Rachel Balkovec: First woman to manage a minor league team

Rachel Balkovec will be the first woman to manage a team in the minor league.

According to MLB.com, Balkovec will manage the Tampa Tarpons, the New York Yankees’ Low-A affiliate. On Sunday night, she confirmed the historic news to the website.

“I’m not the first woman to have a position in baseball, but I know this is a little different,” Balkovec said to MLB.com. “I’m a product of the women who have come before me in sports.

“If somebody thinks I’m a trailblazer, great because hopefully, that’s creating an opportunity to think it’s possible for [others].”

The 34-year-old was the hitting instructor for the Yankees’ Florida Complex League rookie team. She was the first woman to coach in an All-Star Futures Game last year.

The Yankees hired her as a minor league hitting coach in 2019. Then, Balkovec became the first woman to work as a full-time hitting coach in a Major League Baseball franchise.

Before joining the Yankees, the Omaha, Nebraska native worked as a strength and conditioning coordinator for the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals. She also worked for the Chicago White Sox as an intern.

Rachel Balkovec attended Creighton University and the University of New Mexico for softball.

On April 8, the Tarpons will open the 2022 season against the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

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