SF Giants interview Alyssa Nakken for manager
The Giants, as you’re surely aware of, are in the middle of searching for a new manager after firing Gabe Kapler with three games left in the 2023 season. And over the weekend news broke of a very exciting interview.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, the Giants interviewed Alyssa Nakken for their open manager position. As Baggarly notes, it’s believed to be the first time in MLB history that a woman has interviewed for a manager’s position.
That’s just the latest in a long string of barrier-breaking that Nakken has done, which includes becoming the first woman to be an on-the-field coach in an MLB game, when she took over first base coach duties during a game last season.
It’s easy to see why the Giants are considering Nakken, who has been in the organization since 2014, and has served as a coach for the last four seasons. Her teaching ability and baseball intelligence has earned rave reviews from the rest of the coaching staff and the players on the team, and she is exceptionally liked and respected by the players on the Giants.
She’s also very clearly liked and respected by the organization, which is highlighted by the fact that she’s not only receiving an interview, but receiving an interview while scheduled to give birth to her and her husband’s first child right as pitchers and catchers are reporting.
That the Giants are interviewing Nakken points to how much they value her, which means it’s a safe bet that she’ll stay in the organization even if she doesn’t get the job. That’s certainly never a given when a manager is fired.
It’s a long shot for Nakken and the Giants other internal candidates, which include Mark Hallberg and Kai Correa. President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi has suggested that the team will take recruiting ability into strong consideration when hiring a manager, and while those three (and any other internal candidates) are well respected within the walls of 24 Willie Mays Plaza, it’s unclear how much pull they have with players outside of the organization.
Zaidi has said that the team will interview internal candidates first, though the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser has reported that the team is going to interview former Giants catcher Stephen Vogt, who grew up a Giants fan and is currently the bullpen and quality control coach for the Seattle Mariners.
