ANAHEIM — On Tuesday, the A’s became the first major-league team to employ a woman coach, naming Justine Siegal a guest instructor for their Instructional League club.

“It’s a dream come true,” Siegal said by phone. “The A’s are a first-class organization and it will be an honor to wear their uniform.”

Siegal, who became the first woman to coach men professionally in 2009 when she was the first-base coach for the independent league Brockton Rox, will work with A’s minor-leaguers from Oct. 4 through Oct. 17.

“We feel like Justine has a lot to offer and that (the Instructional League) is a great place to get her feet wet,” A’s assistant general manager David Forst said. “She’ll be doing a little bit of everything.”

According to Forst, Siegal will work with infielders, hit fungos and throw batting practice, among other duties. Plus, Siegal, 40, has a Ph.D. in sport and exercise psychology. Forst said that director of player development Keith Lieppman and director of minor-league operations Ted Polakowski are looking forward to having Siegal lead classroom presentations about the mental side of the game.

“As a rookie coach, I expect to hit a lot of fungos, throw a lot of batting practice and help out wherever they want me to help,” Siegal said. “And I do like talking about life skills; I like to help people achieve their life goals.”

There is a chance that the opportunity could turn into a full-time coaching job with the organization at some point. The A’s do not have their minor-league coaching assignments set for next season, so do not yet have an idea about potential job availability.

“Justine knows that nothing has been promised, but we’re not ruling that out,” Forst said.

“I think it would be incredible to coach full-time,” Siegal said. “But for now, I’ll do my best every day to help out any way I can, from carrying water to throwing BP to using my Ph.D.”

As for the A’s minor-league players, Forst believes they will be as accepting of Siegal as they would of any other coach.

“It’s hard to say, but I hope there is no reaction. I hope they see Justine as just another coach,” Forst said. “I know Keith and Ted expect that.”

Said Siegal: “I’ve found from experience that men are surprised to have a woman coach, but when they realize you know what you’re talking about and that you care, you fit right in with the rest of the staff.”

Siegal, who has completed the Major League Scouting Bureau scout school and who lives with A’s scout Craig Conklin, has thrown batting practice for the A’s, Indians, Rays, Cardinals, Astros and Mets. She emphasized Tuesday that Oakland GM Billy Beane was the first major-league official to say yes when she asked about throwing batting practice, even though the Indians were the first club for which she threw BP.

“The Indians said yes because Billy Beane already had,” Siegal said. “So I’m a big fan of his.”

Siegal has served as co-chair of SABR’s Women in Baseball Committee and directs a program that champions gender equity in sport for Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. She is the founder of Baseball For All, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing instruction and opportunity in baseball, especially for girls; Baseball For All will hold a national event for girls aged 7-15 in San Francisco in July.

The A’s are one of a handful of teams to have employed a woman in a scouting capacity in the front office; Kate Greenthal was a scouting assistant with the team from 2012 through ’14. Former A’s assistant GM Farhan Zaidi, now the Dodgers’ GM, is one of the few Muslims in baseball administration, and Oakland’s director of player personnel, Billy Owens, is African American.

Women slowly are gaining acceptance as coaches in men’s sports; most notably, Becky Hammon is an assistant coach for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and coached the Spurs’ Las Vegas summer-league team to the title this year. Nancy Lieberman, one of the all-time great women’s basketball players, is a coach with the Sacramento Kings.

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser