Soon after the news broke that Rachel Balkovec had been hired to become the first woman to serve as a manager in affiliated professional baseball history, the messages poured in. She heard from players she worked with as a hitting coach in the Yankees’ minor leagues the past two years. She heard from Jean Afterman, the team’s longtime assistant general manager whom Balkovec had looked up to and sought guidance from over the years.
But the message that thrilled Balkovec most was from Billie Jean King, the former tennis star Sports Corner
and activist who fought for equal gender rights. On Sunday night, King wrote in part on Twitter, “History made in baseball!”
Balkovec’s reaction? “OK, I can die now. My career’s over. Billie Jean King congratulated me.”