San Francisco Giants
Alyssa Nakken.
- Alyssa Nakken was hired by the San Francisco Giants as an assistant coach on Thursday, becoming Major League Baseball's first full-time female coach.
- Nakken, 29 was a three-time all-conference first baseman on Sacramento State's softball team and has been with the Giants since 2014.
- She previously worked as an intern in baseball operations and more recently oversaw health and wellness initiatives in the organization.
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The San Francisco Giants have hired Major League Baseball's first full-time female coach.
Alyssa Nakken, a former three-time all-conference first baseman on Sacramento State University's softball team, will join the Giants as an assistant coach, the team's manager, Gabe Kapler, said in a statement on Thursday.
Nakken, 29, has worked with the Giants since 2014 when she joined as an intern in baseball operations. More recently, she has been overseeing health and wellness initiatives in the organization. Kepler also announced the hiring of assistant coach Mark Hallberg.
"In every organization, environment affects performance, and baseball clubhouses are no different," Kapler said in the statement. "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."
Prior to joining the Giants, Nakken was the chief information officer for the University of San Francisco baseball team. After graduation from Sacramento State in 2012, she earned her Master's Degree in Sport Management from the University of San Francisco in 2015.
While Nakken is the first full-time female coach in the league, several women before her have paved the way with part-time roles in the league.
Justine Siegal, who became the first female coach for a major league organization when she was hired as a guest instructor in the instructional league in 2015, celebrated Nakken's hire in a tweet, saying: "The wall is broken."
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Nakken will help with pregame outfield work and batting practice. She will travel full time with the team and wear a uniform in pre-game warm-ups. She is not expected to be in uniform for games, because the MLB allows only seven coaches to the bench.
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