The San Francisco Giants fired Gabe Kapler after an underwhelming four seasons at the helm and are looking internally for their next manager.
One of their candidates is reportedly Alyssa Nakken, who is believed to be the first woman to interview for a manager job in Major League Baseball history, per The Athletic.
Nakken became the first woman to ever join an MLB coaching staff when she was promoted to assistant coach in 2020. In April 2022, she became the first woman to coach on the field when she took over for ejected first base coach Antoan Richardson during a game against the San Diego Padres.
Nakken began her career in the Giants organization as a baseball operations intern in 2014. Previously, she was a standout college softball player at Sacramento State.
Giants bench coach Kai Correa and third base coach Mark Hallberg are also reportedly interviewing for the top job. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Seattle Mariners bullpen coach and former MLB player Stephen Vogt is also in the hunt.
While there’s never been a full-time female head coach in any major American men’s professional sport, the San Antonio Spurs probably came the closest: Becky Hammon was the heir apparent to Gregg Popovich before agreeing to a $1-million-per-year contract to be the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, who promptly won an WNBA title.
MLB was the first major men’s league with a female general manager when the Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng in 2020. However, on Monday, Ng declined her mutual option with the Marlins, parting ways with the team after three seasons.
