History at Oracle Park: Alyssa Nakken takes place as first woman to coach.
Baseball’s 1st female coach earns start in final tuneup
Mike Yastrzemski opened the third inning with a walk and was greeted at first base with an elbow bump and a few encouraging words.
Usually, this would be a routine moment in a baseball game, a firstbase coach reminding a baserunner about the obvious.
How many outs. The pitcher’s pickoff move. The signs from the thirdbase coach.
This was nothing routine, however, because Alyssa Nakken was coaching first, the first female coach in bigleague history, and she opened Tuesday’s exhibition at Oracle Park in that role.
The Giants’ 42 victory over the A’s was the final tuneup before the season, which opens Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
Nakken, 30, is part of manager Gabe Kapler’s large contingent of 13 coaches. She won’t be in the dugout during the regular season — the limit is eight — but will travel and continue working with players pregame, particularly outfielders and baserunners.
Antoan Richardson is the regular firstbase coach and has bonded with Nakken. He oversees outfield and baserunning instruction, so Nakken has been working side by side with him throughout both training camps.
In fact, Richardson gave his blessing for Nakken to coach first the past two nights. She entered in the seventh inning Monday and got the starting nod Tuesday.
“I’ve got to give a lot of credit here to Antoan Richardson,” Kapler said. “The two of them have worked very closely together with our outfielders, have supported one another, have developed one another.
“In this particular case, Antoan was way out in front to put Alyssa’s skills to use in these exhibition games.”
As Yastrzemski jogged toward first, Nakken slipped a mask over her face, which all coaches have done before getting close to players during the coronavirus pandemic.
Two outs later, Hunter Pence singled Yastrzemski to third and immediately engaged in
animated conversation with Nakken.
Tuesday morning, Pence retweeted a picture of Nakken coaching first from the night before and added this message: “Congratulations on making history!”
Utility man Mauricio Dubon also tweeted a congratulatory note to Nakken for “becoming the FIRST EVER! I’m honored to share the field with you”
The A’s appreciated sharing history as the opposing team during Nakken’s onfield appearances.
“Yeah, I think it’s great. It’s historymaking, and we all noticed it,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “I read (about her), and everything would suggest that she’s a heck of a coach.
“I was out there earlier watching their workouts, and she’s really involved and looks like she gets the respect of the players, which isn’t surprising.
“I don’t know her personally, but I know they rave about her, and this is probably just the start of a trend like that.”
In the first two innings, Nakken didn’t get much company because both Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson whizzed by after hitting home runs off A’s starter Mike Fiers, Yastrzemski’s sailing over the rightfield wall and Dickerson’s an oppositefield shot to left, one of his three hits.
The Giants didn’t have their cutout fans in place, but they had crowd noise and played their familiar “Bye Bye Baby” song after the innings that featured home runs — along with “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the seventhinning stretch.
And, of course, the national anthem was performed before the game (thank you, violinist Dick Bright), and about a dozen Giants knelt, the second straight day Kapler, players and coaches took a knee.
Oracle Park has tinier dimensions this year after the bullpens were moved beyond the outfield wall, but both those balls that left the premises would have been homers regardless.
Facing Conner Menez, Oakland’s Chad Pinder nearly homered as well but settled for a tworun triple off the wall in right.
The Giants used nine pitchers in nine innings starting with Tyler Rogers, whose submarine pitches baffled Marcus Semien (strikeout), Ramon Laureano (popout) and Matt Chapman (strikeout). They gave up two hits, both off Menez, and stuck out 12 as the Giants swept the twogame series.
Donovan Solano and Tyler Heineken hit sacrifice flies for the Giants. Solano replaced second baseman Yolmer Sanchez, who exited with a tight back.
“No longterm concerns, but we’ll take a look at him tomorrow,” Kapler said. “Backs are tricky. We want to keep open every possibility at this point.”
Nakken coached first all nine innings. In interviews, she has said she doesn’t want to take attention from the players, but there’s no doubt she has been an inspiration and role model including for those desiring to follow in her footsteps.
“To see her get a lot of credit that she deserves for all the work she’s put in, and the development that has occurred for her the last six months, has been really encouraging,” Kapler said.