Next season, Rachel Balkovec will manage the New York Yankees farm system for the Low-A Tampa Tarpons. Balkovec will be the first female manager in affiliated professional baseball history. Al Genevieve Beacom became the first woman to pitch in the ABL.
“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].”
This past season, Balkovec was the hitting coach in the Florida Complex league for the Yankees. She was also the first woman to be named hitting coach.
Before joining the Yankees, Balkovec served as strength and conditioning coach on the minor-league side for the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros. She also has worked with the Dutch national team as a skill acquisition coach and coached in the Australian Baseball League.
Genevieve Beacom
Genevieve Beacom, Pitching for the Melbourne Aces. pic.twitter.com/Pb6ZQSGS06
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) January 8, 2022
Beacom made history last Friday night, becoming the first woman to pitch in the Australian Baseball League. She pitched for the Melbourne Aces.
“If anyone tries to push you to do something you don’t want to do, push you to softball, or to play a sport that you ‘should’ be playing, don’t listen,” Beacom said after the game. “Do what you want to do and just know that if you work hard enough you can definitely make it somewhere. It’s not impossible. You can see, it can be done.”
Beacom is 17 years old and threw a scoreless sixth inning for the Aces. Although the Aces played against the Adelaide Giants, Beacom showed a good fastball and curveball mix. Her fastball is about 80-84-mph, and her curveball is sweeping one. Beacom joined the Aces in January after pitching in the Victorian Baseball League.
It’s awesome to see Balkovec and Beacom both make baseball history, hope both Beacom and Balkovec will do well and pave the way for more women to get more involved in baseball.
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