The Brockton Rox have made some major changes in their off-season, but none is more profound than the hiring of Justine Siegal. She joins the coaching staff and becomes the first female coach in professional baseball history.
The Rox, a Can-Am League team, were a club I covered some in 2008. It was in Brockton that I was firmly asked to leave the clubhouse. There were other issues as well. But what matters is that, now, a new leaf has been turned. While she has yet to prove herself, Siegal has broke ground on a new path for women. It is no less important than the 1978 Ludtke decision, in which women were permitted access by law to the clubhouse.
Siegal's resume is, of course, all that counts. And as it should be. She's played baseball her entire adult life. She's played internationally on five continents, founded "Baseball For All" and spent two years as an assistant coach at Springfield College. She's also coached at the World Children's Baseball Fair from 2006-2008.
Siegal will be working along side one of the best baseball men you'll ever meet, Rox new manager Chris Carminucci.
The Can-Am league continues to evolve (with six teams now in the league) and become part of the Independent Baseball movement that keeps leading more frequently to the majors.
Now they've added a new feather to their cap. On behalf of all women in sports and sports media, we are grateful and proud.
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