Rachel Balkovec’s barrier-breaking first season as a manager has had its ups and downs.

The Tampa Tarpons, the Yankees’ Low-A affiliate, finished the first half at 27-39, the worst mark in the Florida State League. That came after she suffered a horrifying, fluke injury in spring training when she was struck in the face by a batted ball during a hitting drill, delaying her historic start.

Tampa entered Wednesday 7-3 in the second half schedule.

“It’s been difficult, as expected,” the trailblazing Balkovec told MyCentralJersey.com. “I think any time somebody asks that question, I think the canned answer would be, ‘Oh, it’s been great.’ But it’s been a learning process for me.

“Obviously, I’ve had a lot of support from the Yankees and thankfully a lot of support from the players. These are guys I had last year, and having their respect obviously helps a lot. I’m learning a lot of new things, which is never comfortable, but that’s not really what I’m after anyways. It’s just been a learning experience.”

The journey, Balkovec says, has been “huge” for her development as she hopes to chart a path toward becoming a general manager one day.

“Having this perspective, having a broader perspective is what I wanted,” she said. “And I’m glad that I’m in this role because I get to have different types of conversations. Moving from strength and conditioning to hitting, I’m in a lot more conversations about organizational moves and players and trades, etc.

“Now, as a manager, you’re hearing those conversations even more. So, I’m a generalist, and that’s what I like to be, but the more I can zoom out the better. This is the on-field role where you’re most zoomed out and get that bigger picture of everything. It’s been tremendous for my own personal growth.”