10/27/2026 12:45:00 PM | Baseball, General
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — C.J. Silas, Cal Poly's baseball public address announcer for more than 20 years, has enjoyed the magnificent beaches, cool coastal weather, and spectacular sunsets as a resident of Shell Beach. She spent the summer of 2026 in the humidity and 90-degree heat of Rockford and Springfield, Illinois.
With Mister Robinson, her eight-year-old Beagle/Basenji mix, at her side throughout her time in the upper Midwest, Silas fulfilled two dreams: handling microphone duties for the United States-hosted World Baseball Softball Confederation World Cup women's baseball qualifiers in Rockford, as well as for the inaugural season of the Women's Professional Baseball League in Springfield.
The six-team WBSC event was held over five days at Rivets Stadium, with Team USA claiming first place, Australia second, and Canada third. All three teams will join Japan, Venezuela, and Chinese Taipei at the 2027 WBSC World Cup Finals on July 19–25, also in Rockford.
After announcing all 15 games in Rockford, Silas journeyed nearly 200 miles south to Springfield for the first full season of women's professional baseball in the United States in 72 years. Four teams, with 10 countries represented on the rosters, filled the schedule from August 1 through September 5, followed by the postseason.
"The crowds were amazing and so engaged on every pitch," Silas said of the historic WPBL season. "People from all over the globe came to watch the games. It was a highlight for me when I saw players from the teams that were not competing watching the other teams' games. On a nightly basis, I would witness players interacting with fans in the stands, taking photos, and signing autographs.
"Seeing all of the team gear worn by the fans was so cool, and the homemade signs were epic," Silas added. "Most Major League parks don't allow people to bring in signs. The WPBL encouraged them and even had sign-making stations on the concourse at some of the games."
The San Francisco Firebells claimed first place during the regular season with a 10-5 record, followed by the Los Angeles Queens and New York Heights (both 8-7) and the Boston Hunters (4-11). In the best-of-three semifinals September 9–14, San Francisco beat Boston in two games, while Los Angeles outlasted New York in three contests.
From September 16–22, Los Angeles defeated San Francisco three games to two in the best-of-five championship series at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield to win the inaugural Women's Pro Baseball League title. The Queens won the final game 2-0 as Ayami Sato earned the league's first complete game, scattering five hits and allowing no walks on 71 pitches.
The last season of women's professional baseball in the United States before this summer was in 1954, when the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League ended a 12-year run. The Ladies Professional Baseball League completed one season in 1997 before folding 12 games into the 1998 campaign.
Opening Day of the WPBL's first season saw Los Angeles outscore New York 10-8 on August 1.
"Opening Day had to be the most significant moment, walking through the parking lot to the entrance and seeing hundreds of fans in line hours before the gates opened," said Silas. "Then, when I entered the stadium and realized that I was going to be announcing the entire season and the players were all going to be women, it was a dream come true, one I never even thought would happen in my lifetime."
The theme for the opening ceremonies was "Past, Present & Future..." and featured Maybelle Blair, Jeneane Lesko, and several other former AAGPBL players on the field. Justine Siegal, the founder and pioneer behind the largest girls baseball organization in the country, and Team USA baseball legend Tamara Holmes passed a torch to the four team captains of the WPBL, who then handed it to some of the young girls from Baseball For All, the largest national girls baseball organization in the United States.
"It was so emotional. It was moving, emotional, and difficult to keep it together on the microphone," Silas admitted. "It was beautiful to witness, on a daily basis, the players from the league taking time before and after games to chat with young girls, sign autographs, take photos, and even hang out with them in the stands when their team wasn't playing.
"There wasn't a game that went by where I didn't see players coming into the stadium, hanging out, and interacting with the fans," Silas added.
Silas plans to announce both the WBSC World Cup Finals and the second WPBL season next summer.
"The inaugural season was definitely a success, with over $1 million in merchandise sold at the stadium alone, and even more online," said Silas. "We couldn't keep the team items on the shelves. Plus, thousands of people made Springfield a summer vacation destination from all over the world. Most of them came to support the new league and their favorite teams.
"Yes, there will definitely be a next season, and many seasons after that," Silas added. "I will be involved. I am the Voice of the Women's Pro Baseball League. There has not been another since the tryouts in Washington, D.C., the November 2025 draft, and the inaugural season of 2026.
"I have already been hired to do the WBSC finals in 2027," Silas added. "The International Women's Baseball Center, in partnership with the Women's Baseball Softball Confederation, hired me for the World Cup. Both the WPBL and IWBC covered my lodging and travel expenses this summer. We stayed in a hotel in Rockford for a week, then moved to a long-term suites-style hotel in Springfield for the next two months. Mister Robinson went to every single game at both events."
Silas, who when not announcing baseball games works as an outreach coordinator at the Pismo Preserve and at a South County restaurant, also hosts The CJ Silas Show, a weekly talk show that airs Wednesdays at 5 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1280.
Among past guests on her show, which Silas launched on March 31, 2012, were Mack Brown, Mike Leach, Steve Kerr, Jose Canseco, Tommy Lasorda, Dan Fouts, Gabe Kapler, Bob Costas, Dan Quinn, Tom Flores, Dick Vitale, Ozzie Smith, Jessica Mendoza, Marv Albert, John Clayton, Bob Miller, Sarah Spain, Chris Berman, Maury Wills, George Karl, Danica Patrick, and Lane Kiffin.
Over the years, Silas has been a strong advocate for better pay for women and coverage of women's sports. Among the occupations listed on her résumé are announcing minor league baseball games for the Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A team and the New York Yankees' Double-A team, a full-time assignment at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, some field producing and voiceover work for ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and "Talk2" with Jim Rome on ESPN2. She worked on her first sports talk show in Seattle for a year and a half.
Silas went back east for a night talk show, landing her a full-time gig with CBS SportsLine radio in Fort Lauderdale, then headed back to Seattle to do weekends at KJR Sports Radio and a morning show on KJR-FM. Silas finally ended up on the central coast of California in the spring of 2005 and has served as public address announcer for Cal Poly baseball since 2003. She also has announced Allan Hancock College football, baseball, and softball games.
Outside of sports, Silas spent eight months covering the O.J. Simpson trial at the Los Angeles courthouse every day and volunteered for the American Red Cross during the Hurricane Katrina and Rita recovery efforts in Louisiana. She attended USC and graduated from Syracuse.
"Women reporters do have more access than when I started," Silas said. "Still, very few baseball announcers are women. Very few women are on sports radio. TV has been more open to hiring women.
"Women still make far less than men in sports media," Silas added. "I was paid less than men at CBS SportsLine in the '90s, at KJR Radio (Seattle) in the early 2000s. I have worked in sports radio, TV, and announcing for over 30 years, and I have ALWAYS had to have a second or third job to supplement. Even recently, one TV sports network rewarded talent with HUGE contracts, and not ONE was a woman.
"My career is full of examples of discrimination, uncomfortable work environments, and sexual harassment," Silas said. "It may be easier to list the jobs and places where I WASN'T discriminated against."
Of all the people Silas has met and with whom she has worked, she did not look far to find who has been her adviser and idol.
"My mom is definitely my mentor and role model," Silas said of Renee (Jo Mama). "She managed to escape my difficult biological father. Later, she found a career and new love with my dad, Harry. They will celebrate 50 years of marriage in January.
"My mom went from raising three kids on food stamps with no child support or alimony to a successful nearly 30-year career as a television producer and writer," Silas added. "She never gave up and had the survival instinct that I have as well."
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Mister Robinson, CJ's canine, is named after Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. When there is not a conflict in her schedule, Silas attends Jackie Robinson Day at Dodger Stadium on April 15, and her roller derby nicknames are CJ Hook-Her and Dodge-Her Blue.
"All JR42 wanted to do was play baseball," said Silas. "What he endured was worse than anything I have dealt with. I used #WWJD (What Would Jackie Do) as my motto because nothing I went through would be worse than what he and his family went through in his career. He died very young due to stress. His memory and life story motivate me to NEVER give up!"
Silas is believed to be just the third female P.A. announcer in the Big West Conference over the past 30 years.
Cheryl Lyons announced selected Cal Poly women's soccer matches in the late 1990s and early 2000s as an athletics communications intern, while Rosie Steele of UC Davis is currently announcing men's soccer matches on a regular basis and also has announced other sports events, including baseball, women's soccer, women's field hockey, women's volleyball, and women's lacrosse.
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Several Major League Baseball teams have invited Silas to try out for P.A. announcing positions. She filled in for seven games with the San Francisco Giants in 2024 and was a finalist for the job with the Cubs, Braves, Rays, Giants, and Marlins.
"I have gotten extremely close at the MLB level, but it never felt like I was welcome in those stadiums," Silas wrote in her blog recently. "Of course, people were gracious, but it didn't mean they really wanted me or believed I was good enough."
Stepping into Silas' life was Siegal, the founder of the WPBL, and after announcing, hosting, and emceeing the WPBL tryouts and draft along with the WBSC World Cup qualifier, CJ was hired to announce the inaugural WPBL season, all 30 regular-season games as well as the postseason.
"I got the opportunity to announce not only an international women's baseball competition for the United States-hosted World Cup, but then just a few days later the entire season of the WPBL," said Silas. "Looking back on the experience, I realize how much it changed my life.
"As I left Illinois and drove back to California, I had time, 32-plus hours, to think about what I had just been through," Silas added. "It was a life-altering moment in my career. I'm still finding it difficult to articulate. I've spent years and years and years showing up at sporting events, radio stations, TV studios, and stadiums, qualified, knowledgeable, and experienced.
"But it has NEVER felt like this. I was always an outsider, sometimes not even wanted. Maybe at times, even what they call a 'token.' Each time, I did my best and was hopeful that one of the men's teams would finally give me the chance I so deserved after hundreds of games on a stadium microphone.
"Looking back, arriving in Rockford and Springfield, the feeling was foreign to me. I was welcomed, encouraged, supported, hyped up, trusted, believed in, rooted for, and appreciated for what talents I brought to the microphone. All of the bosses at the WBSC and WPBL trusted me, wanted me, and knew that I had exactly what they needed.
"After both experiences, driving home with a little dog through three time zones and eight states gave me time to process and think about what I had just done. I'm not sure I completely have the words to describe the altered state I am living in now. The pain of not being wanted, being shunned, questioned, patronized, mansplained, doubted, unsupported... all GONE, melting away because of women's baseball in 2026.
"Now, here I sit, after the best baseball times of my life, knowing that I have found my community. The Women's Pro Baseball League has given me the chance to put all of the negative feelings behind me. The wounds have now become scars. I walk tall, I walk proud in my new skin, with the deep-rooted identity that was there all along."
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Working with Cal Poly students, whether it be as part of The CJ Silas Show or speaking in classrooms in front of Cal Poly journalism students or in the Cal Poly baseball press box or at Allan Hancock College athletic events, has been very rewarding for Silas.
"My greatest achievement would be the connection with aspiring journalists and the gift of teaching these young people about never giving up, being the most prepared in the room, and never crumbling under pressure," Silas said, adding, "always having the will to fight through the worst harassing and uncomfortable work environments. Digging deep, staying resilient, and keep dreaming. I had to do it alone, knowing that I had very few allies."
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What tops Silas' list of the one or two changes she still hopes to make?
"Equal pay is first," said Silas. "As I look back on my career, all of the places I've worked, all of the incredible events that I covered with the highest level of professionalism and work ethic, still, men who started when I did are continuing to make way more money with much more respect in the sports world.
"I still have to work extra jobs just to get by sometimes," Silas added. "This is good and bad. I have been able to stay away from a lot of the hate on social media because I am not a 'big name out there.'
"Second, the way men cover women's sports is a catastrophe, with mostly men being sports reporters, play-by-play announcers, and analysts. I don't know why they find it necessary to cover women's sports differently.
"It should be easy, the usual. Instead of talking about what's going on on the court, the field, in the games, they focus on drama, politics, and unnecessary things when covering women's sports," Silas added. "It's still sports and should be simple — cover them the same. Men are so uncomfortable, but really, it should be a smooth transition and easy."
