Alyssa Nakken, a member of the Cleveland Guardians association, broke ground for women in the MLB.
Alyssa Nakken was born June 13th, 1990, in Woodland California. Alyssa attended California State University, Sacramento (CSUS), where she played softball as a first baseman. After her incredible collegiate career, where she was a 3-time all conference selection and the 2012 conference Scholar-Athlete of the year, Alyssa took her talents to Major League Baseball. Alyssa entered a male dominated field and broke ground for women in the MLB.
Getting a Foot in the Door
After her graduation from CSUS Alyssa took an internship with the San Francisco Giants within the club’s baseball operations department. As an intern she was mainly involved in the health and wellness of the players. After proving her worth Alyssa was given the opportunity to take on a bigger role within the organization. In January of 2020, Alyssa was promoted to the Giants coaching staff as an assistant coach. This meant, Alyssa was officially the first female in MLB history to be a part of a club’s full-time coaching staff, and this opportunity gave her a real chance to show just what an asset she could be in a field where women are underrepresented.
The Next Big Step
Obviously, the fact that Alyssa became the first ever female coach in the MLB was an incredible feat, but she would not stop there. As the assistant coach Alyssa was mainly tasked with assisting the head coach and other assistants in game day prep, player management, etc. At this time, Alyssa was still lower on the coaching tree, so she was not out in the field of play during the games. Things soon changed for Alyssa when she began taking over the first base coaching position during exhibition games prior to the 2020 season. The first of which was an exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics. Nakken’s game-worn jersey from that day is now on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. She continued to take this position during exhibition games throughout the 2020 and 2021 preseasons, but on April 12th, 2022, during a matchup between the Giants and the San Diego Padres, the Giants first base coach, Antoan Richardson, was ejected in the 3rd inning.
Alyssa had been learning under Richardson to be his backup during her time as an assistant coach. This led to Alyssa assuming the position as first base coach for the rest of the regular season matchup. This appearance would officially be the first time a woman would coach on the field during a regular season game.
A First Time for “Everything”
Alyssa was tenured as an assistant coach for the Giants from 2020 to the end of the 2024 season. Following the 2023 season the Giants manager, Gabe Kapler, whom Alyssa had been working under, was relieved of his duties. The Giants were in need of a new manager and they were hoping Alyssa would fill that role. Alyssa became the first ever female to be interviewed for the position of an MLB teams manager position, but after the interview process the Giants ended up hiring the current manager, Bob Melvin. However, Alyssa continued her role as an assistant coach on Melvin’s staff through the entirety of the 2024 season.
She was absent for most of spring training and road trips during that 2024 season though because Alyssa had something more special going on in her personal life. She gave birth to her daughter, Austyn, in January earlier that year and became a first time mom. This would make Alyssa the first EVER MLB coach to go on maternity leave! Which just goes to highlight how many more firsts are coming Alyssa’s way as she continues to break boundaries in the world of baseball.
What Does this Mean?
Alyssa was hired on by the Cleveland Guardians as an assistant director of player development following the 2024 season. She was the first of many for women in the MLB field, but she will not be the last. Alyssa’s story will give hope to the next generation of women who love the game of baseball as much as any man. Alyssa sat down for an interview with Amy Gutierrez in 2022 where she goes over her path to coaching. You can watch the full video here.
