Yankees minor league manager Rachel Balkovec doing better

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Rachel Balkovec, hired by the New York Yankees as the first woman to manage a minor league affiliate of a Major League Baseball team, is nearing a return after being hit in the face by a batted ball during a drill last week. Balkovec was struck on March 22, causing her to miss her first scheduled spring training game two days later with Class A Tampa. Yankees vice president of player development Kevin Reese saw Balkovec on Tuesday night and says she’s starting to feel better. He thinks she is getting close to being back on the field. She is scheduled to manage her first regular-season game on April 8 at Lakeland.