The New York Yankees recently hired Rachel Balkovec as a full-time minor league hitting coach. That makes Balkovec the first ever full-time female hitting coach in any MLB organization. And hey, that’s pretty cool. But don’t just think of this as some PR stunt. Balkovec’s resume is quite impressive.
She holds not one but TWO master’s degrees in the science of human movement. She also has significant experience with several other minor league clubs. Balkovec was the minor league strength and conditioning coordinator for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014 and 2015, another first for women in baseball.