Pirates make history by hiring 1st female uniformed coach in Caitlyn Callahan

The Pittsburgh Pirates will have their first female coach in uniform in club history in Caitlyn Callahan, who has been hired as a minor league developmental coach based out of Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.

The Pirates have yet to announce the move, as they continue to redefine coaching roles and shuffle staff throughout their minor league system under farm director John Baker.

But Callahan revealed the news on her LinkedIn profile page, writing that she is “excited to announce that I’ve accepted a position with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a Development Coach.” She also updated her Twitter profile with her new job title.

On LinkedIn, Callahan thanked Pirates player development coordinator Michael Chernow and minor league technology and video coordinator Marc Roche for “extending this incredible offer to me. I was beyond impressed with all the coaches, staff, and players I met and I am looking forward to being a part of this organization.”

Callahan, 26, played softball at Boston University and St. Mary’s (Calif.), where she earned a degree in kinesiology. She has spent the past two seasons working as an minor league video and baseball technology intern for the Cincinnati Reds. She also has experience as a baseball operations assistant for the Staten Island Yankees in 2019 and, per MLB.com, was the assistant general manager for the Brewster Whitecaps college summer baseball team in 2017 and ’18.

Callahan’s hire adds the Pirates to the MLB teams that now employ a woman in their coaching ranks. About two dozen women coach professional baseball, and several made history in the past year:

• The Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manager in November 2020, making her the first female to hold that title in any of North America’s four pro major sports leagues.

• San Francisco Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken, who played softball at Sacramento State, became the first female coach in major league history in January 2020. On July 20, she made history as the first woman to coach in a major league game, serving as first-base coach in the Giants’ 6-2 win over the Oakland A’s in an exhibition.

• Sewickley native Bianca Smith, who played softball at Dartmouth, became the sport’s first Black female coach when she was hired by the Boston Red Sox as a minor league coach Jan. 4. She works out of the Fenway South complex in Fort Myers.