The Red Sox have just made some very cool history ... the MLB org hired Bianca Smith to help its minor league players, making her the 1st black female coach EVER in pro baseball.
Boston made the move official late Monday night ... bringing 29-year-old Smith on board to coach Sox prospects in Fort Myers, FL beginning later this offseason.
"The opportunity is amazing," Smith said of the hiring on MLB Network. "I'm still wrapping my head around it. I probably won't have it sink in until I'm actually there."
"I think it's a great opportunity to inspire other women that are interested in this game."
— Red Sox (@RedSox) January 5, 2021
New #RedSox minor league coach, Bianca Smith, joined @MLBNetwork to talk about her role. pic.twitter.com/vxHf6GpAHA
Smith continued, "But I think it's a great opportunity also to just kind of inspire other women who are interested in this game."
Smith has some serious roots in the game already despite being so young ... she's held internships with several MLB orgs previously and is currently a hitting coordinator and assistant coach at Carroll University in Wisconsin.
Smith -- who played softball at Dartmouth College -- also worked as an assistant coach at University of Dallas in 2018 and was the director of baseball operations for several years at Case Western Reserve University prior to that.
Smith says she's fired up to continue moving up the ranks in the MLB ... and her historic hire has already caught the eye of several prominent athletes, including Billie Jean King.
"Congratulations to Bianca Smith, who was just hired by the @RedSox as a minor league coach," the tennis legend said on Twitter. "She will be the first Black woman to coach in professional baseball history. See it. Be it! #RepresentationMatters #MLB."
Smith has vowed to utilize analytics and video to help coach the Red Sox ... adding she believes she can a huge impact on players' swings going forward.