Alyssa Nakken becomes first woman in MLB history to coach on field

While Giants fans celebrated their team’s 13-2 triumph over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night, another type of success occurred when Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken took over as first base coach, becoming the first woman in major league baseball history to do so.

Nakken was brought in to replace Giants usual first-base coach Antoan Richardson, who was ejected from the game in the third inning.

It was a new milestone for the coach, who had previously made history as the league’s first full-time female coach. After working in the team’s front office, Nakken was promoted to assistant coach in 2020.

Alyssa Nakkenwasn’t playing first base for the first time either. She appeared in an exhibition game for the Giants in 2020, but it was her first time coaching during a regular season game.

After Richardson’s ejection, bench coach Kai Correa had no choice but to call up Nakken, who played first base for Sacramento State’s softball team. Tuesday night, however, was just another day at the job for the Giants’ assistant coach.

“I’ve been in training as a first-base coach for the last few years. I work alongside Antoan, so I stepped into what I’ve been hired to do,” said Alyssa Nakken, according to MLB.com.

The players weren’t fooled by her attempts to belittle the accomplishment. Eric Hosmer, the Padres’ first baseman, congratulated her with a handshake. When she came to the bench, Giants catcher Curt Casali gave her a hearty hug.

Baseball, meanwhile, took a step forward on Tuesday night as it continues its diversification efforts.

Nakken’s achievement comes just three months after the New York Yankees made history by hiring Rachel Balkovec, the minor leagues’ first female manager, who took the helm of the Yankees’ Single-A team in Tampa last week.

The MLB has tried for years to diversify its on-field and operations positions by launching programmes like its diversity pipeline and a diversity fellowship programme.

While such programmes take time to yield fruit, the league will undoubtedly see these as hopeful indicators.

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