A’s make Justine Siegal first female coach

ANAHEIM, Calif. _ Justine Siegal became the first female coach employed by a major league team when the A’s announced Tuesday that she has been hired for a two-week stint as a guest instructor with the club’s Instructional League team in Arizona.tmpplchld Siegal, who has completed Major League Baseball’s scout school, threw batting practice for six teams, including the A’s, in the spring of 2011.tmpplchld Siegal said she and A’s general manager Billy Beane have stayed in touch and “I’ve always made my hopes known” that she would break into baseball.tmpplchld “There is no Jackie Robinson without Branch Rickey,” Siegal told said by telephone, referring to the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager who hired Robinson to break baseball’s color barrier. “It’s going to be a great two weeks. I’m going to focus on being the best coach I can for those two weeks.”tmpplchld Siegal joins the A’s Instructional League team on Sunday and will work there until Oct. 17. She joins other female coaching pioneers such as Becky Hammon, who was a full-time assistant under Gregg Popovich with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs last season, and Jen Welter, who was an assistant coaching intern with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals this past training camp.tmpplchld Siegal became the first woman to coach men’s baseball professionally in 2009 as a first base coach for the Brockton Rox, an independent team. She currently serves as head coach for Baseball For All, a national nonprofit organization looking to provide instruction and opportunity in baseball, particularly for girls.tmpplchld During her two weeks in Arizona with the A’s Instructional League team, she will assist the team’s player development staff on and off the field. She holds a PhD. in sport and exercise psychology from Springfield College in Massachusetts, where she was an assistant baseball coach from 2008-10.tmpplchld In the spring of 2011, Siegal threw batting practice for the A’s, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Houston and the New York Mets. She also completed the Major League Scouting Bureau’s scout school.tmpplchld “Player reaction in the past has usually been surprise to have a woman in the job,” Siegal said. “Then they realize I know what I’m talking about, and then I become another guy on the field.”tmpplchld Siegal’s ultimate goal is to coach full time, “but we’ll start with this,” she said.tmpplchld “I’m really honored by this,” Siegal said. “Beane was the first to say yes to me throwing batting practice, and I’m honored the A’s will go out on a limb. I do feel qualified.”tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.)tmpplchld Visit The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.) at www.insidebayarea.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld