Jo Deluca

**Jo Deluca** is a recurring character in the Amazon Prime Video television series, *A League of Their Own*. She is portrayed by Melanie Field.

## Biography

Jo, alongside Greta, meets Carson on their way to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League try-outs in Chicago. She makes the Rockford Peaches, along with the rest of the selected players, and is seen in Batter Up celebrating with a group of them. Like many of her teammates, Jo struggled with their coach, Casey "Dove" Porter. He wasn't giving the team enough practice time, and after Carson's failed attempt to bring the problem up to him in The Cut Off, Jo decides to stand up to him - with little success. She and the rest of her teammates, except Lupe, participate in night practices so they can improve. Jo becomes a valuable "slugger" for the team, often their best batter.

In Stealing Home, a queer bar Greta had convinced Jo to accompany her, Carson, Lupe and Jess to, gets raided by the police and Jo gets caught in the conflict. Due to the nature of the bar, and Jo's "attachment" to a woman in town, Beverly made a deal for Jo's name to remain unpublished in the newspaper and instead traded her to the South Bend Blue Sox, where she continued to play the rest of the season. During the 10 minutes Jo has to pack before she leaves for South Bend, Greta tries to convince her to run away with her like they've always done, but Jo says no. She explains that she's always followed Greta around wherever she wanted to go, picked up and left when Greta would get scared or bored, and that she didn't want that anymore. She tells Greta that she's a star in the league, and that she matters there, before she bids goodbye to her heartbroken teammates.

The Rockford Peaches go up against the South Bend Blue Sox in the season's championships, which means that Jo is up against her former teammates. The fifth and possible deciding championship game is played in Perfect Game where, during the bottom of the ninth inning Jo is up to bat and hits a home run, anticipating a win for her team if she gets round to the home plate. However, due to her injury afflicted at the bar in Stealing Home she trips on the first base and is unable to make it round the bases by herself. The rules state that she can't have the assistance of her teammates, so the Rockford Peaches help her round the bases, securing the championship win for the South Bend Blue Sox.

## Trivia

* Jo was the 3rd baseman for the Rockford Peaches. She was also usually the team's best batter. Her number was 18 on the Peaches and is 35 on the Blue Sox.
* In Batter Up Greta mentions to Carson that she met Jo playing baseball in Queens when they were kids. That they got their first jobs together, and she was there when Jo's Grandma kicked her out because she said she wasn't a "real girl". It isn't mentioned further, but can be suggested that Greta's family may have taken her in, especially as Jo references Greta's mother in The Cut Off.
* In Batter Up, she mentions to Maybelle that her "type" is blondes.
* In Perfect Game, when trying to comfort Jo while helping her round the bases, Greta mentions that one time a pony stepped on Jo's elbow while she was looking for a silver dollar.
* Like Greta, Jo is also more careful and follows certain rules to keep herself safe. In Switch Hitter she expresses her concerns about Greta's relationship with Carson, comparing it to how Greta was with Dana, but Greta tells her to lay off.
* Jo's nickname for Greta is Bird, probably in reference to Greta's flighty nature.
* Jo is a leo (referenced in Back Footed).