San Francisco Giants hire 1st female coach in MLB history
The San Francisco Giants announced that Alyssa Nakken will be an assistant on the coaching staff, officially making her the first female coach in Major League Baseball history.
Nakken, a four-time Academic All American softball player for Sacramento State, joined the Giants in 2014 as an intern and worked on a variety of projects, according to a Giants press release.
Last month, she was nominated by her peers and co-awarded the 2019 Sprinkles of Love Award, a Giants honor, for her ethics, professionalism and humanitarianism.
Referring to Nakken and Mark Hallberg, who was also added to the coaching staff as an assistant, Giants manager Gabe Kapler said in a statement, "Alyssa and Mark are highly respected members of the organization and I'm delighted that they will now focus their talents on helping to build a winning culture in the clubhouse."
The team now has a total of 13 coaches.
Before her promotion, Nakken was responsible for leading a number of the team's health and wellness events, including the Giant Race Series. She currently chairs the Giants' first Employee Resource Group, aimed at creating a company culture that encourages diversity and equity.
"In every organization, environment affects performance, and baseball clubhouses are no different. That's why in addition to assisting the rest of the coaching staff on the field, Mark and Alyssa will focus on fostering a clubhouse culture that promotes high performance through, among other attributes, a deep sense of collaboration and team," said Kapler.
The MLB confirmed Nakken is the first female coach in the majors, according to The Associated Press.
