Siegal becomes first woman to coach a men’s professional team
Tuesday, June 02, 2009 -
On Thursday, May 28, the Brockton Rox coach Justine Siegal officially became the first woman to coach a men’s professional baseball team. Siegal was hired on May 4, 2009, as the final piece in Rox Manager Chris Carminucci's coaching staff. “It absolutely does not matter to me that she is a woman,” said Carminucci upon her hiring. “I needed to fill out my coaching staff; she came in for an interview and completely sold me on her abilities. I’m thrilled that we found her before someone else did, because she is a tremendous coach.”
Siegal’s baseball background includes coaching and playing on five continents, serving as an International Baseball Federation (IBAF) coach at the World Children’s Baseball Fair (2006, ’07, ’08), and speaking at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Founder of BaseBall for All, an organization that provides meaningful baseball instruction and opportunity for men and women around the world, Siegal has organized two girls’ and women's baseball tournaments at Disney’s Wide World of Sports and coached more than half a dozen international girls’ baseball teams.