The news earlier this week that the New York Yankees had promoted hitting coach Rachel Balkovec to manager of their Single A team in Tampa was met with surprise by many in the baseball community. This was history in the making.
Bianca Smith took the news in stride, and saw the move as inevitable rather than groundbreaking.
"I'm happy for her,'' said Smith, who served as a minor league coach in the Red Sox organization last year, "but I'm not surprised at all. She's been adamant about the career path she wants to take. She wants to be a general manager and this is one of the ways for her to get there. But I wasn't surprised at all. I mean, I've seen it happen with men -- where they've got one position one year and they're the manager the next year, so I can't see why it wouldn't happen with her. She's been with the Yankees for a few years prior. She's been on the field and she has all the qualifications. So, (I'm not surprised) at all.''
-original.jpg)
Bianca Smith
Like Balkovec, Smith has dreams of her own and intent on making her own journey in professional baseball, and while she's happy for Balkovec, the hiring provides to further motivation.
"Personally, for me, It doesn't change anything that I've been doing,'' Smith said. "I know I'm going to make it as a manager, whether somebody else is hired before me or not. So I can't say that it motivates me more, because I don't know that I can be motivated any more, just because this is what I want to do. Like I said, I'm very happy for her, but I already had optimism because of the fact that teams are hiring more women. Yes, we still have a lot of work to do, but there's going to be 11 of us (women in uniform throughout the sport) and that's double what it was.
"I've always had optimism. This is the third team I've worked for and I've seen how things have changed over the years. I've definitely seen a change. I always knew it was going to happen eventually. One of us had to be the first, but I knew it was going to happen. For other people, who aren't already in the industry and are trying to get in, I can see this being motivation. But for me, it changes nothing. Her being promoted doesn't really change my path at all.''
Reflecting on her own first year in the Red Sox organization, Smith was pleased with her progress. She worked in Fort Myers as a part-time coach for the organization's Florida Complex League, performing any number of roles.
"I'm sure I did a lot more than what the team was expecting me to do my first year,'' she said. "I certainly did more than what I was expecting, but that's a testament to the Red Sox giving me the freedom to explore what I'm interested in and figure out what I provide value to the team and jump in and take on responsibilities immediately.''
Smith expected to work with hitters and also provide outfield instruction in an assistant's capacity. Instead, she soon found herself tasked with being the primary outfield instructor, which included practice planning, defensive drills, and baserunning. She also coached first base for most of the season, while continuing to work one-on-one with a group of hitters.
"It was a lot more than even I expected coming in,'' said Smith. "That's a lot of (responsibilities) for somebody who was completely new to the organization.''
The Red Sox were impressed enough that they've made Smith a full-time coach for 2022.
"The willingness to be open, to ask questions, to try new things, combined with her already strong foundation of baseball knowledge, along with her work ethic and desire to get better, was incredible for her first year,'' said Red Sox director of minor league operations Brian Abraham. "I'm excited about what lies ahead for her and her coaching career. Now, in a full-time role, she'll have even a bigger voice and have the continuity of last year -- the understanding of who our staff is, how we do things. And the biggest thing is the players and the familiarity she now has with them.''
Smith reported no resistance from the players she worked with last season. She found she could build relationships with the players, who were unconcerned that she was a woman.
"The biggest apprehension was the first time I got hit in the cage, and the players freaked out until they figured out I was fine,'' she recalled with a chuckle. "I don't think it really has anything to do with gender. When you're a new coach, it takes a while for players to get used to you. And some players never get used to you -- that's just how it is. I had a couple of players who immediately started to talking to me. I had others who took a while and for others, it took until the end of the season. But I let them go on their own time. Again, I don't think it's based on gender; it was that I was a new coach.
"I come in trying to be the best coach, not the best because I'm a woman or better because I'm a woman. I come in with the same mentality I've always had: I want to be the best I can be and I want be the type of coach these players need.''