So You Want To Work in Baseball?
By Max Greenfield
Starting on February 22nd, I will be working with Hagerstown Suns as a Minor League Video Intern for the Washington Nationals. It was a fun process to get the job, but I recognize that I’m incredibly lucky to be able to pursue this dream. Working in sports, in general, is a privilege that not many get to say they have. How everyone gets to their jobs is different and whatever path you go on to get to the job you want was the right path. I just thought I’d take some time to give some tips on how to improve your chances of meeting with a team.
Talk to People
It doesn’t matter what area of baseball you want to go into, the people at the entry-level and coordinator positions will be happy to talk to you if they have time. I’ve spoken to people who work in a wide range of departments for multiple different baseball teams. The same line of reasoning has come with all of them, “We were once in your position, so we know what it’s like” They all had to get those first jobs once too. Asking them how they got to where they are is a good question to ask. What skills did they find useful? How can you set yourself up for the position in the future? All important questions to ask.
Knowing when to talk to these people is also the key. The offseason is the best time to go about talking to people. Don’t be scared if they don’t answer or if they say no. A lot of people don’t have time or won’t even see the emails. Don’t be discouraged from that. Some people will be happy to talk throughout the season but understand that you have to be flexible with your timing. The more flexible they are, the more they appreciate it and notice it. Always thank them for taking the time to talk to them and follow up with them as well.
Be Confident
When you go through the process of trying to get into the baseball world, you will hear a lot of the word no. Don’t let it get you down, all it takes is one person to say yes. From there, a world of opportunities can be created. Be confident in your skills and your knowledge. If people are talking to you that means they want to talk to you. They want to hear what you have to say. You’re there for a reason and you can impress them. Even if things don’t go the way you think, you can still have those connections for later down the line. Don’t be afraid to ask them for advice on what to do down the line.
Embrace the Future
The game is trending towards sabermetrics and advanced analytics. If you want to work in a front office, you’re going to need to know the publicly available numbers. If you don’t understand now, that’s ok! There are so many resources available and so many people you can learn from. Fangraphs, Baseball Savant, and Fielding Bible all have explanations on their websites about the metrics. Reading those and learning them is important. If there is something you don’t understand about the metric, then don’t hesitate to ask.
Learning how to code with SQL, R, and Python is also a useful skill going forward. If you want to work in an analytics department in the future, those are all going to be necessary to know. Every analyst position I see posted on a multitude of different job websites has those programs or languages listed in their job requirements. If you want to work in analytics but don’t have these skills, there are plenty of online tutorials on how to get these skills. It’s all apart of making yourself a well-rounded candidate.
You Don’t Know Everything
You can’t know everything. Baseball is too big of a sport with a too-long history for you to know everything. Don’t claim to be an expert, don’t say you know more than people who work in the game. Even if you do, then just act like you don’t. Your willingness to learn about the sport and all aspects of it will go a long way. Teams will look for guys who are willing to do what it takes to get better, learn more, contribute to the organization in any way they can. You don’t have to be the smartest guy in the room, just be willing to work.
Be Respectful and Kind
I can’t stress this enough; nobody wants to work with someone they don’t like. You can be the smartest person in the room, but if people thinking talking to you is a chore then you’ll never get anywhere. In any industry, companies will try to create a culture they are proud of. Baseball is no different. Being able to embrace that culture is important. The easiest way to do that is through a willingness to admit flaws about yourself and looking to improve as a whole.
It should go without saying that you should always be respectful and nice to others, but let’s be honest, that doesn’t happen. I implore you to always be respectful to anyone you meet in the industry. It can go a long way. If you were able to meet all the boxes for a job but didn’t end up getting it, if you were nice and thoughtful about the process, they will remember that. You can ask to stay in touch, and if they liked you as a person people will try to do that for you.
There’s so much more that can be said, and I’d be happy to talk to people about it. Other people’s viewpoints might be different, and you should always hear more viewpoints. Good luck with this process for anybody going through it. Please let me know how I can help! You can email me at greenfield.max1404@gmail.com.
