Baseball Job Help

[kmspeaks]

I've seen a lot of good advice on various subjects floating around here so I figured I'd try and grab some of my own. As I student I constantly hear about the value of networking and where better to try than on DBR?

I will be finishing my MBA in May and my undergraduate degree is a B.S. in business management. My goal is to work in professional baseball. Ultimately I think I would like to be either a general manager of a Minor League team or a member of the baseball operations staff for a Major League team.

I would love and appreciate it if there are any posters on here who are or know any baseball professionals, could offer up any advice on my job search or could lead me to someone who can help. I have run into a bit of a problem in that most job openings ask that you be able to begin immediately and I can't start work until after graduation in May. I'm a little stuck right now and have a ton of questions.

Should I apply for jobs even if I can't start when they are asking? Would it be better to go the internship route because I can't start until May? Would it be worth my time to contact teams even if they have no job openings publicized and if so who is best to contact, the GM or another front office member? The list could go on and on so if you have knowledge of the industry or know someone who does and might be willing to help I would greatly appreciate it. I will gladly take general job search advice as well. I'm of the opinion that you can never have too much advice, well good advice anyway and I'm confident I will get nothing but that on here.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Wayne Krivsky was a Duke classmate (1976) of mine. We casually knew each other, so if you use my name he probably won't remember me (as hard to believe as that might be...). http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/200...ky_as_spe.html You might try to contact him if he's still with the Mets.

You could also talk to the Durham Bulls or carolina Mudcats in Zebulon. The owner of the Mudcats, Steve Bryant, is/was a member of my Country Club in Smithfield, and we speak when we see each other in the clubhouse. I could possibly give you an introduction to him. Here's the contact info for the Mudcats http://carolina.mudcats.milb.com/abo...=.jsp&sid=t249

[sue71, esq]

PM me when you have some time. I have a Masters in Sports Management- I chose not to go the MBA route.

[jimsumner]

Go to the winter meetings and network, network, network.

You also need to get a copy of the Baseball America Directory, which comes out around mid-March. Contact info on everyone.

[YourLandlord]

Go to law school.

[kmspeaks]

Go to law school.

Do you know my dad? Did he put you up to this?

That's what he is pushing but I don't know if I can handle more school and the debt that comes with it right now.

[YourLandlord]

Do you know my dad? Did he put you up to this?

That's what he is pushing but I don't know if I can handle more school and the debt that comes with it right now.

Where is your MBA from? That might play into what your options are.

[Lord Ash]

Sports is not as glamorous and fun as you might think... a LOT of work, and it has a bad tendency of turning something you love into something you work at. Plus, the pay is bad, it takes years of "paying your dues" to get anywhere, and, to be frank, at the end of the day you are still spending your life working in a game, which some people feel is not, ultimately, satisfying in a "cosmic" sense.

As far as specifics, I might recommend considering a job at the League offices... they are generally more stable and secure than jobs with specific teams.

[pfrduke]

Read this. Then read it again. And then again. Know it inside and out. And then make that your pitch to front offices. I know someone who got a job in the NBA precisely that way - when he went to interview, he knew more about the CBA than any of the franchise's current employees.

[Reisen]

I just graduated with an MBA from Georgetown last spring. I did not wind up going the sports route, but considered it, and had a couple of classmates who did.

First, where is your MBA from? That could open a few doors, especially if you have alumni working in the field. Georgetown's AD was very accessible to the program, and I know a number of people who networked with him through lunches, informational interviews, etc. AD's are usually pretty well connected to coaches, former players, etc.

Depending on your school, you may have the option to take an internship / job for a major sport sponsor. I interviewed with Nike, Pepsi, Miller, etc. for jobs that would be working on the sponsor side. Some people have made the move from being an executive on one side, to an exec on the other.

Truthfully, though, more people move the other way (ie. from sports to brand). MBA pay in sports (leagues or teams) is astonishingly low, hours are long, and you have to put in your time and work your way up. I know people that worked at DC United (Kevin Payne was also open to networking with Georgetown, which was a plus), and the Patriots, and they chose to go into brand marketing in the end (better pay, better hours, they still got to spend a lot of time around sports).

With regards to baseball, Georgetown had an MBA a few years ago that was determined to get into baseball (I want to say, for the Red Sox). He wound up flying down for spring training two years in a row, staying in the team hotel, and just camping out in the bar every day. He gave his pitch to anyone that would hear it, over, and over again. He was so persistent, that one of the execs (don't remember the exact specifics, but I think he was someone well known) wound up calling a friend at another team that had an opening, and the guy was hired (Marlins, maybe?). He cut his teeth there, then got hired by the Red Sox a few years later.