CLEARWATER, Fla. — In the course of two interviews for a minor league coaching job with the Phillies, Sarah Edwards impressed farm director Preston Mattingly with her perspective from a pro softball playing career that took her overseas. She demonstrated an interest in hitting instruction, a curiosity about learning new teaching techniques, and a willingness to put in long hours.
Oh, and she’s a woman.
That last detail isn’t insignificant. On the contrary, actually. Edwards, 26, got hired in January and is about to begin her rookie season as the first female on-field coach in Phillies history — and the franchise has been around since 1883.
Other women occupy prominent roles on the baseball side of the organization. Corinne Landrey got hired by the Phillies in 2017 as an intern and rose through the analytics department to director of baseball operations. Dana Parks also came aboard in 2017 and is now assistant director of player development. There are female athletic trainers and physical therapists, mental skills coaches and nutritionists.
But as minor league camp gets underway this week, it’s notable that a woman will pull on the red batting practice top and pinstriped pants (Edwards wears No. 25, her number in her last international competition), stand behind the batting cage, and work with young players as a hitting development coach for the Phillies’ Clearwater-based rookie-level affiliate in the Florida Complex League.
“I’m extremely prideful, of course, paving the way for younger generations of women to be able to grab these same opportunities,” Edwards said Sunday. “It fills my heart.”
It just doesn’t have anything to do with why Edwards was hired, according to Mattingly. Entering his second year at the helm of the minor league system, he maintains that he didn’t know about Edwards’ status as a shatterer of Phillies glass ceilings.
Mattingly was more interested in what Edwards could bring to the staff. And after she played softball for four years in college (two at Buffalo and two at Hofstra) and five years professionally in Switzerland, Italy, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, the Phillies believe her input can be considerable.
“She has a unique perspective on hitting,” Mattingly said. “I think it’ll be good for her to get around our hitting group and learn from each other and bounce ideas back and forth. You’ve got to be willing to roll up your sleeves and get after it, and I think Sarah definitely has the determination and drive to want to do that.”
Last year, Edwards batted .356 (26 for 73) with two homers for Bertazzoni Collecchio of the Italian Softball League. She played for the Italian national team in the World Games in Birmingham, Ala., an event that she described as “the biggest stage that I have ever played on in my career.”
Edwards, who grew up in New York on the South shore of Long Island, was thinking of playing in Italy again this year. But she also worked as a recruitment manager for Baseball Jobs Overseas, an organization that has enabled her and hundreds of other baseball and softball players to continue their careers by connecting them with international teams and leagues.
“I think that really helped me step into a role in baseball,” Edwards said. “I wasn’t a coach, but it made me feel a lot more comfortable being able to work with baseball players.”
The Phillies contacted Edwards through LinkedIn, with director of staff recruitment Steve Moser reaching out about a position that was listed as “player-development associate.” In a meeting with Parks, Edwards expressed an interest in “a role where I had more of a voice and can contribute more to help the athletes.”
That led to a discussion about coaching, which prompted conversations with others in the organization, including Mattingly, who expanded the FCL staff from seven coaches last season to 10 this year.
“With Sarah, one thing we wanted to make clear was that she was hired because of her skill set,” Mattingly said. “That’s why we were most attracted to bringing her in, because we thought she was really smart, she was really passionate about the game, she wanted to work and get players better. It had nothing to do with because she was female.”
In time, the mere presence of a woman in uniform may not attract attention. At least that’s the hope within the corridors of Major League Baseball.
Teams have given more on-field opportunities to women in recent years. Rachel Balkovec blazed a trail last season when the Yankees hired her as the first female manager of an affiliated minor league team at single-A Tampa. Alyssa Nakken became the first female coach on the field in the majors when she coached first base for the Giants during a game last April.
The Mets and Guardians hired former college softball players Gretchen Aucoin and Amanda Kamekona, respectively, to coach in the minor leagues. Edwards played against Aucoin in Italy and New Zealand and expects to reach out to her this season, Phillies-Mets rivalry notwithstanding, to share their common experiences.
“Being able to watch them and their careers develop, it gave me the inspiration to say [to the Phillies], ‘Hey, I’d rather be a coach instead,’ ” Edwards said. “I don’t know if I would’ve had that courage to say that if I didn’t see other women in positions like that.”
Perhaps Edwards will have a similar influence on women who come after her. For now, she’s concerned only with getting to know players and fellow staff members during the first week of minor league camp.
Edwards arrived in Clearwater last week and has been attending meetings and introducing herself to players who arrived early. She’s working on her Spanish and figures she can lean on her experience as an expatriate athlete to ease the transition for young players from Latin America and other far-flung regions.
“I don’t think the players really do see me very differently,” Edwards said. “I think they’re intrigued. But I don’t think that they’re going to treat me any differently. I think it’s a very nice anecdote that I’m the first female. It’s a huge honor. But I’m not here to make any political statements or anything. I’m here to be a coach. I’m here to help the players.”
Just like her male colleagues.
“Obviously this is historic for the Phillies,” Mattingly said. “But when we start recognizing the female staff members for their skill set, that’s when I think we’ll really be able to take off as an industry.”
