The Boston Red Sox this week hired Major League Baseball’s first black female coach to a minor league assignment.
Bianca Smith will make history as she assumes the role of coach, working with position players in Fort Meyers, Florida.
“She was a great candidate coming in,” Red Sox vice president of player development Ben Crockett told NBC Sports. “She’s had some really interesting experiences and has been passionate about growing her skillset and development herself.”
Smith played collegiate softball at Dartmouth and made coaching stops at Case Western Reserve, the University of Dallas, and Carroll University in Wisconsin.
She has also interned with both the Texas Rangers and the Cincinnati Reds.
Smith’s hiring comes after a year of firsts for female sports. In November, the Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng, 51, as the first female general manger in the MLB, and Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller became the first female football player to score in a Power 5 game in the same month of 2020.
