Justine Siegal
Justine Siegal | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975 (age 49–50) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Education |
|
| Occupation(s) | Sports Educator, Director, Consultant, Baseball developer |
| Employer | Baseball For All |
| Known for | first female coach of a professional men's baseball team |
| Title | Founder/Executive Director |
| Spouse | Jon Freeman |
| Website | https://www.justinesiegal.com/ |
Justine Siegal (born 1975) is an American baseball coach, sports educator and the founder of Baseball For All. In 2009, she became the first female coach of a professional men's baseball team, when she worked for the Brockton Rox, in the independent Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. In 2011, she became the first woman to throw batting practice to an MLB team, the Cleveland Indians during spring training. In 2015, hired by the Oakland Athletics for a two-week coaching stint in their instructional league in Arizona, she became the first female coach employed by an MLB team. She has also thrown batting practice to the Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, and New York Mets.
Siegal is particularly interested and involved in sports gender equity, and noted for her success in coaching baseball in contexts that were previously male-only.
Siegal coached Israel National Baseball Team at the 2016 qualifier for the 2017 World Baseball classic.
Siegal currently coaches in Baseball United for the Arabia Wolves, on the staff of manager John McLaren.