AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
San Francisco Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken continued to make history on Tuesday.
Nakken, who was already the first full-time coach in major league history, became the first coach to appear on the field in an MLB game when she stepped in after first base coach Antoan Richardson was sacked against the San Diego Padre.
Andrew Baggarly @extrabaggs
Not like you imagine when Antoan Richardson is kicked out, but Alyssa Nakken becomes the first coach to appear on the field in a major league game. pic.twitter.com/KyLDUT85B1
Nakken, who was an intern in the Giants’ baseball operations department in 2014, was appointed to the Giants’ coaching staff in January 2020. She appeared as the first baseball coach in an exhibition game in July of that year.
Corresponding Molly Burkhardt from MLB.com, as of January this year, 10 women should work as on-field coaches for major and minor league teams in the 2022 season.
Nakken told MLB Network’s Amy Gutierrez in March that she thinks it’s important to build a community with the other women who train in MLB.
“There’s a lot of people that you can certainly trust and talk to about it, but sometimes they just don’t get it because they haven’t held those positions,” said Nakken (h/t People.com). “So it’s nice to just share stories now that we can be together and actually go out to dinner and stuff.”
She added, “It’s just been amazing getting to know some of the women who are in our minor league system right now, hearing their stories, sharing a dressing room with them and just being with more women in the game.”
The Giants went into Tuesday’s game with a 2-2 record and are looking to recover from a loss in the first game of their series against the Padres on Monday.