SF Giants Alyssa Nakken becomes first woman to interview for MLB manager job

The SF Giants interviewed assistant coach Alyssa Nakken during the team's search for a new manager, per The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly.

The SF Giants have interviewed assistant coach Alyssa Nakken for the vacant managerial position, according to a report by The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly. Nakken becomes the first woman to interview for a managerial position at the Major League level. Nakken first made history by becoming the first woman coach at the MLB level. She is also the third internal candidate for the position. It was previously reported that interim manager and bench coach Kai Correa and third-base coach Mark Hallberg were interviewed this week.

SF Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken works on the field prior to a game. (2023) / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Nakken first joined the Giants in 2014 as a baseball operations intern, working on health and wellness programs and later helping instruct baserunning and outfield defense. She also has a lot more MLB firsts to her name. In 2022, she became the first woman to coach on the field during a regular season game, serving as the first base coach after Antoan Richardson was ejected. During spring training this year, Nakken served as the acting bench coach, the first time a woman has done that in MLB.

Before beginning her career with the Giants, Nakken was a multisport athlete at Woodland High School, where she graduated in 2008. She later attended Sacramento State and was a three-time all-conference softball player and four-time Academic All-American during her career from 2009-2012. After receiving her psychology degree from Sacramento State, Nakken later earned a master's degree in sport management from the University of San Francisco.

Gabe Kapler was fired by the Giants on September 29, before the start of the last regular season series of the season. It is possible the team is unlikely to hire an internal candidate because of the team’s recent struggles. The Giants seemingly scapegoated Kapler by moving on from him, but retaining the majority of his coaching staff would signal that the franchise believes he was solely responsible for the team's disappointing finish.

While it is possible the SF Giants might not hire an internal candidate, there is still a chance that they would. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, who has a longstanding relationship with Kapler, is entering the final year of his contract and will likely be let go next year if the Giants are unable to reach the postseason. The uncertainty could make ownership hesitant to give a multiyear guaranteed contract to a new manager, which might limit them to internal candidates.