Over the past month and a half, I’ve stepped into more roles throughout the stadium. In my last blog post I talked about getting to work with more statistics. Sadly, I have not been able to work with any new systems. But I have still learned so much that will help me with my future in baseball.
Since my last post, I have been a mascot, a promotions team member, handyman, a camera man, and so many different roles around the ballpark. I’ve had so much fun getting to step into these roles and help out when needed. This has really helped me learn the different parts of the front office and how they work with each other. Communication is such a big part of gamedays. Some days I log more than 28,000 steps around the stadium helping different parts of the front office.
I had the unique opportunity to be the mascot, Stryker, during some
games over the past couple weeks. This has really been a fun role to fulfill. Well, when it’s not over 90 degrees outside. I really had no clue how much a mascot did just on game days. Over the course of the game, I’m in the suit for about 2 1⁄2 hours. I’m all over the stadium, interacting with fans, taking pictures, stealing food, and having dance battles on the field. It’s a rewarding experience to see how much fun the kids and even adults have with you. I did struggle with not talking to the fans though, that is something I didn’t think about!
I’ve also helped the on-field promotions team a couple of times. This looks like setting up on-field games, preparing costumes, and handing out giveaways. Thankfully I didn’t have anything crazy happen while I was helping the team out, but I heard lots of stories of things going wrong! Another role I’ve done a couple of times is camera operator. Sadly I don’t have any footage captured with my camera but I think I did pretty well with zero experience walking into the position. I really had to pay attention to the in-game director, who would tell me what to focus on and when my camera was being used for the video feed. It was stressful but really fun. Definitely glad I had a tripod for my camera because my hands are not the steadiest–never going to be a surgeon, sadly. I was also able to do some photos for the social media team, and they turned out great! I even got some posted on Instagram!
Getting to step into so many roles is a great opportunity, and I know there will be more that I will help with. I’ve had a great experience with the Boxcars, and the energy around the stadium is awesome. The staff are all super friendly, and the atmosphere is something that is welcoming and exciting. This is the type of place that I would love to have a future career with. Sadly, they don’t do much with statistics, so I don’t know if I’d stay here. But I do know what I’m looking for in a team and front office, which is awesome. I can’t wait to learn more around the stadium!
