‘A League of Their Own’ star Molly Ephraim steps up to the plate

Amazon series, “A League of Their Own,” a spinoff of the popular 1992 movie about a World War II-era women’s professional baseball league. Ephraim plays Maybelle Fox, a fiery, fun-loving blonde who plays centerfield for the fictional Rockford Peaches and is named after real-life legend Maybelle Blair.Ephraim, a natural brunette, had the pleasure of getting to know the feisty Blair, who appears in the pilot. She asked the 95-year-old if she had any tips to help get her in the zone or any superstitions she had surrounding the game? Blair’s answer: “Hot dogs, hot dogs, hot dogs.” “I thought, ‘This girl knows how to live,” Ephraim said.

“We should all be 95 years old and that sassy and just downing hot dogs. What an absolute dream.”Maybelle’s not the star player, but Ephraim still had to learn to bat, catch, throw and run bases like a pro, attending four weeks of training camp with her cast-mates, including writer and star Abbi Jacobson, another Phillies gal. Ephraim focused on perfecting Maybelle’s batting style. “I was really practicing my swing, trying to make it really sassy, get a little wiggle in it,” she said.But by the time she got to bat for the camera  — due to production delays — Ephraim was nearly eight months’ pregnant.“I was humongous,” Ephraim said.

“I think I did it three times, and I was like, ‘Oof, okay, and we’re done.’” Still, one of those takes was winning enough to make the second episode. “I was feeling very proud I got that in there.”The actress is used to taking big swings. She moved to New York City from Bucks County, Penn., at 15 to make her Broadway debut.