SF Giants: Alyssa Nakken is team's acting bench coach against Dbacks
The SF Giants had a pair of spring training games on Saturday. With so many players at big-league camp, teams routinely split their rosters up so players can get more in-game reps. On Saturday, the Giants hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks at Scottsdale Stadium and traveled to Phoenix to face the Milwaukee Brewers. Players are not the only thing split up for these games, though, so are a team's coaching staff. For the Giants, bench coach Kai Correa managed the team travelling to Phoenix, which meant assistant coach Alyssa Nakken was manager Gabe Kapler's acting bench coach against the Diamondbacks.
Nakken became the first woman to join an MLB coaching staff in a full-time role prior to the 2020 season. Last year, she became the first woman to coach on the field during a regular-season MLB game when she replaced Antoan Richardson as the Giants first base coach after he was ejected.
SF Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken (92) watches from the dugout prior to the game against the Miami Marlins. (2022)
Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Since joining Kapler's staff prior to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Nakken has primarily worked with players on baserunning and outfield defense.
Nakken was a three-time all-conference softball player during her career at Sacramento State from 2009-2012. She was also a four-time Academic All-American. She interned with the Giants baseball operations department in 2014 a year before earning a master's degree in sport management from the University of San Francisco.
While it may just be a split-squad spring training game, it's worth noting that Alyssa Nakken is serving in a more prominent role on Kapler's coaching staff. Since a team's bench coach generally steps in for the manager if they are ejected, Nakken is just one step away from being the first woman to manage an MLB team.
