It takes more than players to create a winning organization. Women at every level of the franchises do their part to produce a winning ball club each season. Those on the front lines, the coaches interacting and guiding the players on the field, are among the most important.
Justine Siegal
Justine Siegal did not let being a woman stand in the way of her dreams of becoming a baseball coach. In 2011, she threw batting practice during spring training with the Cleveland Guardians (then the Cleveland Indians), becoming the first woman to do so. Her coaching dream was realized when she became the first woman to coach a Major League Baseball organization in 2015 with the Oakland Athletics. Her A’s jersey is displayed in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Justine also gives back to the baseball community through her nonprofit Baseball for All, which provides opportunities for girls to play, coach, and lead in baseball.
Alyssa Nakken
Alyssa Nakken became the first full-time female coach of a Major League Baseball organization when the San Francisco Giants promoted her from Chief Information Officer to assistant coach in January 2020. Later that same year, she became the first woman to coach on the field in an MLB exhibition game as the Giants’ first base coach. Her jersey from that game also resides in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2022, she climbed even higher and became the first woman to coach in a regular season game. In 2023, Nakken interviewed with the Giants for a managerial position, becoming the first woman to do so.
Bianca Smith
Bianca Smith began her journey to her destiny as the first African American woman to serve as a coach in a professional baseball organization in 2018 as an intern in the Texas Rangers Baseball Operations department. In January 2021, the Boston Red Sox confirmed that Smith would become a minor league coach working with position players based in Fort Myers, Florida. She continued to coach through the 2021 and 2022 seasons but has since moved on and now lives in Japan, where she coaches elementary and middle school baseball. Smith will also work with Great Britain’s women’s national baseball team and the 23 and under Great Britain baseball team. During her time in Japan, she is learning Japanese and intends to return to the States to be a voice for the Japanese players among the coaching staff.
Recap
The ladies of this article directly impact the baseball we watch with their work both on and off the field. As the industry becomes more tolerant of women in sports, we will see more women like them in the bullpens, dugouts, and on the baseline. Tune in tomorrow as we move up to the Front Offices and the inner workings of the organizations to find the pioneer executives, managers, and owners.
