#Shortstops: Balkovec Makes History in Blue
Rachel Balkovec did not make it to Cooperstown by playing between the lines.
Her pioneering road to the Hall of Fame ran through weight rooms, batting cages and, most recently, front offices. Immortalized not in bronze but in bright blue, Balkovec is honored in the Museum’s Diamond Dreams exhibit as the first full-time female manager of a Minor League Baseball team.
In the top of the second inning on April 8, 2022, a chant powered by nearly 3,000 fans erupted at Joker Marchant Stadium. As a ponytail in a blue Tampa Tarpons tunic jogged out to first base, history would unfold to the tune of “Let’s go, Rachel!”. Heading the New York Yankees’ Single-A affiliate, Balkovec made her managerial debut against the Detroit Tigers’ Single-A club in Lakeland, Fla. Just hours later, she would secure her first managerial win.
“It was an honor to play in the game, and I feel very humbled,” Jasson Domínguez, the Yankees’ top prospect at the time, told reporters after the game. “We just wanted to get that first win out of the way to give her some confidence in her new role and it was important to get that done today. I will never forget this day.”
While the Omaha, Neb., native’s managerial career made professional baseball history, it is but one milestone in a career composed of firsts – and though she may not have played a game, her resume reads like that of a veteran ballplayer, with stops spanning across Minor and Major League Baseball.
Balkovec, a former Division I softball catcher for the University of New Mexico, found her first break in baseball in 2012 with the Johnson City Cardinals, a previous rookie affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. She worked as a strength and conditioning coaching intern with Johnson City and spent time in Chicago during the offseason, interning under the same title with the White Sox.
In 2014, Balkovec would finally be called up: As the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league strength and conditioning coordinator from 2014-15, Balkovec became the first woman to be hired as a full-time strength and conditioning coach in affiliated baseball.
From that point forward, Balkovec’s name would become synonymous with the sport’s “firsts.” Three seasons as a strength and conditioning coach in the Astros organization and a curiosity for player development that would prompt a career pivot introduced her to the Yankees. In November 2019, she joined the Yankees organization as a minor league hitting coach, becoming the first female in professional baseball history to occupy that role.
After three years with the Yankees – and even a stint as the first woman coach in the Futures Game in 2021 – Balkovec would assume her highest post yet. In 2022, the Yankees named her the manager of their Class A affiliate in Tampa, Fla., making her the first woman to serve as the full-time manager of a minor league team.
Balkovec’s storied journey in professional baseball can be found preserved at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum among the likes of Eri Yoshida, Justine Siegal and a host of female pioneers who came before and after her. Her jersey from her managerial debut is now part of the Museum’s collection.
And while one may be inclined to label Balkovec a “trailblazer,” she is hesitant to accept the title.
“I really can’t say, ‘Oh, I’m a trailblazer,’” she told MiLB.com. “Even though this is the first time this is happening, there are many other women who have come before me in sports in general and also in baseball…”
“Do I want to be viewed as a trailblazer? No. I want to be part of a bigger celebration of what’s already happened in the game to allow me to be here.”
Tampa ended the season with a winning percentage of .477 (61-67); seven of Balkovec’s Tarpons from her inaugural year have since made their major league debut. After two managerial campaigns, Balkovec’s career would take her four hours south, where she has served as the director of player development for the Miami Marlins since 2024.
Abbey Dempsey was the 2026 communications intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development
