Former Phillies coach Sarah Edwards becomes first woman to be on-field coach in Asian pro baseball

Sarah Edwards has seen the world: She's played softball for the Italian women's national team and baseball for the USA women's national team. She also was the first female coach in the Phillies system. She's played for club teams in New Zealand, Spain, Holland and Switzerland while helping other ballplayers land jobs around the world in her work for Softball Jobs Overseas.

But when Taiwan's CPBL season opens later this week, she'll be embarking on another first: Named as the CTBC Brothers hitting coach, Edwards will become the first female on-field coach in Asian professional baseball.

The globetrotting star was coaching in the Japanese Winter League this offseason when she first met the Brothers' manager and four-time NPB All-Star Keiichi Hirano. She had been working with some of the Brothers' Minor League players when Hirano traveled to Japan to check on their progress.

"He watched me work and liked what he saw," Edwards said in a phone call with MLB.com. "We had a sit-down meeting and he really wanted to be the manager to bring the first female hitting coach to Asian baseball. That was something he took a lot of pride in."

Hirano noticed how she communicated with the players, breaking down the problems they were having in the box and looking for unique ways to solve the issues.

"I saw that the players liked her and trusted her a lot," Hirano said through Le-Tzu Teng, who translated. "After that, I asked the Japanese players, 'What do you think about Sarah?' The players all gave me a very positive answer: 'She's good. She helps me a lot.'"

Hirano stayed for two weeks, not just following the development of the Brothers' young ballplayers, but studying how Edwards went about her work, how she implemented practices and what she brought to the field every day. When it was time for him to return to the Brothers' home in Taipei City, he knew he had found his next hitting coach.

"For us, for the CTBC Brothers, it's not about the men or women, it's about the ability and the quality," Hirano said. "I think Sarah is a very good coach. She will be very good for us."

Hirano is used to challenging the orthodoxy: Last year, the Brothers had Daniel Catalán, a former Driveline employee, as the team's hitting coach. Following the team's Taiwan Series-winning season, Catalán's duties were expanded to encompass the organization's entire system, working with both veterans and helping develop the young Minor Leaguers. Edwards was tasked with filling his old position and replicating that success.

"[Hirano's] reason for [hiring me] was he wanted somebody with game experience," Edwards said. "He really likes my in-game strategizing, the way that I spoke with players and things like that."

While more women have found their way into Major League organizations over the last few years, with the Guardians' Alyssa Nakken, the D-backs' Ronnie Gajownik and the A's Veronica Alvarez and Alex Hugo among the most notable, leagues like Japan's NPB and Korea's KBO are still largely male-dominated.

Though there have been women hired for support staff and in behind-the-scenes roles, few have public-facing positions and none have coached on the field: Korean national soccer team player and FIFA referee Eun-ju Im was president and GM of the Kiwoom Heroes for only 10 days in January 2019 before resigning. In Japan, Tomoko Namba is the owner of the DeNA BayStars, the first woman to hold such a role.

In Taiwan, the region's fans are baseball crazed after Chinese Taipei won the Premier12 in November before hosting the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in March. Edwards is now getting to experience that herself. The CPBL season has yet to begin and already Edwards has seen the impact she's made.

"In terms of really understanding the scale of what I'm doing and how it's changing the baseball industry, it's really hard to wrap my head around it," Edwards said. "When I go out in public, I get recognized -- it's freaking crazy! I'm literally a celebrity. It's a huge deal."

While Edwards is inspiring young fans along with Chinese Taipei's women's baseball and softball players, she also has to deal with the usual criticism and sexism that women in the industry face on a daily basis. She is tired of having to face the same comments she's seen on every step up the ladder.

Cheerleading is an integral part of baseball in Taiwan, and Edwards has heard backhanded compliments saying she should be on the sidelines as a cheerleader instead. The magazine A Day also published a story on the sexist comments and criticism that Edwards had received.

"It's hard enough for anyone to be a professional hitting coach," Edwards said. "No one should have that extra pressure to have to keep proving yourself time and time again, especially with the resume that I do. It's like, yes, you're a woman, yes, people are going to have preconceived notions of you based on what you look like -- my age is a big thing because they're used to having coaches that are older men -- but they all know my backstory here. At this point in my career, I've done so much in the past that nobody can tell me that I'm not supposed to be here."

Fortunately, those complaints are outweighed by the joy Edwards finds in her work, the support she receives from the team, and the impact she's making out on the field.

"All that gets drowned out by the amount of smiles that I get to have in my face every single day," Edwards said. "Fans recognize me. I go to the field and the players are happy to see me, and people just really understand how much my presence means to them. That's super heartwarming."

The Brothers, who have won three of the last four league titles, will be looking to repeat again this year. A championship is the main goal, and Hirano believes having Edwards on his staff will be a crucial part of that success.

"The most important thing for this team is that we have to be better this year," Hirano said. "I think Sarah is a very necessary part to help us achieve this goal."

Edwards has hopes of one day becoming a manager or director of player development, but for now, she has just one plan:

"My goal is to help this team absolutely dominate this year, and be that one team that's just head and shoulders above the rest," Edwards said. "I feel like just striving for another championship isn't enough at this point for a team that has such a successful past."