Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Rachel Balkovec in seen in full uniform holding a baseball bat on a baseball field.
Rachel Balkovec of the New York Yankees at the New York Yankees Player Development Complex in March 2020 in Tampa, Florida (New York Yankees/Getty Images)

Sports

It’s a record year for women emerging as leaders in the baseball industry

In recent years, women have made strides in America’s favorite pastime — as coaches, front office leads and on broadcast teams.

Mariel Padilla

General Assignment Reporter

Mariel Padilla portrait

Published

2022-04-07 06:31
6:31
April 7, 2022
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

After a 99-day lockout, baseball is back with a record number of highly-placed women in the ranks. They are part of the latest wave of breakthroughs, led by the Miami Marlins’ promotion of Kim Ng as the league’s first woman general manager in November 2020.

“It’s amazing what has happened since 2020,” said Leslie Heaphy, an associate history professor at Kent State University and the co-chair of the Women in Baseball Research Committee. “The level of women represented at the organized major and minor leagues is absolutely unprecedented.” 

More than a dozen women were signed to major league teams’ operations in the last two years, taking leading positions in the front office, on the coaching staff and in other parts of the organization. At the university level, a handful of young women made rosters, and several all-women’s college club teams were formed across the country — all significant increases considering there was virtually no women’s representation on college campuses before 2019, Heaphy said. The opportunities for women to participate continue to grow. 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

“As we expected, all the women are doing very, very well,” Heaphy said. “So opportunities are opening up and continuing to open up. And with Kim Ng’s hire as GM, we’ve cracked that — it’s a small crack but it’s there — at the top level of the game. These are the kinds of things that simply raise awareness, open people’s eyes to what is and should be possible.” 

Heaphy noted a few recent moves: Rachel Balkovec was hired by the New York Yankees to head the Tampa Tarpons, making her the first woman to manage a minor league affiliate; Elizabeth Benn became the highest-ranking woman in ops in the New York Mets’ history when she was named director of major league operations; Katie Krall joined Red Sox Double-A Portland as a player development coach. 

  • More from The 19th
    Illustration of a defeated woman laying on an oversized bill.
  • ‘Leaving victims with the bill’: Sexual assault survivors are often charged hundreds of dollars for rape kits
  • What happens if officials who run elections think they’re rigged?
  • Transgender minors have a right to gender-affirming care, Justice Dept. warns states

But between November 2019 and January 2022, a flurry of women have been appointed by major league teams in nearly every area of the sport, breaking down long-held barriers. Andrea Hayden became the first woman to become a strength and conditioning coach for a major league team. With the San Francisco Giants, Alyssa Nakken became the first woman to coach for a major league team. Heidi Watney, Lauren Gardner, Melanie Newman, Allanna Rizzo and Sarah Langs became the first all-women broadcast team to call an MLB game. Bianca Smith, hired by the Boston Red Sox, became the first Black woman to serve as a coach in a professional baseball organization. 

At the start of 2021, women held 25.5 percent of team professional administration positions in the MLB, a slight increase from the year prior. Robert D. Manfred Jr., the league’s commissioner, released a statement in January praising the progress and highlighting Balkovec’s new role.

“Major League Baseball is committed to providing a supportive environment for women and girls to pursue our sport as players, coaches, umpires and executives,” Manfred said. “We are proud of … all the women across our sport who are setting a positive example for our next generation of fans and proving, on and off the field, that baseball is a game for everyone.” 

Still, Heaphy said, the MLB still has a long way to go. 

Kim Ng speaks to the media during a press conference.
General Manager of the Miami Marlins Kim Ng speaks to the media in March 2021 in Miami. (Mark Brown/Getty Images)

According to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport’s 2021 annual report card, the MLB earned a C grade for gender equity hiring practices; about 31 percent of new hires were women. When broken down further, however, the MLB central office and team senior administration received a C-, team professional administration received a D+ and the remaining categories — including vice presidents, the C-Suite and presidents — received an F. Compared with other professional sports leagues, Heaphy said baseball is particularly behind when it comes to umpiring, refereeing and team ownership. 

The MLB technically doesn’t have a rule banning women from playing, but no woman has played in the league. That soon could change: Last month, Alexis “Scrappy” Hopkins was drafted by the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes — part of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball  — to be a bullpen catcher. 

Still, women have and continue to face harassment and discrimination in the men-dominated industry even as some progress is made. Heaphy attributed baseball’s historical lack of gender representation to the game’s origin. 

“The idea that women would be participating in something that represents so much of that manly tradition has been hard and made change difficult,” Heaphy said, adding that the emergence of softball in the 1890s and its modern perception as being an “alternative for women” has become another common argument used by opponents to keep women out of baseball. The only exception was during World War II and the following years when women played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League while many able-bodied men joined the armed forces.

But that culture appears to be shifting, due to efforts from both within and outside the organization. 

“I don’t think people realize just how important these changes have been and how significant they are,” Heaphy said. “Because one or two [women in MLB leadership] are easy to overlook, pretend it’s an anomaly, see them as an exception. But when you have 12, 13, 14 or 15 and the numbers start to grow, it does begin to change attitudes and culture.” 

When asked if she anticipated widespread change in the industry, Heaphy was wary and pointed to the WNBA as the standard bearer for women in professional sports. The WNBA’s success, Heaphy said, is in large part a result of the NBA’s support — support that she worries MLB is not yet ready to provide. 

Rachel Balkovec speaks to someone out of frame at the New York Yankee Player Development Complex.
Rachel Balkovec at the New York Yankees Player Development Complex in February 2020 in Tampa, Florida (New York Yankees/Getty Images)

“So much of it is dependent on monetary support and finding the right people to put up the necessary funds to make something like that happen,” Heaphy said. “And that comes to being able to pay the players, but more importantly, creating the franchises. So much of it is also dependent then on marketing and the dollars being spent on sponsorships and being able to convince people that they’re going to get a return on their investments.” 

Still, there is hope. Ng, who will begin her second season as GM of the Marlins Thursday, said she had been ready to take her position for years in a March 2021 interview with MLB Network. And the industry and society are also ready for more, she added. 

“It’s really not about me,” Ng said, noting the heavy responsibility she feels to mentor and advocate for other women in the industry. “It’s about what has been accomplished for women. Confidence and desire and experience has been rewarded in the right way. Again, it’s not about me but the path that has been paved and is going to continue being paved for other women behind me.” 

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

Up Next

Portrait of Lauren Steadman

Sports

‘Stare at me because I deserve to be stared at’: Lauren Steadman and the evolution of representation at the Paralympics

Paralympian sportscaster Lauren Steadman spoke with The 19th about representation and why it’s OK to stare.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram