingham Bell’s very own all-female executive team
Story & Photo by KATIE WEBBER
The Bellingham Bells may seem like any other summer collegiate baseball team but there is more work that goes on behind the scenes. Responsibilities that come with being a general manager and assistant general manager include running a business, staff, team, restaurant, sales and ticket operations.
Stephanie Morrell joined the Bellingham Bells in 2013 and is going into her third season as general manager for the baseball team. Haily Tift has been with the Bells since 2016 and was promoted to assistant general manager in December 2017.
Together the two make the only all-female executive team in the West Coast League. The league is made up of 11 teams all from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. The Corvallis Knights are the only other team with a female general manager.
When asked if she has experienced any challenges or negativity in her career for being a woman, Morrell automatically laughed, saying, “Yeah, of course. I think it’s one of those things. It’s out there. It’s different for people, women working in sports. It’s something I’ve dealt with along the way, but you kind of just let it roll off.”
Morrell’s first year with the team was the worst in regards to experiencing sexism, she said and she doesn’t have to deal with it anymore.
“People say things to you that they would never say to a man,” Morrell said. “It’s out there, and I think if anybody tells you that it’s not, they’re probably not being truthful.”
There are some nonsexist-based challenges of being a woman in their jobs they face on occasion that can’t be avoided but can be easily resolved with help from the team.
The Bells are a team of 18-to-22-year-old men who spend a large amount of time in their clubhouse so they are told ahead of time when Morrell needs to go into address the team, including road trips to away games.
Being a woman does complicate situations such as the clubhouse, but it’s something her and the team work out and she doesn’t notice much anymore because people know she can get the job done, Morrell said.
Tift feels lucky to have Morrell’s successful five years with the Bell because it creates a less negative environment.
“People are starting to realize a little bit more that it’s not an issue,” Tift said. “As long as the work gets done at high quality then there’s no reason to make any judgments.”
The Bells and the Bellingham community have been nothing but helpful in their careers.
People tell Morrell there should be more women in baseball because it adds a unique flavor.
“I’ve never felt anything but supported by all the managers and bosses that I’ve had here,” Morrell said. “Our owner now, Glenn Kirkpatrick, is like, ‘I don’t care if you’re an elephant. Just run my team. I don’t care.’”
There are times when Morrell is recognized as a team mom and she’s OK with filling that role. The players are a long way from home and sometimes need a female presence to help with situations the men on the team might not be able to.
The Bells are a team built on development and the players come to Bellingham not only to develop as baseball players but to develop as young men.
In 2017, the Bells had an 18-year-old player who had never spent time away from home. In his time in Bellingham, he learned how to do laundry and cook himself breakfast, which are things he’ll take with him for his rest of his life.
“We have a really special community with the Bells,” Morrell said. “It feels like an extension of my own family.”
Baseball players aren’t the only ones who join the league to develop; the coaches and staff do as well. Players, coaches, staff and interns are all usually with the team a year or two.
Morrell has been in Bellingham since she started going to Western in 2004. Tift, going into her third season with the Bells, has played many roles for the team ever since she graduated from Western in 2016.
The Bells are a starting point in many of the employees’ careers to gain skills and experience.
“I feel like I’ve already had good opportunities to develop here,” Tift said. “I started on the game day staff and then I was marketing and now I’m actually assistant GM, which is really great to have those steps and to grow.”
The players make a large impact on the younger children who go to baseball camp or games during the summer. Children think the players are professionals and will line up for autographs after games.
“I’ve had so many kids at these events come up and say, ‘I want to be a Bell when I’m older’ and that’s the cutest thing ever because I know that we’re doing good in the community,” Tift said.