Will Women Take Over the MLB?

By: Sydney Stokes

Over the past few years, we have seen more and more women stepping into the professional Men’s coaching field. There were 11 women in “on-field coaching roles” in 2022, with the number already increasing to 19 in 2023.

It was Alyssa Nakken who set the pace for a wave of female coaches rising through the ranks of numerous MLB organizations. In January 2020, Gabe Kapler hired her to join the San Francisco Giants’ staff, becoming the first woman to hold a major league coaching position.

Today exhibit.

Following Nakken, more women decided to step up.

Rachel Balkovec, who previously worked as a hitting coach for ten years in a rookie-league, took a position as a Yankees full-time hitting coach. As well as her main coaching position, she also became the first woman to serve as a coach in the MLB Futures Game, setting her a place in the MLB Hall of Fame.

ever, the timeline is going in reverse order from what is typically seen on the calendar year for sun sign seasons. The nature of the air sign, Aquarius, is as follows: radical, unique (overemphasized uniqueness, almost obnoxious), innovative and freedom-seeking. Those traits are key when looking for clues about the future.

As a result, the age of Aquarius is going to emphasize a change in power dynamics within the government/political environment, self-perception and individual freedom, and technological innovation. It is speculated that this change of signs had begun in either the year 2020 or 2021.

Regardless, the trends of technological advancement and shifts within the global power dynamic have been significant. Most of today’s world is radically making changes that could be considered ‘progressive’. There has always been change in the world, but nowadays it is drastic and frequent. In the coming years there will likely be more shifts within societal norms and the attitudes of the general population toward “taboo” topics.

With each age, there is a lesson to be learned. Pisces taught the world to love and respect one another with compassion that can come from interdependence. Now, the world will learn how to accept and embrace change, and constantly reinvent and revamp individual personality.

This period will teach the lesson of materialism and how this attribute negatively impacts the life of any person. The current message is innovation and to live in the moment for the experiences.

Life is what is made of it by the pursuer, hence, those with the will to find individual freedom will be granted that wish.

Not only was Nakken the first to hold a coaching position, she also became the first woman to coach on the field, as the first base coach for the Giants.

Nakken then donated her jersey after her first game as a major league coach in 2020 to the MLB Hall of Fame. It can now be seen in the Giants locker within the Museum’s Your Team

In an interview with The National Baseball Hall of Fame, Balkovec stated that she “doesn’t want to be a role model,” she wants to “be a visible idea for young women and to be a visible idea for dads that have daughters; [I] want to be out there. [I] have two jobs, and that’s fine.”

To be clear, women have always been there. Whether it were cheering in the stands, playing in different leagues (like Mamie Johnson, Toni Stone, and Connie Mogan in the Negro Leagues), scouting (like Edith Houghton in 1946 for the Phillies), or even owning the St. Louis Cardinals, as Helene Britton did in 1911.

All of these historical women set the stage for more opportunities that coaches such as Nakken and Balkovec had taken in today’s day in age.

Over the years, structural changes began taking place in the sports world along with advancements in gender equality. The MLB broke barriers this past year, calling for all ballparks to have a “clean locker room space that is close to the main clubhouse, is private and includes a restroom and shower. ” This change