One story line is about the difficulty getting Missy accepted onto a youth league baseball team. In 1974, Little League baseball had begun accepting girls, and other leagues soon followed suit. By 1989, sexism in youth leagues was virtually non-existent.
Considering that the hit movie The Bad News Bears (1976), about a girl pitcher playing little league, came out in 1976, it seems odd that the concept of Missy trying out for the team was considered so outlandish by the coach.