New Pirates coach Callahan focused on her job, not history

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Caitlyn Callahan was standing in a Starbucks in the fall 2019 when she peered down at her phone and was met with a jolt that changed the course of her life.

A couple of clicks told her the New York Yankees had just made Rachel Balkovec the first woman to be a full-time coach in the major leagues. Suddenly, a door that Callahan assumed was closed had swung wide open and her inner ballplayer resurfaced.

“If you’ve ever been in one of those playoff situations where you’re that batter up and there’s someone on second (base) and that excitement, that, like, 'Ready to go. I want to be in the box like that,’ that was what it felt like,” Callahan said. “Just being so excited to see that. It gives me chills a little bit because honestly, (it was) empowering.”

And a sign of things to come.

A little more than two years after Balkovec broke down a barrier Callahan feared would stand forever, she broke one of her own, becoming the first female coach in the 135-year history of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The team hired the 26-year-old last month as a development coach, won over by her knowledge, talent and tenacity.

“At a core level, she has the characteristics that we’d be looking for in any coach — a real passionate curiosity for learning, for learning about the best and most modern coaching practices,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “She’s certainly literate in all of the forms of technology we would use in player development. Most of all, she wants to help players get better and is passionate about putting the player first."

It's a mindset Callahan developed as a middle schooler when interest in softball in her southern California neighborhood dried up. Her younger brother's Little League coach suggested she give baseball a shot, and she more than...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/New-Pirates-coach-Callahan-focused-on-her-job-16823251.php