Rachel Balkovec missed her historic debut as baseball’s first female manager on Thursday after a minor league skipper was hit in the face by a batted ball during hitting practice a day earlier, causing her left eye to swell and close.
She was scheduled to drive the Single-A Tampa Tarpons at their show opening Thursday in Florida, but doctors have asked her to limit her activities while she recovers for the next five to seven days. Thankfully, doctors determined that she did not have a concussion and is expected to play in the club’s first game of the regular season on April 8.
Balkovets, who was hired by the Yankees affiliate in January after working as a minor league hitting instructor in New York, shared a photo of the aftermath on social media and laughed a little at her new asymmetrical face.
“Well, I *REALLY* have some modeling contracts, but this ruined those plans,” Balkovets wrote on Instagram.
Rachel Balkovec missed her historic debut as baseball’s first female manager on Thursday after a minor league skipper was hit in the face by a batted ball during hitting practice the day before, leaving her left eye swollen.
Balkovets, a former softball catcher at Creighton University and the University of New Mexico, rose through the ranks to become baseball’s first female manager.
She wrote that the 34-year-old Omaha native and former minor league hitting instructor would refrain from doing soft throws with her hitters.
Thanks for all the messages. I just feel very lucky, and also that I will never do side somersaults again for the rest of eternity, ”Balkovets wrote in the caption.
“That’s why you have to live your life in such a way that you are fine if you leave it at any moment. Not a moment to waste time being, thinking, or playing petty.”
After that, she shared a motivational message on Instagram: “Without exception, every worthy effort comes with risk, pain in one form or another and fear.”
She also released her own statement regarding the incident: “All things considered, I feel very lucky. The doctors have asked me to reasonably limit my activities for the next few days, and I plan to follow their instructions. While I already miss the players and staff, I do not expect this to affect my role and responsibilities in the regular season.”
Rachel Balkovec has been working with Yankee hitters for several years as a baseball instructor.
Balkovets, a former softball catcher at Creighton University and the University of New Mexico, moved from the Cardinals to the Houston Astros in 2016. strength and conditioning coach at Double-A Corpus Christi.
Rachel Balkovec watches the action on the field during a Florida Integrated League (FCL) game between the FCL Blue Jays and the FCL Yankees on June 29, 2021 at the Yankees Minor League Complex.
She briefly retired from baseball in 2018 to complete her second master’s degree at Vrie University in the Netherlands, where she also worked with the country’s national baseball and softball teams. She then worked at Driveline Baseball, a data-driven baseball center that trained many major league players before being hired by New York.
“I view my path as an advantage,” she told The Associated Press in 2019. ‘I probably had to do a lot more than maybe a male colleague, but I like it because I’m much better prepared for the challenges I might face.’
Balkovets is not the first woman in the professional coaching ranks of baseball players.
Alyssa Nacken became the first female coach on a major league staff in 2020 when she was named assistant to San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler.
Nakken joined the club in 2014 as a baseball operations trainee. At Sacramento State from 2009 to 2012, Nakken was a three-time All-Conference and four-time All American All-American. In 2015, she received a master’s degree in sports management from the University of San Francisco.
The NBA has several female assistant coaches, as does the NFL.
Rachel Balkovec is pictured at the New York Yankees Player Development Complex on February 26, 2020 in Tampa while she was a minor league hitting instructor. In January, she was hired as the manager of the Yankees Low-A affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons.