rachel balkovec

Supersized weekend, supersized episode! Who do we want to have a beer with this week? Pottymouth plays her once and forever card and hangs on to Vaughn Grissom, now that he’s with the Red Sox.  Patti selects Harper superfan Masataka Yoshida and his little dog too. For the Padres, Pottymouth gets to say Anzoátegui in reference to José Azócar and Patti picks home run trick shot hitter Matthew Batten. It’s arbitration time so we talk deals and holdouts.  How can Stroman be a Yankee? Teoscar’s LAD deal leads to a reuse, recycle, repurpose jersey discussion as well as pondering of Dodger money management. Again with the Wander and Julio mentions in the Police Blotter! Congrats to Luisa Gauci, new MIL hitting coach, and Rachel Balkovec, new farm director for MIA.

We say, “Blind faith is our friend,” “always hold on to a Diaz,” and, “I like that on the eve of the Iowa Caucus you’re worried about a weird President.  Oh. PREC-I-DENT.” Fight the man, send your game balls to Meredith, get boosted, and find us on Twitter @ncibpodcast, on Facebook @nocryinginbball, Instagram @nocryinginbball and on the Interweb at nocryinginbball.com. Please take a moment to subscribe to the show, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to NCiB. Become a supporter at Patreon to help us keep doing what we do. Say goodnight, Pottymouth.

Congrats @yankeesavenue 2500K followers.  Hard work paid off.  
@netflix #thebrotherssun highly recommend.  
What’s happening with @nygiants & #winkmartindale resigning?  Something is afoot.  Agree with @livestrongernyc OL is the Gmen not drafting a QB at #6 #nfldraft 2024.  #blackmonday continued today @titans axed #mikevrabel who could land with the @patriots next season. 
@umichfootball first 15-0 season ever.  So happy for @nikkischwartz_ & #goblue〽️ fans.  A season for the ages.  #jjmccarthy not an #nfl QB.  Go back to school. 
Congrats to new @marlins director of player personnel #rachelbalkovec hope it works out better for you than #kimng in South Florida. 
Joined today by @jsabater86x talking #gmen & #takeflight #jets talk.  Which led to @robparker1980 joining us to talk #juliusrandle #randlehandle and the @nyknicks trades of #rjbarrett #immanuelquickley to @raptors recently.  We shall see if the #knickerbockers have what it takes to make a deep run in the #nbaplayoffs this season.

All sports. One podcast. (even hockey)
PODCAST LINK ON ITUNES: http://bit.ly/JDTSPODCAST

We celebrate declaring boyfriends for the Guardians instead of “The Cleveland Team.” Pals Pottymouth and Patti choose pals Yu Chang and Bobby Bradley. For the Mets, Pottymouth looks to Yadi fan Tomás Nido, while Patti goes local with Adam Jones fan Khalil Lee. International Signing Day brings a phenomenon to the Nationals and “Little Altuve” to the Blue Jays. The League brought a disappointing economic proposal to the player’s union making it even less likely spring training will start on time. Adding to our list of what cannot happen during a lockout, we learn that if a player is pulled over for a DWI, the team can neither assist or discipline, yet. Players can announce retirements, however, so we wish Jon Lester well, offer thanks for the memories.

This is the week Rachel Balkovec became the first woman manager of a minor league team, Katie Krall’s hiring makes the Red Sox the first team with two women on the coaching staff, and the Blue Jays join the tiny groundswell, adding Jaimie Vieira as a minor league hitting coach. Winter Ball playoffs are winding up, and the independent Atlantic League ends their robo-ump and pitching mound experiments. Orioles Park moves the left field wall in an effort to lose the Coors Field East nickname. We say travesty, Wordle, and flask.

Get boosted, fight the man, and find us on Twitter @ncibpodcast, on Facebook @nocryinginbball, Instagram @nocryinginbball and on the Interweb at nocryinginbball.com. Please take a moment to subscribe to the show, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to NCiB. Become a supporter at Patreon to help us keep doing what we do. Say goodnight, Pottymouth.

Sweeny talks with Yankees VP of Player Development Kevin Reese about the recent hiring of Rachel Balkovec as a minor league manager, and about some of the Yankees' top prospects - like Jasson Dominguez and Anthony Volpe - entering the 2022 season.

Raiders weren’t playing for tie. 
Dolphins loss will hopefully be Giants gain with Brian Flores. 
Ja Morant what a block. 
Klay nice game back for GS. 
Colts and Carson Wentz what a stinker in Jacksonville yesterday.  

All sports. One podcast. (even hockey)
PODCAST LINK ON ITUNES: http://bit.ly/JDTSPODCAST

NCIB officially endorses Sonny Gray’s solution to a rough pitching outing.  Take a moment to get naked. If only that worked for all the pitchers from our Padres and Cleveland flocks currently on the IL and messing with our fantasy teams. Actually the solution to everything is ¡Más Kiké! Or vaccines.  Getting vaxxed would have solved a lot of issues for the Phillies -- Patti is not happy with current Phils bf Alec Bohm. We make our Home Run Derby picks knowing full well all our listeners already know the outcome, but we had a good time doing it. Our bfs are all over the ASG, on the reserves and sub lists in addition to the starters announced last week, but our hearts go out to Ronald Acuña Jr. 

Rachel Balkovec and her shrugging off of the Kelenic foul ball leads our Futures Game takeaways. In our Police Blotter headline, The housekeeper at the Denver hotel who discovered the enormous weapons stash should be throwing out the first pitch for sure. Bauer remains on administrative leave, but the union would have to approve any additional extension.  But bobbleheads and merch are OUT.

CPBL is starting back up, the KBO is cancelling games due to COVID, and we may just have declared for Team Mexico in the Olympics. Maybe. Really though we just want to say Es pi NO sa a million times. Willie Ross, the Doctor Dad of Nats pitcher Joe Ross, saves a Giants fan from choking at Oracle Park.  (insert Nats choking joke here). When you take away language and nudity from your R Rated night at the Lake Elsinore Storm game, you’re left with only violence.  Be careful out there.  Hey! Celebrate Women in Baseball Week by submitting a video to the International Women’s Baseball Center.  We’ll be watching for it.

Wash your hands, wear your masks, watch your distance, get your vaccine as soon as you can, and fight the man. Find us on Twitter @ncibpodcast, on Facebook @nocryinginbball, Instagram @nocryinginbball and on the Interweb at nocryinginbball.com. Please take a moment to subscribe to the show, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to NCiB. Become a supporter at Patreon to help us keep doing what we do. Say goodnight, Pottymouth.

“Let me tell you about my daughters. I’ll start with the one that’s coaching for the Yankees.” - Rachel Balkovec channels her father.

Rachel and Danielle discuss surprisingly similar childhood aspirations, deliver a message to "old school" baseball fans, and compare and contrast the pitch sequencing and mechanics of the highest level of baseball and softball.

Two Master's degrees later, Rachel discusses her "baseball nerd" mentality, how it brought her to Amsterdam to study under the leading researchers in baseball analytics to Driveline, the most well-respected American advanced metrics company.

Now, as a hitting coach for the New York Yankees, Rachel reflects on a time where she had $0 in her bank account, pushed it "all on red", and took a gamble on herself.

We'll also tackle:

• Fulfilling the American Dream
• Putting on the iconic pinstripes every day for work
• Girl Dads
• Practicing advanced metrics techniques... before it was "a thing"
• Level of vulnerability needed to be each other's "Rosetta Stone": when working through a language barrier with players in the Dominican Republic
• From a coaching perspective: practice philosophy, player acclimation (to a female coach), and how to create a healthy tension in coach/player relationships to elicit the best from the athletes.
• The return of baseball in 2020?
• and how a Marcus Aurelius quote applies to today's COVID world.

A listener question from Kevin in Camden, NJ: Who has been your biggest career influence so far?

Episode 95 – Rachel Balkovec

Rachel Balkovec is the first female strength and conditioning coach for any major sport within the United States. Rachel is currently with the Houston Astros, and I spoke to her on the eve of Game 6 of the World Series.

Rachel took the prescribed route for education in strength and conditioning. She got her first degree, then the CSCS, and then pursued her first internship. Then she did her second. Eventually, her third...

She's been through Athletes Performance (now EXOS.) She got into the graduate program at LSU, then did an internship for the St Louis Cardinals--twice. She worked weekends for years, waitressing and helping retirees go to the bathroom.

She referred to Angela Duckworth's book "Grit" right at the start of this podcast. Grit COULD be the title of this episode.

After so many experiences with athletic training Rachel assumed she was a shoe in to obtain additional internships while she was pursuing another degree. It was at this moment that she realized how hard it would be to make it as a woman in Major League Baseball. After countless attempts to contact teams and submit her resume, she heard nothing. It wasn’t until Rachel changer her name to Rae, that she finally got a call back.

It wasn’t until another internship with the Cardinals that she secured a strength and conditioning coaching position where she now overseas eight minor league teams and roughly 200 players. Now that the Astros have won the World Series, it is all about what they can continue to do to elevate their game and continue their success. It is one thing to get to get to the top but a whole different thing to stay there, according to Rachel. 

One of Rachel’s major jobs is to support the minor league teams in foreign countries. Many of the players in Major League baseball come from Latin America and they are signed to teams as young as 16 years of age.