Katie Krall brings history to Cooperstown
She knew it was the first time she’d be coaching first. What she didn’t realize was that it was the first time any woman had coached on the field at the Double-A level.
After already making history with the Red Sox, who became the first team with two female coaches when they hired Krall, she wasn’t tracking the history.
“It was the moment of, I recognize this hasn’t happened before, but not ‘Oh wow, this is a special moment,’” Krall said.
In her visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on July 5, Krall donated the helmet she wore during her first time coaching on the field with the Portland Sea Dogs.
“To be a part of it (the Museum), it’s so meaningful,” Krall said. “I remember saying to my mom that someday I want to be in the Hall of Fame. Now I am in some ways.”
In seventh grade she read “Moneyball” and caught onto analytics. While working as a baseball operations analyst with the Reds, she said her job was that of the movie character Jonah Hill.
In 2017, when Krall was driving out to the Cape Cod League, she stopped at the Hall of Fame for the first time. That visit, she said, ushered in a new phase of her career in baseball.
Five years later, Krall can easily see herself spending the rest of her life in baseball, whether as a manager or in the front office. Either way, a part of Krall will now permanently reside in baseball history at the Museum.
“Someday I could have a granddaughter who looks at that helmet, puts gloves on and takes a photo with it,” Krall said. “I love that idea.”
Evan Gerike is the 2022 public relations intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development
Related Stories
To the top
Nakken's historic jersey comes to Cooperstown

#Shortstops: Effa’s scrapbook

Toni Stone, Connie Morgan and Mamie Johnson blazed a trail for women in the Negro Leagues
