The St. Louis Cardinals will be entering the 2023 season with a new face on the coaching staff of one of their minor league affiliates.
Tina Whitlock, who was hired by the Cardinals in 2020, will finally get an opportunity to coach.
She was originally intended to serve as a coach in the minor leagues that season, but the minor league season was wiped out due to COVID-19.
In 2023, she’ll join the Cardinals High-A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted a link to a story about Whitlock finally getting her chance to serve as a coach.
The first woman to be in uniform for a #stlcards affiliate will be on High-A staff for 2023. Tina Whitlock, who was named to a staff for '20, will be the fourth coach in Peoria — and that fourth coach spot is at every affiliate this year. @TheDanGuerrero: https://t.co/IA3qx1viAa
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) January 19, 2023
Anytime a woman rises through the ranks in professional sports, it’s a huge step forward for society.
It’s a big step for any organization as well, and it’s a huge step for the Cardinals organization.
Whitlock will have a chance to live out her dream and participate in professional baseball.
She had served as a tech fellow in the Cardinals organization previously.
Whitlock is also a former All-American with the South Carolina Gamecocks, a team she helped guide to the College World Series.
She also played for the US National softball team.
But now, she has risen through the ranks of the Cardinals organization and has a chance to serve in a coaching role at the professional level.
She is the second woman to be hired to a coaching role in the Cardinals organization.
Rachel Balkovec, now a minor league manager in the New York Yankees system, got her start with the Cardinals.
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