Yankees' Groundbreaking Minor League Manager Hired by Marlins in Executive Role
On Jan. 9, it was reported that the New York Yankees would need to find a new Single-A manager after theirs was hired away by the Miami Marlins to become an executive.
While noteworthy, departures of minor league managers don't normally become headlines.
That is unless it's Rachel Balkovec, who continues to break barriers in the world of baseball.
The 36-year-old has been hired as the Marlins' director of player development as reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN. She will depart her managerial role with the Yankees' Single-A affiliate, Tampa Tarpons, where she has spent the last two seasons.
Balkovec became the first woman to be a full-time manager of a Major League-affiliated team when New York hired her for that role in January 2022.
Her career in the MLB started during the 2012 season when she was named interim strength and conditioning coach for the St. Louis Cardinals' rookie team in Johnson City. After winning an award that year for being the Appalachian League's Strength Coach of the Year, she took the full-time role of Johnson City affiliate's strength and conditioning coordinator, becoming the first woman to hold that role in baseball.
After that, Balkovec continued to climb the ladder in the sport.
The Houston Astros hired her to be their Latin American strength and conditioning coordinator in 2016, before promoting her to be their Double-A strength and conditioning coach in 2018.
The Yankees then hired Balkovec to be their minor league hitting coach for the 2020 season, again becoming the first woman to hold such a position.
Now, after two years as manager of New York's Single-A affiliate, she's taking on another challenge, moving into a role that will have her heavily involved in developing Miami's minor league talent.
