SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alyssa Nakken made major league history as the first female coach on the field in a regular-season game, and the Giants pounded the San Diego Padres 13-2 on Tuesday night.
The 31-year-old Nakken took over at first base in the third inning after Antoan Richardson got ejected. When she was announced as Richardson’s replacement, Nakken was greeted with a warm ovation from the crowd at Oracle Park. She also received a congratulatory handshake from Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer.
“I think we’re all inspirations doing everything that we do on a day-to-day basis and I think, yes, this carries a little bit more weight because of the visibility, obviously there’s a historical nature to it,” Nakken said. “But again, this is my job.”
San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said Nakken had “prepared for this moment” while working with Richardson and others.
“So it’s not a foreign spot on the field for her. She does so many other things well that aren’t seen,” he said. “So it’s nice to see her kind of be right there in the spotlight and do it on the field.”
Nakken is an assistant coach who works heavily with baserunning and outfield defense. She watches games from an indoor batting cage near the steps to the dugout.
Richardson said his ejection stemmed from an incident that began when Padres third base coach Mike Shildt, the former St. Louis Cardinals manager, approached the Giants dugout.
Richardson said he asked Shildt what he needed. The San Francisco coach said Shildt used an expletive and told Kapler to “control” Richardson.
“At that point in time I went up to the top step and said, ‘Excuse me,’ because I couldn’t believe what I heard” and got ejected, Richardson said.
Brandon Belt hit a two-run homer…
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