The Yankees have made a groundbreaking hire in their minor league ranks, as The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler (Twitter link) reports that Rachel Balkovec will manage the organization’s lower-A team in Tampa next season. Balkovec will become the first woman to ever manage an affiliated minor league club.
This is the latest of several barriers broken over the course of Balkovec’s decade-long career in baseball. Beginning as a strength and conditioning coordinator in the Cardinals’ farm system from 2011-15, she then moved to a similar role with the Astros from 2016-18, working with both Houston’s Latin American prospects and then the Astros’ Double-A affiliate. She has spent the last two seasons working within the Yankees’ minor league system as a hitting coach, following some time spent working with Driveline and in the Netherlands working with the Dutch national teams.
Along the way, Balkovec has routinely been noted as the first woman to be hired in these positions, whether in her strength/conditioning jobs or as a hitting coach. The 34-year-old will now take yet another step forward managing some of the Yankees’ top young prospects, and Balkovec is undoubtedly already familiar with many of these players due to her coaching work.
As Balkovec told The Associated Press’ Ronald Blum in 2019, “I have aspirations of being in a more leadership role from a broader standpoint,” mentioning the possibility of one day being hired as a “director of baseball operations or farm director or GM.” Such goals aren’t as remote as they once seemed for women in baseball, considering that Kim Ng is the Marlins general manager, Eve Rosenbaum is the Orioles’ director of baseball development, and Sara Goodrum was recently hired as the Astros’ director of player development. As for on-field personnel, Alyssa Nakken is a member of the Giants coaching staff, while Bianca Smith (Red Sox) and Rachel Folden (Cubs) have worked coaching jobs in the minor leagues for their respective teams.
Cool!
Great news for sure! I hope she is a success and earns the respect of all the young players that receive her tutelage!
kind of sexist, but ok
Congrats!!!
Can she please do post-game interviews instead of Boone? I loathe his press conferences.
@Clipper…I’m guessing it’s similar to Roberts’s press meetings? A lot of euphemisms and vague estimates/prognostications?
They’re both sharp managers, but fairly dull and less than insightful when discussing their team the just completed game.
I get it, a manager has to maintain team cohesion, positivity, and avoidance of critical feedback on one’s own team.
But at some point the press conferences become comical to the degree which the comments are vague and obsequious.
Yes, right on Paddy. He’s just so…blah. Constant platitudes. Never will he acknowledge a fault or a blunder. It’s constant positivity. I understand supporting your guys, but it reeks of false persona. It seems so disingenuous, really.
Nice move by the Yankees.
In related news, the Mets have asked the Yankees for permission to interview Balkovec for their bench coach position.
Hahaha. I think she signs in a week to be a manager of the Mets A team
Rob M… 51 likes and counting. This just might be the greatest comment ever commish
She just released a statement that she is declining to interview for the Mets bench coach position.
In all honesty, are the Mets having more people reject promotions their team offers than any team in one offseason history or is MLBTR just singling them out for some reason? Do this many people usually reject job opportunities from one team every year? It seems MLBTR might be reporting on them more than anyone else but still… I have a hard time believing any team has ever had this many people turn down a job. It’s getting really crazy, right? I know people love to bash on the Mets but even most of them would actually take the job if offered. What’s the real reason so many people refuse to work for the Mets even if it involves a promotion and a pay raise? There has to be a reason.
Everyday is slow news day during this lockout so journalists are digging hard for content. The Mets’ interview process has been over-reported imo. With Covid and a lockout, I feel highly-paid executives would rather stand pat with some certainty. Turnovers happen regularly every year with all teams. Most of us gloss over it and take higher interest in minor league signing and trades and ST invites. It is fun to pick on the Mets’ though but most of that were the Wilpons’ doings.
Reports are the Mets offered her the MLB manager gig but so that offer as an insult and instead took the more coveted Yankees Aball role.
Diversity hire.
Maybe you should apply so they can hire the low IQ demographic
First of all stop liking your own comment. Second, my IQ is extremely high. Also remember to put punctuation at the end of your sentence.
Your IQ is so high that you thought they were replying to you. Right.
And that really bothers you doesn’t it?
There is zero reason why a baseball team would require a manager to be male and yet when a woman finally gets hired it triggers you.
Instead of thinking it’s about time you see it as a negative. I bet you see the 1960s as the good old days when life was great.
…and there was a lot less virtue signaling.
Very cool, I hope she has a lot of success!!
I’m sure she will. Trailblazers often get selected because they are cut above the rest.
It says she has been in the sport for the last decade, and she is only 34. I would have to agree, she must be really effective to move up the ranks that much in her first decade after college.
Are you from Portland?⚾️
I don’t understand why you are asking? I am from Wisconsin…
…and they also often get selected because of factors that have little or nothing to do with their abilities.
Like what?
Same. She’ll certainly do much better than Jessica Mendoza on “commentary” during Sunday Night Baseball.
Sunday night baseball is unwatchable ⚾️
Unlistenable.
Good for her
clean house !
Now, now, boggle77. This hire should reinforce women can do a lot more than clean house.
LOL!! You’re becoming one of my favorite posters!
I’m getting jealous, FPG….
Clipper – He’s just joining an exclusive club that you’re already in.
Well played, well played indeed.
Whats her background before coaching? Did she play softball or some form of ball professionally?
Caught at Creighton and U of New Mexico. No game management other than catching fast pitch college softball.
@ Joey-Do you ask this when men get hired in the field or is this a standard reserved specifically for female hires?
This is so awesome! Such a groundbreaking move! Congratulations to her and the Yankees!
Some begrudging admiration and respect for the MFY.
Can’t wait to see her first ejection go viral!
women, in general, lack opportunities but not talents.. good for her!
It will be interesting to see how she does with the international players who haven’t been schooled in how to properly relate to women in the US.
American men haven’t been schooled in how to properly relate to women in the US
Did you happen to pose a question in Chipper’s chat the other day? It would have been interesting to see his reaction to your screen name!
Chipper Jones’ illegitimate kid – “American men haven’t been schooled in how to properly relate to women in the US”.
I would be interested in hearing your evidence to support such a claim, a summary of the comparison countries where their men HAVE been schooled in how to properly relate to women”, and a detailed expression of how, in your liberated opinion, men ARE to properly relate to women (which obviously apparently differs from what you see in this country).
I don’t need studies. I have you.
Chipper, Based upon 1) the quality of your past posts, and 2) the obvious subjective, baseless, and silly quality of your claim about American men, I fully expected your weak cop-out response. Thank you for not letting me down, my friend. 😉
I bet you are a lot of fun at a party.
Can you imagine how cool your life could have been, if you were smart?
Bro, there are zero women on this website. You don’t have to whiteknight here.
force of habit
Wrong.
@speejanny
Zero women?
Fact. Wrong.
Zero women? Really?
Hahahahaha.
As If anyone can know the gender of a poster. He simply assumes we have to be all men because … Why would a woman be here when she can be a website devoted to knitting and ironing?
My ex wife was as knowledgeable a sports fan as any of my guy friends and she was a smarter ball player then most of them.
In 20+ years of playing ball I never saw her make a mental mistake and rarely a physical one.
fortunately. The last thing we need is some authority mandating “proper schooling” on human relationships.
You ok bud??
You could say the same about most of the ‘Murica born jocks.
If the players behave inappropriately and do not correct their actions then they will be released, same as any player who disrespects or challenges their male manager on a consistent basis. It’s bad for team chemistry. Players will easily adjust to this hire, so long as she proves she’s qualified for the role. Again, same vetting process that a rookie male manager goes through with his players. Once she gains their trust, it will be business as usual for the vast majority of players on the roster. I hope she does well, as I do for any first time manager.
She’s already “gained their trust., Dorothy_Mantooth. A lot of the players with whom she’ll be interacting on a daily basis already know her, or know of her reputation for diligence and getting results. As for being “qualified,” as is usual with most of the women currently in pro baseball, she is hugely OVERQUALIFIED for the job to which she’s been promoted. She’s only thirty-four, but has already spent ten years putting in the time and effort as a lauded strength and conditioning coach (for which she learned to speak Spanish so she could communicate successfully with Hispanic players.) She has TWO master’s degrees in kinesiology and human movement sciences, and was already a successful, results-achieving hitting coach with the Yankees when they bumped her up to Class A manager.
There’s no question about her “doing well.” She will. Naysayers and doubters are hereby on notice.
Yes those kinesiology degrees come in handy during those game moments when you decide to play the infield in or concede the run.
Starting her in Tampa the Yankees will put a career baseball guy next to her to help her.
The kinesiology degree says she is smart. As such she may be able to navigate the mind bending complexity of playing the infield in. Did Billy martin have a degree in baseball? Why is being well educated a problem?
I wish Boone had a kinesiology degree. Maybe they wouldn’t keep leading the league in injuries.
Being education is not the problem. A prior post stated it was part of the reason she was hired.
The most successful baseball franchise in history hired her to manage teenagers/young men. She is almost twice their age and has two degrees. What have they accomplished in life? She doesn’t need to earn their trust. They need to earn hers. She’s the manager and they are low level ball players. If any of them are foolish enough to have attitude because she is a woman they can sit at the end of the bench.
If you actually believe that a college degree is a significant accomplishment, you’ve been hibernating foir the past few decades.
I think having 2 masters degrees is significant. It tells me she is intelligent but also suggests she can commit to long term goals.
Just for reference these are the other managers in the Low-A Southeast League last year:
Jorge Hernandez
Travis Dawkins
Jose Leon
Reid Brignac
Jonathan Johnston
Brian Meyer
Luis Hurtado
Andrew Graham
Marty Malloy
More evidence that you’re out of touch with the reality that is the modern post-secondary educational system. A significant number of students in ba/bs programs need remedial English and math before their first class and many masters programs are nothing more than mills; a revolving door between schools and public sector agencies that finance their “degrees” that result in promotions and higher salaries. It’s one public institution supporting another and locked-in private sector companies are part of it as well. Why do you think the Federal Government took over the student loan program?
Lol. What an elitist attitude.
I suppose you will also argue mathematics with me. I believe 2 masters degrees is better than none. Because of my advanced knowledge of math I understand that 2 is greater than 0. Feel free to dispute that.
@WhoNoze Why do you think the Federal Government took over the student loan program?
So they can mismanage the student loan program like everything else the government touches.
Nice move by the Yankees. I certainly hope she’s successful.
Awesome, and great for her! Very inspiring to get a managerial job.
She looks like a strength and conditioning coach too, incredibly built muscle wise.
Hired because she’s qualified. When fired it will be that Yankees are sexist fools ⚾️
Qualified might be questions by some. But yes the fired you have accurate.
She will NEVER be fired, only “promoted”. As an AA hire, she has job security for the rest of her working life.
Serious question, have any men ever started as a strength and conditioning coach then later hired as a manager?
That’s a good question because that’s certainly not the typical route up the ladder. Nothing wrong with it, it’s just unusual.
Serious question, has anybody in the history of humankind ever asked that question about a man? I’ll give you a hint as to why women don’t “start” working in professional baseball after they’ve already proven themselves in some other capacity: it’s because we still have to fight for jobs for which we are overqualified simply because we’re women. That’s it. That’s the reason.
So what if Balkovec “started” as a strength and conditioning coach, or that no other manager ever has? She’s been doing that for a long time, very successfully, and has created her own pathway to promotion and productivity. And instead of those credentials lending her the gravitas and respect she has earned over the past decade, they’re used as weapons to legitimize doubt about her qualifications to lead. So typical, and so infuriating. Balkovec’s route to a job men are routinely awarded on the basis of far fewer accomplishments than she already has under her belt at the relatively young age of 34 may not be “typical,” but that’s because SHE is not typical. Obviously, And her non-typicalness has less to do with her being a woman than it does with her being a brilliant, focused, academically pedigreed and universally respected coach within the baseball community.
Sorry, academic pedigrees do not win baseball games. True test is when she is making decisions in the dugout in game situations. Otherwise its everyone guess.
What I don’t get is she was on Cardinals in 2012, whitesox 2013, cardinals 2014, Astros 2016 all as a strength coach. Then in 2018 Yankees hire her as a hitting coach? Over qualified my @ss! What qualification did she have? If this is such a good idea why haven’t other strength coaches been hired as the next great hitting coach? Then a year later she’s hired as the manager? Seem 100% the Yankees are trying to grab some news headlines and put butts in the seats to see what she can do. This is not some high school team. It’s professional baseball! I don’t want to hear how she’s over “qualified”. I don’t see how she’s qualified in the first place! If a man followed this path people would wonder how as well. So if you have info on how she’s qualified or as you say “over qualified” then I would like to hear it.
Social justice warriors say she’s over qualified. I am sure the Yankees will put a crusty old baseball lifer next to her to help her “manage” the game. Parts of this reek of PR stunt.
I’m sure the Yankees are risking the development of their minor league players over a PR stunt. They really need the publicity.
She’s managing their Low-A team and I’m sure most of the decisions about who to play and situations are dictated by the Front Office. That is just the way baseball is heading.
Best case she will be great and this will launch the careers of many women in baseball.
Worst case … They will still have the best ironed uniforms in baseball.
:). That was just a gimme for the cave dwellers.
If only she was there to teach John Smoltz when he was in the minors.
Less of that please Darryl. “Ironic” sexist jokes are still tiresome.
Point taken.
Fun team to kick off your managerial career. She’ll be in charge of many young men and one Martian.
You leave Brett Gardner’s dome out of this. The Yankees will resign him to the big league team, not A-ball.
Nice moment, and here’s hoping for her success. I
That’s really outstanding and I hope she is very successful.
This is excellent.
By the way….RIP Bob Saget 🙁
Right? 65?
Posts just went from Boggle’s “clean house” to Craven’s “full house”.
Bob was a great entertainer.
Great observation! Yeah, what a shame, man. Feels like so many great entertainers have died over the past few years. 65 though? Today that’s pretty young. I have a long ways to go to get there (65) but overall, that’s just not a very long life.
I’d be thrilled to get to say I lived to 65 years old. I’m 31 and with the amount of black stuff I’ve been coughing up ill be lucky to see 40? Never spray round up kids, especially while you have a lit cigarette in your mouth and are actively smoking while you are spraying the chemicals that are still available for purchase? Says everything you need to know about the society
Societies don’t dictate voluntary inhalation of dangerous substances; individual liberty necessitates individual responsibility.
They better force her to abide by the facial hair policy too!
This is a sad day for baseball
Is that your nickname — baseball?
Is yours Mr Person?
Sort of. People kept mistaking me for somebody else and saying, “Who’s this, Person?” so eventually I just went along.
You gotta be sexist, or suffer from a severely low IQ, but we will go with the first answer to avoid insulting intelligence. After all its not your fault God made you stupid?
I do hope that she’s qualified, as without much actual coaching experience, I assume she’s a student of the game. It will be interesting to guage player reaction and response, especially regarding one on one encounters related to a “teaching moment”. Frankly, I don’t think it will “work” as defined by positive player response, respect and development. A lot of that will depend on her communication skills, but I really doubt that guys in their teens and early 20’s want or need their mom lecturing them on how to play ball.
It may work out if all she has to do is fill in the lineup card.
Maybe not as much as some managers at that level but she has as much or more than our Major League hitting coaches. It’s about communication and identifying / managing the talent well so the young guys don’t go off track. Like any other job, if she surrounds herself with other competent coaches/staff, her job is exponentially easier. If they suck, it’ll be a lot harder. I think she will do fine.
WhoNoze
Players in A-ball want to climb the ranks and make the show. The smart ones will respect their manager and not care about her gender.
Player response will be (or should be) they play when their name is on the lineup card and sit when it’s not. That’s their job. She is their manager and should be treated as such. If someone can’t respect her attained position then the Yankees probably know that prospect may not be a good fit. Because someone who will rebel against their manager because of their sex, could easily do it for any other reason.
You don’t have to be the same gender to be a successful leader in male sports. If she has the knowledge, passion and leadership skills, she has just as good of a chance to be successful as a rookie male manager would. A-Ball is a very important level for player development and the Yankees would not jeopardize that development for a PR stunt. She is obviously qualified for the position and has all the tools to be successful, otherwise she wouldn’t have been hired. I really hope they don’t make a media spectacle out of her; let her do her job and evaluate her on end results. She should not be treated any different than the other 100+ minor league managers. If she sucks, they will get rid of her. If she’s successful, she’ll be considered for a promotion or be poached by another organization.
The NY Post has a small favorable piece about her hiring. I don’t think the media will. Can’t say the same for some commenters here because change is scary for them.
I believe both sides bring valid points to the table if you isolate the premise upon which the positions are based. Nobody wants a terrible manager that got there because of gender, and it’s easy to toss out that excuse.
Reality is, if you look at her experience, she’s got more experience than a lot of the coaches they’re bringing in at MiLB & MLB levels. Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long for a female manager (or coach in the MLB) because it’s all about their observation & communication skills. Did her gender play [a] role? Of course, because it’s a historical move for MiLB & the Yankees. But to allow that to detract from whether she is qualified for the position is the sticking point.
I believe she will do fine because she has experience and has been doing well by all accounts. When she does well, nobody will care about anything anymore because we want to win. The only thing we will be shouting about her then is when she will be taking Bubblegum Boonie’s place in the Bigs!
Crap blokes get jobs in pro sports all the time. One woman gets a job in management and some people imply it’s because of her gender… laughable. It’s the other way around.
Right, it’s more that there are many qualified women who DIDN’T get the job because of gender until now.
@Yankee Clipper. “she’s got more experience than a lot of the coaches they’re bringing in at MiLB & MLB levels.”
You lost any credibility when you said the above. She has little to no coaching experience. She was a strength and conditioning coach for 4-5 years. Nothing to do with coaching baseball. There are coaches with a lifetime in baseball.
Oh, now I get it. I didn’t until a man explained to me that coaching baseball players for the last decade (not some magically reduced “4-5 years”) and teaching them how to hit and use their bodies to maximum potential for achieving success on the diamond isn’t the same as “coaching baseball.” The coaches he refers to “with a lifetime in baseball” probably started playing little league when they were kids, same as Balcovec did, but obviously their experience is superior to hers in every way, because, you know, the male perspective must always prevail. Finally, I understand.
Lol. Yep.
Thousands of men get hired as coaches and of course that makes perfect sense. A woman with a very solid resume, hired by three organizations, gets to manage an A ball team and there is outrage that she took a job from a man. You just can’t make this stuff up.
I remember in the 1960s the very informed men explaining why women make good nurses but it was illogical for them to be doctors.
And now, over 60 years later we accept them in the military, as doctors, engineers, attorneys, CEOs, astronauts, Prime Ministers but dear God … Managing a baseball team? That’s a bridge too far. How could a woman ever understand the complexities of baseball?
How does being a strength and conditioning coach for 4-5 years. Qualify someone to manage a game? Lumping her into “she was a coach” is funny. Her only true game management comes from her managing the field as a catcher in college. Teaching how to curl weights and stretch has nothing to do with game management. Apparently you believe it does. She was such a solid strength and conditioning coach half way through in 2013 she was a waitress and worked at LuLulemon. Now that qualifies you for a manager job.
Low level coaches and assistants make horrible salaries. If 8 years ago she worked at Lululemon and went on to earn two advanced degrees I salute her. Is there something wrong about working hard in a low paying job to pay your bills?
This is what it comes to for some who hate seeing a woman break a glass ceiling. You dig into her past and this is what you have as a gotchya.
If Bob Smith was given the job NO ONE would know or care where he worked as a 21 year old. But how dare they give a man’s job to a woman. You seriously need to ask yourself what is missing in your life and where does this disrespect of women come from.
Three MLB organizations have hired her. She sounds very competent and there is NOTHING about baseball that requires a man to manage.
As a 12 year old I had a very good understanding of the game and game strategy. I think a 34 year old woman who has been around the game for years can manage A ball. This is not sending someone to the moon … But women did that too.
Males are usually idiots anyways, look at me for example
“If she sucks they will get rid of her”. Could you imagine the backlash if they fired the first female manager? She is never going anywhere but up. But as a Yankee fan I hope they win every game.
I can imagine no such backlash if she under performs. But if she is ineffective I can imagine a few posters here declaring it’s proof a woman can’t be an effective manager.
She will not manage alone. The Yankees will give her a coach which will sit by her side and help with game management.
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel; Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland … nothing more than PR stunts.
Yeah, this hiring fits right in with those examples.
Right. Women are only qualified to run countries and empires … not a Low-A baseball team.
Hillary Clinton, US President.
No, just US Senator and Secretary of State. Your news sources might be unreliable. She did run for president, but she lost … so it must’ve been rigged, right? … even though she called the winner to concede on the night of the election.
Misspelled “Hillary Clinton, wife of US President”….
Does she know how to hack and bang on trash cans?
No, or she would’ve been scooped up by Cora or the Astros.
This is a Yankees affiliate you contradicted yourself
It was learned from New York and brought to Houston via Beltran
It was supposedly instigated by Beltran in Houston, but apparently he didn’t try it in New York or the Yankee players didn’t go along with it, because there never was any such scheme in place in the Bronx.
Is she hot?
She has a only fans account.
She must have been in high demand to beat-out so many people that played and/or managed baseball in the past.
Everyone has to be hired for the first time at some point. And being a former player isn’t a necessary prerequisite.
Cosmo, thanks for the life lesson. Up to now, I’d say having previous managing/playing experience was a significant prerequisite in landing a manager’s gig. I’d ask the same were a male hired – is that not equality?
Like I said, she must have been in high demand …
Sorry, for some reason I took your comment as being sarcastic. My bad.
… a misunderstanding. I wish her well, Cosmo.
She got some biceps on her also. She probably can hold her own against a second baseman or shortstop.
Already a better manager than Boone
In all honesty, she should’ve been offered a first base position at best with the big club?That would’ve been better then managing low “A” team and with the name like Tarpoons? That’s kinda of offensive and sexist in m personal view. Just looking at all the comments and remarks people are posting about the teams name, is just awful. Well obviously it didn’t bother her. I guess you have to start somewhere and build success at the bottom, to get the respect when you reach the top. Wish her the best!
Getting her ready to take over the MLB club in a few years. She’ll lead them to a decade of championships.
So good! Now that we’ve broke. That ceiling can we work on the other discriminated groups that are not allowed to coach pro sports? Mainly kids and pets.
I’m gonna take a lot of crap for this.
Baseball eliminated 32 minor league teams last year. That’s 32 minor league managers, 32 pitching coaches, 32 hitting coaches, a lot them weren’t rehired because there were no jobs available. A lot of baseball lifers. Most former pro players, some former major leaguers. You’re telling me she’s more qualified than all of them?
Okay, let me have it.
Is it possible that the best woman is better at communicating, teaching, planning, and handling personnel than the 1,001st best man for the job? A lot of people say Boone is a puppet of the Yankees so how much free rein does a Single-A manager have?
Coaches get fired all of the time even though they are “qualified”.
If she’s good she’ll advance, if she stinks she won’t. That’s how it should work.
Good point about 1,001. How many men get hired and no one blinks an eye? Finally a well educated woman is hired and the Neanderthals come out claiming she only got the job because she’s a woman and her education is meaningless.
Not going to give you crap. I’m sure there are people out there who are more qualified, and some of them might make better managers. But, picking a manager isn’t like evaluating according to WAR. The Yankees thought she was qualified. She’s spent 10 years in the system, finally landing with them 2 years ago. Of course they are making a statement. And how many times have we groaned when some life-time sub-.500 manager is given yet another team to manage….are there no other alternatives out there? You have to start somewhere, and this is a good step. There’s nothing, nothing at all that demands the Yankees employ some sort of empiricism in making a Rookie League selection. If it works, you break some glass and maybe attract some fans…and baseball needs fans who aren’t either on or approaching Medicare. If it doesn’t, she won’t keep the job. I get it, you don’t like it, but see how it goes.
Your reaction to a woman being hired is to wonder if there might be a more qualified man who could do the job instead? Just ask yourself why that is your first instinct.
Well said.
(not really)
A sense of injustice is not a bad “first instinct.”
Hahahahaha. Yes … It’s men who should feel injustice in this case.
the yankees, like a lot of teams, prefer to promote from within because they know what they’re getting. there’s also a wider trend of valuing analytical fluency, communication skills, and “fresh thinking” over experience. in terms of the skill set required to manage in today’s game, she’s actually more qualified than tony larussa
we won’t really know how hot she is until SI does a bathing suit spread on the women of mlb
I’m kinda amused by all the comments that say “I’m sure there were more qualified candidates.” Tell me, who here can name at least 5 minor league managers or coaches without searching online first? Now can you say how effective they really are? If the answer to both questions is yes then great, go apply to be a scout. If no then, well you know that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
The one thing I’m absolutely sure of is the yankees wouldn’t have signed Balkovec to be a single-A manager unless they thought she was the right person for the job. They’re not going to make a token hire.
She has my vote only if the Yankees do not add a career baseball guy next to her in the dugout. If they truly allow her to manage the games. Then this was a good hire. If they stick a lifer next to her to help her with game management. This was a PR move and nothing more.
Then I will sit and wait for the next male manager to be hired with only experience as a strength and conditioning coach background.
Good luck to you, Rachel Balkovec, and Bravo to my Yankees for making such a groundbreaking selection.
To those of you who think she was a token choice, you’re fools; the Yankees wouldn’t risk the development of their young prospects to an unqualified candidate.
This isn;’t the first time the Yankees have helped advance equal rights in baseball. In March 1998, the Yankees hired Kim Ng to work as Assistant General Manager, becoming the youngest in the major leagues, at age 29, and only the second woman to ever hold that position. Now, Ng is The GM of the Marlins, so the Yankees know what their doing when they make a hire like this one.
Will they change the name of the team now to Tampa tampons instead of tarpons
I kid I kid…
(Actually good move for Yankees and baseball
Yikes!!!
I was fortunate enough to be part of a rather large family in which the girls slightly outnumbered the boys, so I always wonder when I hear men grousing about women getting hired. Were these men raised by single fathers in families with no females? I wonder why anyone with a mother and/or sisters in his life would be resentful to hear about a woman getting a job and advancing in her career.
Agreed. I had a mom (not that unique lol) 3 older sisters, 4 sweet nieces and an amazing daughter. I can’t wrap my head around being resentful of the success of women.
Highly recommend the NY Times article about this hire. Here’s an excerpt:
‘She has a master’s degree in kinesiology from Louisiana State. She left the Astros in 2018 to pursue her second master’s degree, in human movement sciences, at Vrije University in the Netherlands. ..
‘She taught herself Spanish to be a more effective communicator. And before the Yankees hired her, she was working at Driveline Baseball, a data-driven baseball training center in Washington State. At Driveline, she was researching eye tracking for hitters and hip movement for pitchers.
‘Balkovec faced resistance when she applied for strength and conditioning jobs in baseball years ago. When she changed her first name on her résumé and applications to “Rae” from “Rachel,” she got calls back from teams. But she has said officials on the other end of the line were taken aback when they discovered she was a woman. Some wouldn’t call back, and some said they wouldn’t hire a woman.
‘“I view my path as an advantage,” she said in December 2019. “I had to do probably much more than maybe a male counterpart, but I like that because I’m so much more prepared for the things and the challenges that I might encounter. And I want to encourage young women or women in general that maybe it’s not fair we have to work a little harder. OK, fine. But I’m glad I had to because now I’m well and way more prepared than if it was handed to me early.”’
P.S.
I think she looks great in her Yankees uniform.
How she looks in a uniform takes away from the rest of a very good post.
I think a lot of women are getting tired of being judged by men for their appearance even when it’s a compliment.
I wish her well. She sounds like an excellent choice.
I cited her multiple graduate degrees, her self-taught Spanish, her links to a cutting-edge training center, and the sexist refusal to return her calls and outright admissions that she wouldn’t be considered for a job because she was a woman — and you’re accusing me of sexism because I noted, truthfully (from my perspective), that she looks great in pinstripes with the NY logo?
She looks like she belongs.
You’re the one who took my comment to be a remark about her sex appeal. Look to yourself.
In 50 years of following MLB I never heard a fan state a manager looks great in their uniform.
Now for the first time ever, a woman is hired to be a professional manager and you state “she looks great in her Yankees uniform” and I’m supposed to magically know you weren’t making a sexist comment?
Hey maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you also stated a few years ago that Aaron Boone looks great in his yankee uniform.
I’ve heard plenty of fans remark that players looked great in pinstripes, including new members of the team and even players who weren’t Yankees and were Photoshopped into Yankee uniforms by fans hoping they’d be acquired by the Yankees.
Don’t try to tax me with your perspective, Darryl. I see things my way, not yours.
Oh, gee … look at this:
‘Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees didn’t see the humor in Aaron Judge’s sales pitch.
‘The league contacted the Yankees on Wednesday after the slugger told reporters that he suggested to Baltimore Orioles star and impending free agent Manny Machado that he would look good in pinstripes next season.
‘”We have been in contact with the Yankees. They communicated to us that Mr. Judge’s off-the-cuff comments were not appropriate and not authorized by the club,” the league said in its statement, according to ESPN. “They will speak to him to make sure that this does not happen again.”‘
Don’t like that one? There are plenty more; e.g.:
“Palladino: Seattle’s “King Felix” Would Have Looked Great In Pinstripes” – CBS News
“Jeff Samardzija would look good in pinstripes” – Newsday
“Kyle Schwarber Would Look Good in Yankee Pinstripes”
Are you trying to suggest your original quote was that she looks great in pinstripes?
We as fans all know what that means. But it’s not what you said.
And in hindsight I understand that was surely your intention but I only had your words you chose to type.
You stated
P.S.
I think she looks great in her Yankees uniform.
Again who has ever said that about a male coach?
I doubt I was the only one who misinterpreted your intention.
I’m “trying to suggest”? Still going on with the accusatory insinuations, eh?
Quote: “I think she looks great in her Yankees uniform.” End quote.
What do you think “looks great in pinstripes” means?
Do you think Judge was hinting that he thought Machado would look sexy in a Yankee uniform?
Palladino at CBS thought Felix Hernandez would look sexy in one?
Lennon at Newsday thought Samardzija would look sexy?
Rotondi at Bronx Pinstripes thought Schwarber would look sexy?
Or did they mean the player would be a nice addition to the franchise?
I opined repeatedly that Ms. Balkovec was hired because she was qualified, but you decided to play the woker-than-thou scold. And now you’re trying to rationalize it with a nonsensical distinction between pinstripes and the uniform.
Well, I’m not going to let you paint me a sexist here so you can prance around in your black belt in social justice warfare, mister.
A simple “Sorry, I mistook your meaning” would’ve sufficed, but it’s apparent that that’s not how you’re wired.
And now, having wasted too much time on you already, I’m done responding to you and your bogus projections. Life’s too short.
Lol. And yet you repeatedly found close to a dozen quotes of which not one was relevant to what you actually said. But I concede you did a masterful job of pretending you said pinstripes.
And I openly acknowledged I misinterpreted your original intention but that’s clearly not enough for you. You insist on an actual apology because I went by your actual words instead of your intended words. Ok. Got it. In that case I’m very sorry you weren’t clear in your original post but I 100% believe you didn’t intend it to be sexist even though it can be interpreted that way.
Darryl, this comes late, but I owe you an apology.
Frankly, it pissed me off when you criticized my comment about Rachel’s uniform, and when I’m angry I make mistakes, and sometimes I let those mistakes stand for too long.
In my zeal to defend myself against a charge of sexism that I felt was uncalled for, I went too far. If I’m being completely honest, I can see why you thought “she looks great in her Yankees uniform” was a comment about her attractiveness, and I shouldn’t have responded as if your interpretation was so outlandish. I’ll admit belatedly that I knew why you thought that.
The truth is, when I saw her photo, I thought she looked like she belonged in the dugout. It may be a bit too patronizing to say, but she looked as much like a “real manager” as any man. And it’s also true that I thought the uniform was flattering on her. The pinstripes with the dark NY logo is just a great look, IMO.
I’m sure there a lots of men who get turned on by big biceps on a powerfully built woman, and that’s good — for them. It’s not my thing, but to each his own. But I bridled at the suggestion that I equated Rachel’s appearance with a qualification for the job. I didn’t and I don’t. Truth is, I hate the fact of pretty people getting preference in hiring. And that’s just one of many discriminatory standards in hiring that shouldn’t exist but do.
But, bottom line, I’d have done better — and been more honest — if I’d just said, “Yeah, I can see why you thought I meant that, but that’s not me.”
Like I said, when I get angry, I make mistakes. So, mea culpa, bruth. I hope this helps assuage any bad feelings on your part.
You are clearly a good man. It’s funny but I upvoted about 5 of your other comments. Of all the people posting here it jumped out that you and I were the ones most aligned with regards to how we feel about women, the glass ceiling and her being an excellent choice for manager. I also apologize to you. Initially I truly thought you had a great post that ended sexist but once you defended your position I realized I had misinterpreted your intentions.
I should have been clear about that while simply explaining why I misunderstood. I’ll say one thing … You went through a lot of effort defending yourself. Lol. But I also get why you did. When a person feels so strongly about equality and has so much respect for women being called sexist can feel pretty vile. It would be like being called a racist or homophobic when you know in your heart you are neither.
In hindsight it’s a bit silly we both spent all this time arguing with each other when we both so clearly support her being hired.
All the best to you!!
Back at you, my friend.
Thanks for understanding. I appreciate your generosity. No need for an apology on your part. It’s all on me.
Absolutely ridiculous move. Literally hundreds of thousands who have played and studied the game professionally or collegiately, and they pick someone who has done neither. Publicity stunt plain and simple.
And what about cooties?
Seriously, read the article. If, after that, you still believe she hasn’t studied the game, I don’t know what to tell you.
That’s actually laugh out loud funny. Did you read the article? If so, your take is beyond illogical.
tampa will have more than one serious prospect on the roster and i seriously doubt that the yankees would risk messing with their development for the sake of publicity
Whether you are pro- this hiring or anti- this hiring one thing is absolutely certain: men and women are equal but different in the eyes of their Creator (see link below). Men and women are NOT the same and interchangeable in ALL circumstances. Like all coach and manager hirings, regardless of gender, time will tell whether this is a good hiring or not.
gotquestions.org/complementarianism.html
What about all the other genders, though?
While I agree that men and women are usually different, I think the issue is that historically women haven’t been given a chance to be good at something. There was a time when women couldn’t be doctors, but it turns out they are great at it. I think the point you are trying to make is that women won’t be good at coaching baseball and that it just isn’t in their skill set, but how do you know without having any examples to go off of? She is the first one and she has a decade of experience in the sport… seems like a logical hire to me.
Good comment. Woman have been told no forever. That they wouldn’t make good lawyers or judges, doctors or scientists, writers, mathematicians, political leaders at the Federal and State level, etc. etc. Over and over they have demonstrated how wrong that is. Performance is the only relevant standard.
@Brewers! – You said “I think the point you are trying to make is that women won’t be good at coaching baseball and that it just isn’t in their skill set,”.
That is NOT at all the point I am trying to make, my friend. You read something into my comment that I did not say or mean. Possibly your misunderstanding was because you did not read the short, attached article at the link. My point was, by design, there is a difference between the two genders, including their purpose and function, and genders have certain roles to fill. A difference in role does not equate to a difference in quality, importance, or value. Men and women are equally valued in God’s sight and in His plan. Complementarianism seeks to preserve the biblical differences between men’s and women’s roles while valuing the quality and importance of both genders. The result of true complementarianism is honor to Christ and harmony in the church and in the home.
Do us a favor: please keep your missionizing off a baseball website.
If you want to discuss religion, there’s a multitude of sites on the internet where you can do so to your heart’s content and where you’ll find plenty of patriarchists like you who’ll be more than happy to join you in rationalizing the perpetuation of male dominance in society by selectively citing biblical authority to sacralize discrimination.
This is not the place for that, and this is the last comment I’ll make to you on the subject. I won’t join you in turning a baseball discussion thread into an arena for religious polemics. Baseball is controversial enough, and this is a place for those discussions.
Hahahahaha. As a Christian I couldn’t have said it better.
@Mr. Person – your hostility to God’s perfect word is a good illustration of Matthew 7:6: “”Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”.
Your attempts to intimidate me with your insults are unsuccessful. Your hostile attempt to ban any conversation that has to do with God’s perfect Word from an arena you want to make as godless as your own soul is sad. You have made yourself a god, but you are not my God nor are you the god of this website. I’m sure that’s disconcerting to you, my friend, but it is true.
Dude. You upvoted yourself. That’s kind of pathetic.
Dont you have any irl people to talk about your imaginary friends with?
I said I wouldn’t comment further, and I probably shouldn’t. But since you’re quoting scripture, let’s include the passage that immediately precedes the one you quoted. It begins with:
“Judge not, that you be not judged.”
And it ends with:
“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
You twist my criticism of your words into “hostility to God’s perfect word.” You tell me I’m making myself a god while you dare equate a criticism directed at you with a criticism directed at God. I wonder, can you recognize the arrogance and hypocrisy in that?
You don’t know me at all, but you say my soul is “godless.” In doing so, you claim for yourself a power and prerogative that belongs to God alone:
“… for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men” – 1 Kings 8:39
If I were not a Christian, I can’t imagine how your attitude would draw me to Christ.
Paul asked rhetorically: “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?” If your goal is to preach to your own circle of acquaintances, fine. But when you take your message public, it might be best to be cognizant of the diversity of your audience: “I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some.” In view of your disposition, perhaps you should consider that public preaching might not be your calling.
You refer to my “insults.” Can you identify an insult in my comment to you? Even one?
If you find it insulting to be identified with patriarchism in the context of a discussion about Ms. Balcovek’s hiring, I guess that’s good. That would indicate that you recognize, at least on some level and to some degree, that using doctrines like complementarianism to validate discrimination is abusive and wrong.
I repeat: Baseball is controversial enough, and this is a place for those discussions.
Perhaps you’d like it if Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, Wiccans, or satanists used this forum to promote their beliefs. You might enjoy seeing the comments section turn from a discussion of baseball into a battleground of religious controversy. But clearly, that’s not what a site called “MLB Trade Rumors” is about.
No, I didn’t attempt to intimidate you, sir. I appealed to your sense of propriety. It’s apparent now that I did so in futility.
My responding to you again might be a case of: “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” But I’ll try my best to keep my promise this time and make this my last comment to you that doesn’t pertain to baseball, for the sake of all the other commenters as well as for my sake.
I wish you well, and, as commanded, I also promise to pray for you (Lk 6:28). If you should choose to reciprocate, you may assume my gratitude.
Come to think of it, I think my best move would be to make this my last comment on this site about anything. Adios, and no hard feelings.
Oh too bad. I was just about to post to my new internet friend …
You have displayed a great deal of intelligence on this whole thread and you are able to articulate your position pretty clearly. I don’t pretend to speak for others but I was about to suggest you are likely better off not responding further to him.
It’s like arguing with a lamp post. At some point you just stop because everyone is seeing you will never lose the argument.
If you don’t respond further he will likely take his insanity elsewhere. At least that’s our wish as opposed to you leaving.
Thanks, my friend, but I do think it’s best that I move on. But I’d have been remiss not to thank you for these kind words, and I’m happy to make that my last message here. All the best to you and yours.
And to you as well my friend.
@ Mr. Person. –
Your anti-Christian comments as an alleged Christian reveal how “committed” you are in your relationship with Christ and dedication to the faith.
One of the most widespread arguments against Christians is that they are “judgmental” or “always imposing their views on others.” Often, this criticism comes in response to Christians who speak out against behaviors and lifestyles that God judges as “sin” and has declared to be an outrage to Him (see Proverbs 16:1). We live in a society where “everyone [does] what [is] right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25)—where people insist that there are no moral absolutes, that each man should decide for himself what is right or wrong, and that we should “tolerate” (which in their minds essentially means “celebrate”) sinful activities. Those who take seriously the biblical warnings against sin and dare speak out against evil are written off as religious fanatics, and all Christians are, ironically, judged as being “judgmental.”
The Scripture that is used the most to support the idea that Christians should not judge is Matthew 7:1, where Jesus says to His disciples, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” It’s one verse that many unbelievers can quote. Another popular saying, taken from John 8:7, is “He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” But when we read these verses in their immediate contexts, it becomes glaringly obvious that Jesus is not warning against every kind of judging but against hypocritical, self-righteous judging (see Matthew 7:1-5; John 8:1-11). In other words, a man should refrain from pronouncing judgment on those who commit the very sin in which he engages, for “with the judgment [we] pronounce [we] will be judged” (Matthew 7:2). This exhortation is similar to the point made by the apostle Paul when he asks, “Do you suppose, O man – you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself – that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3). These verses are a warning against hypocrisy and, at the same time, an exhortation to right living.
However, hypocritical judging is the only kind of judging the Bible says that Christians should avoid. The Christian must “judge” or discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14)! We must make spiritual evaluations of the words and behavior of others, not to find fault, but to effectively guard our hearts against error and sin (1 Corinthians 2:14-15; Proverbs 4:23). In fact, immediately after Jesus warned His disciples against hypocritical judgment, He says, “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs” (Matthew 7:6). How is the Christian supposed to know who the “dogs” and the “pigs” are unless he or she exercises discernment? Furthermore, Jesus warns His disciples just a few verses later, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16). This admonition is given not only with regard to “false prophets” but also concerning anyone who comes in the name of Christ but who, by his actions, denies Christ (Titus 1:16; cf. Matthew 3:8).
According to Jesus, this kind of judgment is considered “right judgment” (John 7:24) and is strongly encouraged. We are to be “as wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16), and wisdom demands that we be discerning (Proverbs 10:13). And when we have discerned rightly, we are to speak the truth, with love being the motivating factor (Ephesians 4:15). Love requires that we gently confront those in error with the truth about their sin with the hope of bringing them to repentance and faith (Galatians 6:1). “Whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death” (James 5:20). The true Christian speaks the truth—not merely what he believes to be the truth, but the truth as plainly revealed in God’s Word. The truth, especially the truth about good and evil, exists independently from what we feel or think (Isaiah 5:20-21).
Those who reject or are offended by the truth simply prove the power of God’s Word to convict the heart of man; for “the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
Why don’t you just stick to baseball or even better just leave.
You do know NO ONE is going to read that right?
@ Darryl Rose – The great things about God’s gift of free will and the freedom of our Country is the freedom we have to make choices. Some people choose the Lord as their priority and others make themselves a priority, making themselves their own god in the process. When everyone’s Judgment Day comes, and we all will have one, each person will be held responsible for their choices. On that day, those who ignored God’s love will be judged guilty. It’s best to take the time to listen to those who try to help the proud turn the Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Is that short enough for you my friend?
This is ridiculous….she should of got Boones job couldn’t do any worse.
I’d love to see her work her way up to an MLB manager’s job. But do you know which two Yankee managers have the highest W-L% in the team’s history?
1. Joe McCarthy
2. Aaron Boone
Boone has the 10th-highest W-L% of all managers in MLB history. I realize he’s not a fan favorite (understatement intended), but considering that he never managed before, I sometimes wonder what his detractors expected of him. When only nine managers (including five who managed in the Negro Leagues) have a better W-L% than his, I think he’s done pretty well for a rookie manager.
The Tampa Tampons!
As a 12 year old I bet you are pretty amused with yourself right now. Mind you, you are the second person to say it so kind of a 12 year old Carlos Mencia.
missed it, I browsed, but did not read all 187 posts. I have a life, unlike yourself.,
And I respect women … Unlike yourself.