Melvin is happy Nakken remains on staff
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bob Melvin walked off the field and crossed paths with Alyssa Nakken, who was about to make history by coaching first base for the San Francisco Giants.
It came at Oracle Park moments before an exhibition in July 2020, when Major League Baseball was preparing for the pandemic-delayed 60game season, and Melvin — then the Oakland Athletics manager — made sure to share a few words with the first woman to coach for a Major League Baseball team.
“I might’ve been the first one to congratulate her, and I was happy to do that,” Melvin said Tuesday. “I thought it was really cool she broke ground like that.”
Melvin now manages the Giants and is pleased to have inherited Nakken from Gabe Kapler’s coaching staff. Nakken’s title remains assistant majorleague coach, and her duties will be similar, including assisting new bench coach Ryan Christenson with the outfielders and baserunners and also helping to map out spring training plans. Furthermore, she’ll assist with batting practice and manage the batting cage during games.
“Getting to know her now and communicating with her, man, she’s trying to make everything as easy on the coaching staff as possible,” Melvin said. “She’s just a great resource, especially for the guys who haven’t been here, helping to make them feel comfortable, (explaining) this is the way we do things here, putting them in touch with the right people. She’s on everything.”
When Melvin and Nakken crossed paths during that 2020 exhibition, Nakken was filling in for firstbase coach Antoan Richardson. On April 12, 2022, she became the first woman in MLB history to coach on the field in a regular-season game, entering as the first-base coach in the third inning as the replacement for Richardson, who had been ejected.
This will be Nakken’s fifth season on the Giants’ staff, and she’s due to make a bit more history in February: She and her husband, Robert Abel, are expecting their first child, a girl.
“We’re supporting her with the transition as she goes through her pregnancy and has her newborn,” Giants general manager Pete Putila said. “That’ll be a new experience for baseball, and we’re excited to support her through that.”
Melvin’s staff includes several new coaches: Christenson, pitching coach Bryan Price, assistant pitching coach Garvin Alston, hitting coach Pat Burrell and third-base coach Matt Williams. Holdovers include former third-base coach Mark Hallberg, who’ll move across the diamond and coach first, co-hitting coach Justin Viele, assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero and assistant pitching coach J.P. Martinez. Like Nakken, Taira Uematsu is a major-league assistant coach.
Melvin said some coaches were in Arizona for a pitching summit, but the coaching staff as a whole hasn’t gathered in person yet. Putila said the staff will have four fewer coaches than last season, with some coaches assuming more roles.
Before president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi hired Melvin, he had already committed to bringing Nakken back.
“Generally speaking, she’s really good at building relationships, not only with staff but the players, and bringing people together and organizing things, whether it’s meetings or action from meetings,” Putila said. “She wears a lot of different hats in addition to on-field coaching, so she’s definitely a valuable resource for the Giants.”
Not to mention an impactful pioneer.
“She’s an inspiration for a lot of women wanting to get into the game, whether it’s in coaching or other roles around baseball,” Putila said. “With the Giants, she’s a great connector and really good at identifying opportunities where we can make improvements on the field or in an office environment.”
Nakken was a softball star at Sacramento State and earned her master’s degree in sports management at USF. She began her career with the Giants in 2014 as a baseball operations intern.