Working In Baseball

I have the fortunate opportunity to work in both something that I am passionate about, as well as got a college degree in. I have always had a love for sports since I was barely old enough to walk. this love was developed by my grandfather. Despite my lack of knowledge, or the presence of a game of Jeapardy on tv, Grandpa would always change to whatever sporting event might be on and help educate me as to what was going on.

Because of my Grandpa, I am where I am today. I started off going to college to be a sports broadcaster. That changed after I transferred to WSU from WWU. I was .4 credits short of junior standing, and getting into all the communication pre-requisite classes. But I didn't give up hope. The communications department at WSU requires a minor. And since I wanted to do sports broadcasting, I decided that sport management would be an excellent choice. It was about this time that a few things happened. I learned that I wasn't quite ruthless enough to be a broadcast journalist, I really liked the sport management classes, they made sense, and I was pretty good at it. I also learned that there is more to life than just going to school and working. There are plenty of growth opportunities in other areas. So after a year at WSU, I switched my major to Sport Management, and picked up my communications minor.

After finishing classes in December of 2005, I took an internship with the College World Series of Omaha. It was amazing. Being in that atmosphere was fantastic. The internship showed me three things, that I loved baseball, that I enjoyed event planning, and that I wasn't quite ready to leave school. So after Omaha, I started graduate school at the University of Illinois. Here I discovered that my passion for baseball was very strong and I got very curious as to what it would be like to work in baseball. So what did I do? I packed up my truck and drove to Nashville, Tennessee for the 2007 Baseball Winter Meetings. In Nashville, I interview with several teams and got offered three positions. I accepted the one that paid the least, but would provide the most experience. I took a job as an account executive with the Jacksonville Suns. After nine months with the Suns, I learned three things. I loved baseball, I loved working in baseball, and I missed the Northwest. So what did I do? Packed up and moved back home.

Upon returning to Spokane, I had the amazing fortune of getting hired as the Assistant General Manager of the Spokane RiverHawks. The RiverHawks are a summer collegiate wood bat baseball team. People ask me what I do, and I tell them "I work in baseball." Their response? "That is awesome. What do you do?" The answer? What don't I do.

Working in baseball is not just putting a team on the field, selling tickets, or running on-field promotions, it is all of them. And more. It is trying to sell sponsorships, which is basically trying to get companies to give you money to advertise to the audience at the game. It is dealing with the high-rollers and catering to their every whim, all while making the average fan feel like a high roller. It's trying to orchestrate concessions, tickets, game operations, and fan experience while making it look flawless and easy. It's making 50 calls to get one group of 50 people to book an outing. It is pretending that plans A, B, C weren't good enough, and having to go with plan D. Even though plan D is the biggest headache. It is getting to watch an exciting finish to America's past time on a warm summer night, with a cold hot dog, warm pop, sore feet, and shirt that looks it has been raining. When in fact, it hasn't rained in two week. It is knowing that at the end of the day, there is no where you would rather be.

I love baseball. And I love working in baseball.