Rachel Balkovec To Manage Yankees’ Low-A Team; first Female Manager In Professional Baseball History

Rachel Balkovec, who was hired by the Yankees as a minor league hitting coach in 2019, will serve as the manager for the Low-A Tampa Tarpons next season, according to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic and confirmed by MLB and the New York Yankees.

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Balkovec, 34, was serving as a hitting coach in the organization's rookie-level Florida Complex League. She has been a coach in professional baseball for 10 years, becoming the first female full-time hitting coach in an MLB organization when she took on her previous role in 2019.

"I'm not the first woman to have a position in baseball, but I know this is a little different," Balkovec said when she was tabbed as the FCL team's hitting coach. "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]."

Over the past years, Rachael has been with many Major League Baseball teams including the St. Louis Cardinals (2011-2015) as the minor league strength and conditioning coach and coordinator, the Houston Astros as the Latin American Strength and Conditioning Coordinator (2015 - 2020). Recently she was the skill Acquisition Coach for the Dutch Natio0nal Baseball and Softball Association.