Rachel Balkovec is an American minor league baseball manager in the New York Yankees organization. In 2022, the Yankees named Balkovec manager of their Class A minor league team, the Tampa Tarpons, making her the first woman to work as a full-time manager of a major league-affiliated team.
Rachel Balkovec: What happened| Creighton| Education| Age
What happened:
Rachel Balkovec has been appointed the new manager of the New York Yankees’ Tampa Tarpons, making her the first female minor league baseball manager in history. She will oversee the development of future big leaguers for the world-renowned sports franchise.
Balkovec was introduced Wednesday as manager of the New York Yankees‘ low-A affiliate in the Florida State League. In taking over the Tampa Tarpons, Balkovec will become the first female manager in the history of affiliated baseball, an appointment 10 years in the making for the former college softball player.
Creighton:
With the appointment, Balkovec will become the first woman to manage a minor league baseball team. The Tarpons are the Low-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.
Balkovec began her career in professional baseball in 2012 as a strength & conditioning coach for a minor league team, on a temporary assignment. She earned the Appalachian League’s award for Strength Coach of the Year and later assumed the role on a full-time basis. She went on to serve in a variety of strength & conditioning roles for the next few years.
Education:
As a student at Skutt Catholic High School in Omaha, Balkovec played softball, soccer, and basketball.
She initially attended Creighton University, where she was a catcher on the Creighton Bluejays softball team, but transferred to the University of New Mexico, where she also played catcher for the New Mexico Lobos. She graduated from New Mexico in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science.
Age:
34 years
5 July 1987
After moving to the Netherlands to pursue a second master’s degree at Vrije University, Balkovec worked for the Dutch baseball and softball programs as an assistant hitting coach.[3]
After graduating, she returned to the United States to work at a fellowship at Driveline Baseball, researching hitters’ eye tracking and pitchers’ hip movement.
