Yankees Low-A manager Rachel Balkovec posted a picture on Instagram announcing she was OK after getting hit by a ball in a batting cage, and showing off her face injury.
“Well I *DID* have several modeling contracts lined up, but this put a wrench in those plans,” she said in her post. “Thanks for all of the messages—Just feeling extremely lucky, and also like I’ll never throw side flips again for the rest of eternity. This is why you have to life your life in a way that you’re okay leaving it at any moment. Not a minute to waste being, thinking or playing small.”
In a more serious comment, Balkovec said she feels fortunate and will take some time off to recover before returning for Tampa’s regular season.
“All things considered, I feel very fortunate,” she said in a statement on Wednesday. “The doctors have asked me to be smart about limiting my activities over the next several days, and I plan on following their guidance. As much as I already miss being around the players and staff, I do not anticipate this affecting my role and responsibilities for the regular season.”
The Yankees named Balkovec the manager of the Tampa Tarpons in January, making her the first woman in MLB history to manage a team at any level of Major or Minor League Baseball. She had spent the past three years for New York as a minor league hitting coach.
