So, You Want a Career in Baseball?

[Ben Grimm]

I'm not sure this is the correct area for this, so if a mod feels it should be relocated, feel free...

I did a search but couldn't find a thread somebody started about getting a job in the baseball world. During this year's MLB Winter Meetings, Sports Management Wold Wide (SMWW) will be hosting a career conference in the hotel across the street from the meetings. Looking at the list of speakers, practically every area is covered.

2012 SMWW Baseball Career Conference
Monday, December 3rd (9am-5pm)

Speakers

• Stan Kasten - former President of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals and the current president, and part-owner, of the Los Angeles Dodgers

• Pat Gillick - former GM of four Major League Baseball teams including Toronto Blue Jays (1978–1994), Baltimore Orioles (1996–1998), Seattle Mariners (2000–2003), Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2008) Guided two teams to three World Series championships in his career: 1992 and 1993 titles with the Toronto Blue Jays, and a 2008 title with the Philadelphia Phillies.

• Cory Schwartz - Vice President, Stats, MLB Advanced Media

• Jayson Stark - ESPN Senior Baseball Writer

• Rob Neyer - SB Nation National Baseball Editor and well known author

• Jay Miller - Texas Rangers Senior Vice President

• Mike Birling - Durham Bulls GM

• Harold Reynolds - MLB Network Studio Analyst

• Will Carroll - Contributer, SI.com

• Don Welke - Texas Rangers Senior Special Assistant to the GM & Scouting

• Toney Howell - LA Dodgers, Special Assistant to the General Manager

• Larry D'Amato - former scout for Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, NY Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cincinnati Reds

• Maury Brown - Baseball Prospectus and Forbes & SMWW Faculty

• Tony Ciccolella - MLBPA Agent

• Jeff Gray - Minnesota Twins Pitcher

• Tracy Ringolsby – Baseball America and FoxSports.com. Hall of Fame baseball writer in his 37th year covering MLB is a co-founder of Baseball America, and is in his fourth year as analyst for Colorado Rockies games on Root Sports.

• Dr. Lynn Lashbrook - SMWW President

• Ryan Latham - Seattle Mariners Account Executive & SMWW Alumni

• Michael Lawlor - Boston Red Sox Fan Services

• Mark Smith - Oakland A's Minor League Video Coordinator & SMWW Alumni

Agenda

9:00am MLB Agent & Player Relationship
9:30am Collective Bargaining Agreement 101
10:30am Life of a GM with St. Louis Cardinals GM John Mozeliak
11:30am Life of a MLB Network Studio Analyst with Harold Reynolds
12:00noon Networking Lunch
1:30pm Journalism & Media
2:30pm Baseball Scouting
3:45pm Marketing & Sales in the Minors and Majors
4:15pm Breaking into Sports Careers and Moving up the Ladder

All information (cost, times, lodging) can be found at SMWW Career Conference.

[Ben Grimm]

For those of you good with game stats, this could be a fun P/T position (from Bizofbaseball.com):

The Winter Meetings don’t start until next week, but that doesn’t mean job opportunities in baseball aren’t here today. The following via MLB.com may be of interest to you seeking work in MLB. - Maury Brown

MLB.com, the official web site of Major League Baseball, is seeking stats stringers to cover these clubs in 2013 and beyond:

Baltimore/DC (both clubs)

Houston

Kansas City

Oakland/SF (both clubs)

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

San Diego

Seattle

Texas (Arlington)

Toronto

Stats stringers are responsible for digitally scoring games from the MLB ballparks, which provides the data used in the live content applications on MLB.com, including Gameday and MLB.TV, real-time highlights and text alerts, and by our business partners. This is a perfect part-time job for a diligent, responsible employee who happens to be a big baseball fan.

Responsibilities include:
• Arrive at the ballpark no later than one hour prior to the scheduled start time;
• Double-check and verify all pre-game information: rosters, umpires, weather conditions, etc.;
• During the game, enter the results of every pitch and game event (plays, substitutions, etc.) using our proprietary software and coding language;
• Work closely with our game-night support staff (via AOL Instant Messenger) to ensure proper scoring of all game events and accuracy of data;
• After the game, enter all post-game information: winning and losing pitcher, saves, holds, time and attendance
• Validate all stats in software box score against the official box score provided by the Official Scorer, and print out a final box score and game text for the club PR staff

Qualifications include:
• Previous experience (including pressbox exposure) with a professional or college sports team, preferably baseball;
• Exceptional (and demonstrable) knowledge of baseball and how to score a baseball game;
• Strong computer proficiency (Windows OS and Windows-based software) and the ability to quickly learn and operate new software;
• Regular availability to attend games in-person as required by the schedule: weekdays, nights and weekends;
• A "team player" with a great attitude, including but not limited to a willingness to make and learn from mistakes and the ability to work closely and cooperatively (and take direction from) our game-night staff;
• Professionalism. It's a fun job and we pay people to watch baseball, but it's also an important job and we want people who will take the responsibility seriously.

(New stringers undergo an 8-10 week correspondence training program, and co-score several practice games in the ballpark with a returning stringer, before scoring any games solo in the ballpark.)

Those interested in applying should send a resume and cover later, addressing the above-listed qualifications, to [email protected]

ONLY those who reply to this e-mail address will be considered, and due to volume, we may be unable to respond to all applicants.