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Do you bring technical/analytical skills to the table? I know several grads who found jobs on the analytic side - one was an engineer from Brown, the other had a MBA from Northwestern. The Northwestern grad played college ball, the Brown grad did not.

If you have time, patience, contacts (maybe your college coach) and skill in evaluating players, you may be able to worm into scouting - though most likely you'll start as an unpaid associate scout.

On the business side, most jobs begin as internships you can pass out resumes at the MLB meeting over the winter.

Only the analytic jobs begin with a livable salary.

Last edited by Goosegg

Thank you so much for the reply.  Interest is in the financial end of the MLB.  Going to college for Finance/Economics/Business with a concentration in Sports Management.    What is the MLB meeting?    I have heard that playing baseball in college, whether or not you actually got a lot of playing time does not matter...just being on the team and being around the sport to have a good understanding of it, will help.  Thanks again for the reply!!

RKBH posted:

At the moment looking at baseball schools to hopefully play baseball, but we will see.   Syr. does not have a baseball team.  That is interesting that they have this program.  Good luck to you.

Yeah, much to my chagrin they refuse to field a team. I've decided against playing college ball, so thats for me to consider. Club is also an option there if I ever get the itch

Aren't many better jobs in baseball still given to former pro players by default? It is changing slowly now with general manager jobs given to investment bankers and such rather than former pro players but it seems that for pro ball and also college jobs legacy as a player is most important. Of course once you have the job you need to get results but to get the chance it helps if you have played pro ball.

If you look at baseball (or any sport) as entertainment and not a sport, you will see the job possibilities.  Marketing, facilities management, logistics, accounting, groundskeeping, etc.  And the pay is generally lower than other similar jobs because, well, everybody wants them.

Friend was offered CFO position for local NBA team.  She was a CFO at the time of a fortune 500 company.  She was offered about 40% less than the job she currently held.  (but the free tickets! - that are imputed income)  She didn't take it.

RKBH posted:

Here is a question -How does a college student who is interested in working in the "sports world" set him/herself up to land that job, understanding one must start at the bottom?  Does being on a college team "help" or don't professional teams care about that? 

Totally agree with Goosegg.  From what I've seen it really helps to have those analytical skills and contacts in spades.  Son had a teammate who played very little on his college team, but playing on a college team gave him a resume builder and a foot in the door for summer baseball internships at places like Perfect Game, and MLB organizations where he could continue to work on his Sabermetrics skills.  I think playing college baseball is a bonus, but not a requirement.  Mental horsepower, contacts, and how you market yourself are most important from what I've seen.

His family has deep pockets and major contacts but he had to work tirelessly to get those internships & experiences to set himself apart with Sabermetrics.  I believe as a college junior he went to a Sabermetrics conference to speak.  He is currently with an MLB organization (right out of college) in a major market and getting his Masters in Labor Relations.   This is a very driven young man.   His goal is to be a GM, and I'm not betting against him.

Last edited by fenwaysouth

There might be more baseball related job opportunities today than ever before.  IMO passion is the most important ingredient.  How much a person "cares" is vitally important as is baseball knowledge in most cases.

The problem is so many are narrowing down their chances by thinking MLB is the only way to accomplish things.  Think about this... The two people in charge of baseball for NIKE are both former college players.  They also both played in PG event while in HS.  One is from South Dakota, the other from Hawaii. Working in the front office for the Houston Astros is a guy that helped us build our scouting website back when we were partnered with Baseball America.  He had a passion for the game and worked a bit with BA before getting involved with another site that was very much into sabermetrics.  Now he has an important role in the Astros scouting department.  We have groomed dozens of young former college players that have gone on to work with MLB clubs.  Three that are now National Crosscheckers.

Point is you don't have to start at the MLB level in order to get there.  And some of the best baseball related careers are outside of MLB.

RKBH posted:

Here is a question -How does a college student who is interested in working in the "sports world" set him/herself up to land that job, understanding one must start at the bottom?  Does being on a college team "help" or don't professional teams care about that? 

You might find this piece on Haverford College players working in MLB interesting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07...n-baseball.html?_r=0

My son's school has a very well respected Sports Management program.  I've done my best to convince my son that he'll never be happy sitting in some office in the middle of summer staring at a computer.  Unfortunately his mother has other ideas.  She is in a management position with a large fortune 500 company and feels he is best suited for the "suit" world.  At this point, he's a business major....but has at least considered looking to the Sports Management program.  There are just so many opportunities and have D1 baseball player on your resume is a huge plus from what he's hearing from a couple friends in the program.

Dominik85 posted:

Aren't many better jobs in baseball still given to former pro players by default? It is changing slowly now with general manager jobs given to investment bankers and such rather than former pro players but it seems that for pro ball and also college jobs legacy as a player is most important. Of course once you have the job you need to get results but to get the chance it helps if you have played pro ball.

There are a lot of jobs in pro sports that have a lot more to do with business than having played the game. Having played would not be a consideration. One cousin started in the low minors managing concessions. Another started as a trainer. My uncle became a NASCAR official. He drove a car once on a local dirt track. They all worked their way up from the bottom levels.

Last edited by RJM

The answer(s) depend upon your son's skill set.  GO44DAD has some good insight for financial professionals that sounds on the money from my experience and PGstaff  mentioned an important alternative path that involves developing your valuable skills outside the pro sports organization. 

I used to work for a large accounting firm, a pro team (client of the firm) attempted to hire a 2 year staff person from the firm for 29k, the problem being   a 2 year staff person made between 52-65k at that time.  The club felt someone would take less just to say they worked for the xxxxxx!  

The upper level financial positions at that club were filled with people who started at large accounting firms, they did not appear to promote from within, so there was almost 0 benefit to take an entry level position with the club.  

as an aside, I know the controller for the club took a pay cut when they moved from the accounting firm to the pro club. Ironically the pro club paid a lot of money to the accounting firm for expert accounting and tax help, they just weren't willing to pay/develop their own staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for all of the replies!!!!  Very helpful and insightful!!!  Son is currently a Junior in HS.  And he is the one who told me about Haverford graduates, so I am aware of that piece.  I will certainly post other questions in the future.  Again, appreciate all of the help and guidance.  Have a good evening.

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