TAIPEI (Business Today/TVBS News) — Sarah Edwards, from Long Island, New York, refused to give up on her talent and bravely pursued her dreams, becoming the first female technical coach in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL, 中華職棒). Her achievement represents a watershed moment for this male-dominated sport and stands as a significant milestone for gender equality in Taiwan.
Every child, to some degree, has written their own fairy tale story in their heart. Sarah's version was that when she grew up, she would live happily ever after with her beloved baseball. Today, she is living in her fairy tale. On the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the defending CPBL champion CTBC Brothers (中信兄弟隊) announced their coaching staff for the new season, with American Sarah taking over as the first-team hitting coach. At 28, she becomes the first female technical coach in the CPBL's 36-year history. Sarah fell in love with baseball from an early age, influenced by her four brothers.
Nomadic Life Teaching Baseball and Softball in over 10 Countries
When Sarah was preparing to make career choices during college, her university's women's softball league suddenly disbanded, leaving her feeling uncertain about her future. She briefly considered enlisting in the Marines to serve her country. After much consideration, she realized she couldn't give up baseball. Through an international baseball coaching organization, she traveled to New Zealand after college graduation to coach baseball at a high school, beginning five years of nomadic life pursuing coaching positions and softball player contracts.
She taught baseball and softball in more than 10 countries before settling in Italy, where she taught while playing in the local women's professional softball league for four years. With Italian heritage, she obtained an Italian passport and was selected for the Italian national women's softball team, making significant contributions in international competitions. Although she wasn't playing baseball, Sarah was content with her simple, stable life. "I thought I would spend the rest of my life in Italy," she recalled. Just as she was prepared to spend her life with softball, an unexpected opportunity came knocking.
Opportunity Knocks! She Lands Dream Position with Phillies
In October 2022, Sarah received an interview invitation from the Philadelphia Phillies via LinkedIn for a "player development assistant" position involving video analysis. The chance to enter MLB, the world's highest-level baseball system, delighted Sarah, but she didn't lose her head. She accepted the interview and prepared her pitch. During her interview with the female head of player development, she repeatedly emphasized her background as a player and her professional knowledge to help develop young players. She hoped for a position allowing direct, in-depth interaction with players rather than just analyzing videos in a room.
The interviewer asked, "Does this mean you're more interested in a coaching position?" "Yes!" she answered confidently. The fearless Sarah got her wish, securing a position as a hitting development coach in the Phillies' rookie league. When she stepped into the spring training facility in Clearwater, Florida, in January 2023, she not only realized her childhood "fantasy" but also became the first female full-time coach in the Phillies' 140-year history. After a year in the Phillies system without a contract renewal, Sarah's MLB experience helped her secure a coaching opportunity in Japan, another baseball powerhouse. In 2024, she was invited to coach in Okinawa's winter league, training players aspiring to compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB, 日本職棒).
CTBC Brothers' Japanese manager Hirano Keiichi (平野惠一) heard about a female coach with MLB system experience in the winter league and flew to Okinawa specifically to observe Sarah's capabilities up close. On site, Hirano, who had served as a hitting coach for the Hanshin Tigers (阪神虎隊) in Japan's top league, quickly discovered Sarah was indeed "talented." For due diligence, he questioned several coaches and players who had worked with her and thoroughly investigated her background before recommending her to the team, convinced she could enhance the Brothers' competitiveness. Hirano revealed to Business Today that he had long wondered, "Why are there so few women in baseball? Or rather, why are female coaches restricted?"
This question originated when Hirano first came to Taiwan in 2022 and saw a female field staff member, Li Ying-luan (李映箮), former deputy chief of the league's field operations section, at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium (台中洲際棒球場). He experienced a significant culture shock: "In my impression, these dirty jobs should be done by men, but she (Li) could handle it. She's really super strong!" While always believing "if there can be female field staff, there should also be female coaches," Hirano emphasized that recommending Sarah wasn't just about adding a woman to the coaching staff. "I firmly believe she has abilities completely equal to men," he said. Based on absolute trust in their championship manager, the CTBC Brothers organization unhesitatingly agreed to bring Sarah on board.
After nearly a month of working together, both coaches and players affirm Sarah's professionalism. "She can observe many details that coaches don't notice and give us many different opinions," Hirano said, believing Sarah's greatest advantage is her excellent communication skills. Star shortstop Chiang Kun-yu (江坤宇) also said Sarah communicates smoothly with teammates and provides practical advice through hitting data analysis.
In the past, women in professional baseball mostly served as translators, managers or trainers. Sarah's direct involvement in the technical aspect is truly a significant breakthrough," said sports commentator Chen Tzu-hsien (陳子軒), who has long studied Taiwan's sports culture. He analyzed that Sarah's appointment to a key position in the first team shows Taiwan's baseball has made significant progress in gender diversity participation, noting that even Japan, with its deeper baseball tradition, hasn't yet had a female coach in its top league.
More than a decade ago, Taiwan's professional baseball was still filled with many discriminatory "unwritten rules" against women. For example, many players publicly stated they didn't want women touching their equipment, believing it might bring "bad luck" if their "rice bowls" were touched by women. "Professional baseball is ultimately a very masculine domain, and sometimes athletes are superstitious, wondering why anyone would challenge these taboos," Chen lamented. He noted Taiwan's professional baseball has evolved from a time when female reporters faced strange looks when entering players' locker rooms to today when teams welcome women joining coaching staffs and fans respond positively, which is certainly encouraging.
On Gender Imbalance: "Ability and Cooperation are More Important"
Regarding the gender imbalance in baseball, Sarah confidently said: "I believe my abilities are better than others, I know more, and I can cooperate better with people. These conditions are all more important than gender." Her efforts aim not only to prove herself but also to encourage more women like her who dream of coaching baseball. But beneath her confident smile, Sarah must bear pressures men don't face.
After news broke about her appointment as the first-team hitting coach, anonymous "keyboard warriors" immediately posted comments online such as "A woman as hitting coach? With such little strength, can she understand how men generate power?" and "She should be a cheerleader goddess; being a coach is too much of a leap." These self-proclaimed expert opinions quickly emerged.
"I'm not trying to enter the baseball industry to change everything. We just want to prove that women, given equal opportunities, can also be part of it," Sarah said. Sarah faces significant challenges in proving herself. In their 2024 championship season, the CTBC Brothers led the six-team league in team home runs and slugging percentage, with RBIs and on-base percentage second only to their championship series opponent, the Uni-President Lions (統一獅隊). This season, without core hitter Chen Tzu-hao (陳子豪), whether they can maintain last year's excellent offensive firepower will be the most direct indicator of Sarah's performance.
As the interview ended, Sarah returned to her position behind the batting cage, intently focusing on every detail of each batter's swing. Her silhouette with long brown hair is a rare sight on a professional baseball field but symbolizes the progress of Taiwan's professional baseball. Whether you're a boy or a girl, as long as you have the ability, you can live in a fairy tale story with baseball. ★
This article is excerpted from the February issue of Business Today; for more articles, please visit their website: https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/
Here is the link to the Chinese story: 兄弟總教頭讚紐約女孩莎拉「能看見旁人忽略的細節」 中職首位女打擊教練： 有平等機會， 女性也能成為一分子
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