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“Product of the Women Who Have Come Before Me”: New York Yankees’ Rachel Balkovec Dedicates Her Success to Women in Sports

Published 01/11/2022, 11:30 AM EST

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Breaking the barriers, Rachel Balkovec opened new doors for women in American baseball with the New York Yankees. Rachel earned the historical feat of being hired as the first-ever female minor league manager.

Rachel had to go through the hardships of making her own space in a male-dominated industry to clinch this achievement. While she herself has struggled, she dedicated her success to women who came before her.

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Rachel Balkovec salutes women who paved the way for her

New York Yankees’ former hitting coach Rachel Balkovec and the first-ever to have achieved that position as well; earned another success in her career. Rachel Balkovec became the first female to manage a minor league team; she will take charge of Yankees’ Low-A Tampa Tarpons.

The inspiring woman had to take drastic steps like changing her name on her resume, to get interviews in the American baseball coaching industry. Notably, now she became a strong example of making the impossible possible. Interestingly, Rachel dedicated her success to the women who first took the step of entering the untouchable dream of many women.

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Rachel said,” 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].”

What’s even more exciting than Rachel’s success is that she is not the only woman creating a mark in baseball.

Toronto Blue Jays hire their first-ever female coach

While Rachel’s historical victory was already in the headlines, another inspiring update came in. Toronto Blue Jays signed Jaime Vieira as their first-ever female coach. Jaime would play the role of the hitting coach for Blue Jays’ minor league team.

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Remarkably, some other notable women have also taken over big roles, not only in minor leagues but also in major league baseball. Kim Ng became the first-ever female manager in MLB for the Marine Marlins. Moreover, women are not only competing with men off-field but also on-field.

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17-year-old, Genevieve Beacom achieved the feat of becoming the first-ever woman to play in the Australian Baseball League. Women are now walking shoulder to shoulder with men in baseball. Do you think more women will find success in baseball in the upcoming seasons?

WATCH: New York Yankees Star Aaron Judge Makes a Young Fans Day; Plays Catch With Him

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Written by:

Shreya Verma

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Shreya Verma is a US Sports writer at EssentiallySports. A post-graduation student in political science, Shreya is also a professional 10m air pistol shooter. Taking after her athlete father, she was naturally inclined towards the athletic life.
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