The Major Leagues continue to bet on female talent in their organizations.
Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images
A historic moment was lived this Friday in baseball in the United States when Ronnie Gajownik, became the first woman to serve as a manager in the Class-A strong category of the MLBin the game between Hillsboro (Arizona D-Backs) and Tri-City (Los Angeles Angels), this being a new example of how this sport is changing.
Although the result was not what was expected as their Hillsboro lost 9-2 to Tri-City, without a doubt this is a great step in the foray of women into baseball at the highest level, something that started last year when Rachel Balkovec signed with the New York Yankees organization to be the first female manager in Class-A Tampa.
After the match ends, Gajownik described how he took this historic opportunity letting it be known that his intention is to do the best for the players and the team, At the same time, he confessed that he was happy to be part of this change that is taking place in baseball.
“Lots of emotions. Actually, I didn’t eat today, so I’m a little nervous (…) I care about the staff and these guys and what’s best for them, so definitely nerves, but good nerves. So, I can take a breather after this. It is wonderful to see and be part of a change that is breaking down barriers,” she expressed.
The current manager is a woman with a lot of experience in this sport and in winning titles as a player, and that is he won the gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games with the United States team.
His path met with major league organizations in 2021 when he came to the D-Backs to be a video assistant with Hillsboro. It was in the team’s plans for Gajownik to take over as coach of the Rattlers in the Arizona Complex League, but before starting, a Double-A Amarillo coach suffered a broken foot and The organization decided to bet on the lady to fill that vacancy for the entire 2022 harvest.
Although the coach knows how important this moment will be for baseball history, she has confessed that she has not sat down to analyze it since her main objective was to do her job and win.
“Honestly, I haven’t given it much mind yet. Just because we’re so focused on the game, who’s going to come in at what time and do all this work?. I know that today, when I finally return to my hotel room, I would finally be able to breathe and understand how big the moment was for me, and then also for the future of women in professional sports,” she said.
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