Although Portland lacks a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, the Hillsboro Hops minor league team is just around the corner at Ron Tonkin Field. As their 2023 season comes to an end, so does their new manager’s first season with them.
Ronnie Gajownik, the manager of the Hillsboro Hops, became the second female manager in the minor league and the first at High A-class level in January of 2023. Except that’s not all, she’s also the first LGBTQIA+ identifying manager in minor and major league baseball history. She has closely followed Rachel Balkovec as the first woman to work as a full-time manager of a major league-affiliated team, the Tampa Tarpons.
While Gajownik was breaking a new barrier for both women and members of the LBGTQIA+ community in baseball, she was also learning how to handle her new job as manager. “People in the public only see 5% of what a manager does, and I definitely saw the other 95% of it now being a manager,” explained Gajownik. “And so it was definitely an eye-opening experience, but one that I’m very happy that I was able to do this past season.”
Gajownik has a long history with baseball, starting between the ages of eight and ten. “I grew up playing softball and baseball my whole life and made the women’s national baseball team in 2015 for the Pan Ams. We got a gold medal in Toronto.” She graduated that same year from the University of South Florida in Tampa where she had also played on their college team. Gajownik stated, “It’s [baseball] been a part of my life since I can remember.”
Before this first season with the Hops, the Arizona Diamondbacks gave Gajownik her start. The Major League team offered Gajownik a player development internship, and both she and her wife headed to the West Coast. Following the internship, she spent the 2022 season as the head coach of the Diamondbacks Double-A affiliate, the Amarillo Sod Poodles.
Gajownik’s first season managing the Hops consisted of learning the ropes and getting a hang of the new tasks that come along with the job. “I had a great support system on and off the field,” Gajownik said. “Being able to learn from different coaches and the coordinators coming into town and supporting me and the conversations that we would have either during the game or after the game made it a really great season.”
While the Hops season lasts from April to October, it’s safe to assume Gajownik’s schedule is very busy. “You know, it went really well, but I’m definitely ready for the off-season of, you know, being able to be a real person again.” Oregon is a new change of scenery for Gajownik and her wife, but they seem to really enjoy it thus far.
Gajownik explained, “Growing up, being from Florida, I’d always wanted to get out to the Pacific Northwest. Oregon is absolutely beautiful and I definitely wish I could have gone on more hikes you know, only having the Monday off and trying to get the normal stuff done is hard. I absolutely love Oregon.”
With this big step into professional baseball for two communities, breaking glass ceilings and seizing opportunities, it is also important to remember that is not all that defines Gajownik or her career. “I always knew who I was, I guess. And so, I was never, sort of nervous in regards to who I was married to or what my preference is,” Gajownik shared. When asked if she has faced any negative experiences in professional baseball, Gajownik responded, “I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job so far in my personal life and also in my career with whom I lean on in my professional setting. They value me for me and they don’t think anything negatively and are super supportive.”
Gajownik’s story is a great example of the importance of not letting others stop you from being yourself, and doing what you want to do. “I think that you have to have female advocates, but you also have to have male advocates who, again, see not just the value as a male or as a female, but just the value of a person.” Gajownik continued, saying, “Whatever it is you’re passionate about, even if you don’t see someone who’s doing what you would like to do, who cares? The world’s changing.” She mentions how vital it is that you are well-prepared, and qualified for what you want to do, so you are the most likely to succeed. Gajownik concluded, “You can never have someone tell you oh, well, I’ve never seen anyone who does that. Then I’ll be the first and maybe, if someone sees me then, the trend will continue. So you should take those chances.”
