PORTLAND, Maine — Emma Tiedemann and Rylee Pay can both trace their love of baseball back to their childhoods.
And, to their grandfathers.
"My grandpa would always have the scorebooks out on his table, he had a massive card collection, it was very impressive," Pay said. "He started my love of the game for sure."
"My grandfather was a broadcaster, and one day I went with him to a broadcast," Tiedemann said. "He had an extra headset and he handed it to me and he said, 'Let's give this a try,' and I fell in love with it from that moment."
That love mixed with dedication and hard work brought each of them to the radio announcer's booth at Hadlock Field in Portland. Not only is the pair calling Sea Dogs baseball, but they're making history while they do it.
Tiedemann and Pay are just the second all-female team of announcers in professional baseball.
"It is something you're always aware of and it's really special, I think, to be a part of that and to hopefully create opportunities for other girls who want to do the same thing," Pay said. "I feel like there's so much more work to be done in those opportunities, but I feel like it's coming a lot faster than people would expect."
"Every time you tune into a Sea Dogs game, you're going to hear a female voice, so, now I kind of walk with that in the back of my mind," Tiedemann said. "That is actually really cool to have here, and to have fans that are proud of that fact, too. So, it's cool. Things are changing here in Portland, Maine."
Tiedemann made baseball history in 2021 when she became the first female announcer for the Portland Sea Dogs. Two years later, she, along with Pay, are putting women on the baseball map yet again.
Watch the full 207 story above to learn even more about Emma and Rylee.