CLEVELAND — A Case Western Reserve University alumnus is making history, blazing the trail for other women in Major League Baseball as she becomes the first Black female coach associate with the league.
Bianca Smith was hired by the Boston Red Sox to work with their minor leaguers.
“The strategy of the game, the love of the game, being able to help our players get better… the entire part of it I absolutely love,” Smith said.
Smith, who was at the time already Ivy League educated, earned two graduate degrees at CWRU and worked as the Spartans baseball operations manager from 2013-2017. From there she began interning in the MLB in operations roles.
But Smith would continue on her baseball journey, getting coaching experience as well by proving her abilities and never backing down, even in the face of adversity.
At one point, Smith was explaining to an opposing coach who she was and what her role was, which at the time was multifaceted but included planning meals for players.
“So I gave him my entire spiel—getting a law and business degree, work as director of baseball operations, help out with all of this...and he, I guess, latched onto, one of my duties was also planning meals when we were on the road… and he answered, ‘Great, so when you graduate I can hire you to make sandwiches.”
But snide comments and sexist takes have not slowed Smith down, continuing to take her career to new heights and provide inspiration to other young girls and women with similar goals.
“She has earned everything. She will continue to earn her opportunities and her success. She is a pioneer in that she’s the first Black female to be coaching in Major League Baseball. That really matters,” said Matt Englander, CWRU Baseball Coach.
