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No lock out news. But maybe that’s a good thing, because a few things this past week really deserve our attention.
The Yankees have named Rachel Balkovec as the new manager of the Tampa Tarpons.
Sources: Rachel Balkovec, who joined the Yankees organization as a minor-league hitting coach in 2019, will serve as the manager for the Low A Tampa Tarpons next season.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) January 9, 2022
We believe this is the first woman manager in MiLB. She previously served as a minor league hitting coach in the Yankee system. More here and here.
Meanwhile on the other side of the globe, 17 year old Genevieve Beacom made her debut with the Melbourne Aces, working a scoreless frame.
17 year-old Genevieve Beacom officially becomes the first female to play pro baseball in Australia!
— Farm To Fame (@FarmToFame_) January 8, 2022
She pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Melbourne Aces! pic.twitter.com/m7ghQ72mjc
And in Houston, the Astros hired Sara Goodrum as their Director of Player Development.
The #Astros have officially announced the hiring of Sara Goodrum as the club's director of player development.
— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) January 5, 2022
Goodrum joins the Houston system after working as Brewers hitting coordinator in 2021.@AdamMcCalvy had this story on her last month: https://t.co/FoxAPkJ6AC
Let’s see, I’m sure some other stuff happened. Oh yeah, I guess there’s this.
In today’s @TB_Times, nearly 40 Tampa Bay Area business leaders endorse #Rays Montreal split-season plan as a “win-win-win” for all parties and push to prioritize a new Ybor City home for the team “on terms that the current market frames.” pic.twitter.com/2w7hpxItZA
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) January 8, 2022
This thread from a econ prof on the subject is interesting.
Why do businessmen from "three prominent regional chambers" support this plan? *They* want a taxpayer-funded stadium that helps fund their season tickets, club seats, and crony-schmoozing. It's selfish and contrary to the public interest.
— J.C. Bradbury (@jc_bradbury) January 9, 2022
Jeff Passan is getting anxious about the lockout.
"What the f--- are we doing?"
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 5, 2022
It's been more than 30 days since MLB's lockout started and the sides haven't had one substantive conversation. Spring training is fast approaching. At ESPN+, a look at how bad things are -- and a potential path to a deal: https://t.co/M4cgjfeLwp pic.twitter.com/ykIvsOFg94
This is an actual story, not a spoof. Reminder that Staten Island was one of the MiLB clubs that was contracted.
Yankees were 'embarrassed' by Staten Island team's Pizza Rat promotion https://t.co/cAk4PvQtoI pic.twitter.com/2VctbBxmqF
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) January 1, 2022
Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay will host a “Manningcast” style baseball broadcast next year.
NEWS: Alex Rodriguez "Manningcast" will be Kay-Rod.https://t.co/NfLKpgYXfB
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 7, 2022
In other media news, the Athletic was purchased by the New York Times.
The New York Times reached a $550 million deal to buy The Athletic, an online sports news outlet with 1.2 million subscriptions. https://t.co/gVJ0oygqnD
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 6, 2022
Finally, we’re not sure which is better, this girl’s swing, or her bat flip.
I pray my daughter has this swing pic.twitter.com/jiftXJoChK
— Baseball (@mlbelites_) January 9, 2022