The Boston Red Sox organization has hired Bianca Smith as a minor-league coach, the team announced this week. The move is significant because Smith is the first Black woman to hold a coaching job in any professional baseball organization affiliated with Major League Baseball.
Via the Boston Globe:
"She was a great candidate coming in," said Red Sox vice president of player development Ben Crockett, who helped spearhead the hire. "She's had some really interesting experiences and has been passionate about growing her skill set and development herself."
Per the Globe, Smith is expected to work with minor-league position players at the Red Sox's spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida.
Smith, a softball player at Dartmouth from 2010-12, has built a strong resume since leaving college. She was a graduate assistant and director of baseball operations at Case Western Reserve University for five years and then an assistant coach at the University of Dallas. Since 2019, she's been the assistant coach and hitting coordinator at Carroll University.
Smith has also interned in the baseball operations departments of the Reds and Rangers.
The Red Sox are expected to officially announce the hire at some point in January. It was January of 2020 when the Giants named Alyssa Nakken to their major-league coaching staff, making her the first woman in such a position. She is due back with the Giants for the 2021 season.
