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SF Giants: Alyssa Nakken is team's acting bench coach against Dbacks

With a pair of split-squad games on Saturday, SF Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken is Gabe Kapler's acting bench coach against the Diamondbacks.

Marc Delucchi

SF Giants: Alyssa Nakken is team's acting bench coach against Dbacks
SF Giants: Alyssa Nakken is team's acting bench coach against Dbacks /
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The SF Giants had a pair of spring training games on Saturday. With so many players at big-league camp, teams routinely split their rosters up so players can get more in-game reps. On Saturday, the Giants hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks at Scottsdale Stadium and traveled to Phoenix to face the Milwaukee Brewers. Players are not the only thing split up for these games, though, so are a team's coaching staff. For the Giants, bench coach Kai Correa managed the team travelling to Phoenix, which meant assistant coach Alyssa Nakken was manager Gabe Kapler's acting bench coach against the Diamondbacks.

Nakken became the first woman to join an MLB coaching staff in a full-time role prior to the 2020 season. Last year, she became the first woman to coach on the field during a regular-season MLB game when she replaced Antoan Richardson as the Giants first base coach after he was ejected.

SF Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken (92) watches from the dugout prior to the game against the Miami Marlins. (2022)
SF Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken (92) watches from the dugout prior to the game against the Miami Marlins. (2022) / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Since joining Kapler's staff prior to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Nakken has primarily worked with players on baserunning and outfield defense.

Nakken was a three-time all-conference softball player during her career at Sacramento State from 2009-2012. She was also a four-time Academic All-American. She interned with the Giants baseball operations department in 2014 a year before earning a master's degree in sport management from the University of San Francisco.

While it may just be a split-squad spring training game, it's worth noting that Alyssa Nakken is serving in a more prominent role on Kapler's coaching staff. Since a team's bench coach generally steps in for the manager if they are ejected, Nakken is just one step away from being the first woman to manage an MLB team.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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