Being a Baseball Intern
On RedSox.com Marty Noble wrote a light hearted piece about the interns tasked with operating the scoreboard at Jet Blue Park. My first thought was why at a brand new, multi-million dollar facility they couldn't figure out a way for the poor bastards operating the scoreboard to change the numbers from behind or inside of the wall? Fenway North as it currently stands was essentially built in 1934 so it's understandable that the NL scores aren't accessible from behind.
In reality most of the work done by baseball interns is far more thankless and mindless. Working seven days a week for little or no money just to get school credit and make some connections in hopes of landing a job after graduations can make even the biggest of baseball fans reconsider his/her career goals.
Looking out the window and seeing a professional diamond is chill inducing. Seeing kids at the ballpark, and feeling like you are helping pass on the game you love to the next generation is fulfilling as well. Conversely for most interns the game being played is a faint rumor. You monitor what inning it is because when the game ends your fourteen hour day is almost over. Whoever said double plays were a pitcher's best friend never worked in a professional baseball front office.
By the dog days of the season many interns are looking forward to class in the fall. Sometimes you question if this is still what you want to do. If you're lucky you gained experience in many different areas of the organization and can parlay that into a job. If not you may have spent most of the season alone in a team store without much of a chance to learn or network. Instead you basically got a semesters worth of credit for doing the same work you did at your high school job.
Giving up can be easy. Jobs are hard to come by. You may end up going back home, reconnecting with old friends. After sending out endless resumes to teams, you take a job just so you can move out on your own. At that point life starts. Young, single in your early to mid 20's if you're not wholly focused and determined you take your eyes off the prize. Dreams without action wither and die. Maybe it wasn't what you wanted anyway. There's something to be said for being able to watch a game with friends while having a beer.
At time of publishing the post did not include a link to Noble's piece. The post was written on the Blogger iOS app which does not have the capability to embed a link.
In reality most of the work done by baseball interns is far more thankless and mindless. Working seven days a week for little or no money just to get school credit and make some connections in hopes of landing a job after graduations can make even the biggest of baseball fans reconsider his/her career goals.
Looking out the window and seeing a professional diamond is chill inducing. Seeing kids at the ballpark, and feeling like you are helping pass on the game you love to the next generation is fulfilling as well. Conversely for most interns the game being played is a faint rumor. You monitor what inning it is because when the game ends your fourteen hour day is almost over. Whoever said double plays were a pitcher's best friend never worked in a professional baseball front office.
By the dog days of the season many interns are looking forward to class in the fall. Sometimes you question if this is still what you want to do. If you're lucky you gained experience in many different areas of the organization and can parlay that into a job. If not you may have spent most of the season alone in a team store without much of a chance to learn or network. Instead you basically got a semesters worth of credit for doing the same work you did at your high school job.
Giving up can be easy. Jobs are hard to come by. You may end up going back home, reconnecting with old friends. After sending out endless resumes to teams, you take a job just so you can move out on your own. At that point life starts. Young, single in your early to mid 20's if you're not wholly focused and determined you take your eyes off the prize. Dreams without action wither and die. Maybe it wasn't what you wanted anyway. There's something to be said for being able to watch a game with friends while having a beer.
At time of publishing the post did not include a link to Noble's piece. The post was written on the Blogger iOS app which does not have the capability to embed a link.
