Thirty-five-year-old Reese Remington is the first female team owner in the MLB and the youngest. During a meeting with the five-member advisory board her grandfather assembled—most notably Ed, Scott, and Phil—Reese is consumed with worries over the budget. The board advises against making major changes during her first year—advice she plans to ignore. She realizes that she’s not widely accepted in a position of power in sports, but “will do everything in [her] power to make her time here a success” (25).

Scott is patronizing with Reese because when Arthur was in charge, he took on the role of President of Baseball Operations, but since Reese has taken over, she’s reclaimed that role. She knows making budget cuts is going to make people hate her, but this is a business and she can’t afford to treat it like anything else.

After the meeting, Reese crosses paths with Harrison Kaiser—one of the outfielders Arthur picked up last season for an exorbitant amount of money—who is her least-favorite team member. Not only is he a “patronizing prick,” he also doesn’t “mesh well with the other guys” (27). They have an unpleasant interaction in which he doesn’t respect her position of authority and she inwardly hopes to trade him to a different team soon.

Reese decompresses in her favorite spot—the field manager’s alcove within the dugout—which she’s loved since she was a little girl. She goes over the budget again. The team is practically making money off of Emmett’s contract and she worries they won’t be able to afford him when his contract is renewed to actually reflect his worth. When she emerges, she runs straight into Emmett. She gives him until the end of the week to make a decision on which video coach to fire, or she’ll decide for him. When she mentions seeing him on the plane tomorrow, he realizes that, unlike Arthur, Reese plans to travel with the team for every trip.

Reese visits the team as they warm up for their final game of their first away series. She informs Emmett about a press conference scheduled for after tonight’s game, which he will need to attend with her to show everyone that they have a strong working relationship. While they’ll have to fake it for now, Emmett tells Reese he hopes to have a real working relationship soon. He wants her to succeed. 

The genuine moment is ruined when Reese informs Emmett that she’s taken the liberty of firing Nate, his newest video coach, because he didn’t decide by the deadline. When he calls her heartless, she informs him that baseball is a business and he better start viewing it that way.

At the press conference, Reese is asked many sexist and demeaning questions by reporters. Emmett realizes that they doubt her ability to lead the franchise simply because she is a woman. Despite his anger with her over firing Nate, Emmett presents a united front with his boss and defends Reese. The last question of the conference is from a female reporter named Kelly who hits on Emmett. Afterward, Reese calls it inappropriate to Emmett, who hadn’t even noticed Kelly was flirting but is amused that Reese seems bothered by it.

After the away series, Reese returns home to her penthouse condo. She relishes having her own space even more now that she knows what it’s like to share “one with the wrong person,” referring to a past partner (48). She’s chosen her career over her love life and is content continuing to make that decision.

As Reese is relaxing in the bath, she receives a call from Emmett, who has received an email from Scott asking him to join their advisory board meeting on Monday. When Reese informs him that she didn’t give that order, he is prepared to skip, but after how he defended her in the conference meeting, she invites him anyway to be her ally. She shifts and Emmett overhears the water. She’s forced to admit that she’s in the bath, which causes a charged silence before they end the call.

Scott arrives late to the board meeting. Reese informs the board she’s considering trading Harrison Kaiser. They laugh incredulously at the decision, and reject the idea even when she explains that they paid too much money for him. She vaguely mentions wanting to replace him with a player from the minor leagues, but refuses to give them the name. She believes she’ll have Emmett’s support, but he surprises her by voting against trading Harrison Kaiser. Only Ed votes in her favor.

After the meeting, Emmett questions the decision in private. Reese explains that Harrison does not mesh well with the other players, but Emmett doubts she’s picked up on a team dynamic that he’s not aware of since he’s much closer with the guys. Emmett criticizes her for changing everything and believes he’s the next person she’ll drop.

A week passes without Emmett and Reese speaking. She hasn’t traded Harrison Kaiser yet, but Emmett is still annoyed that she “doesn’t hold an attachment to any part of this baseball club that [he loves] so much” (67). 

When the pitching coach, Kai, notices the tension between them, Emmett admits to their disagreement. Kai confirms that Harrison is arrogant and doesn’t fit in well with the team on a personal level. Emmett realizes that Reese might have been right about Harrison and plans to apologize.

Every season, the commissioner of the MLB hosts a gathering for all team owners, presidents, and field managers, which Emmett and Reese attend together. Their flight to Las Vegas is spent in silence and by the time the event starts, Emmett still hasn’t found the right opportunity to apologize.

Reese tries to network with the other owners at the cocktail mixer, but they all brush her off. Emmett becomes increasingly annoyed by the sexist behavior. Eventually, Reese is approached by a man whom she’s clearly uncomfortable around, so Emmett interrupts to save her from the interaction. He learns that the man, Jeremy, is her ex-husband and also the newest assistant to the MLB commissioner.

Reese becomes drunk at the mixer and is escorted back to her room by Emmett. She tells Emmett that she met Jeremy years ago when he was doing data and analytics for the MLB in San Francisco and she was completing her MBA. They were married for three years but when Arthur handed over the team to her, Jeremy tried to take it from her. He demanded 50% of the team ownership. She admits that she was extra nervous this evening because Jeremy had told her that “if [she] were the face of the team, no one would give [her] the time of day” and today only proved he was right (88).