Winnipesaukee Muskrats, New England Collegiate Baseball League, Laconia, NH
This summer I had the opportunity to work as the trackman and synergy operator for the Winnipesaukee Muskrats, a collegiate summer baseball team in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). The NECBL is one of the best collegiate summer baseball leagues in the country, and it was an incredible experience to watch these young players compete on the field every day. As a rising junior, I took this internship because I have a desire to work in baseball and wanted the experience to acquire future opportunities. Having synergy and trackman operator on my résumé will greatly benefit me when looking for future internships with the MLB.
My role on the team was to control and distribute data and video to the players in order to help the team compete at the highest level. I was able to work closely with the front office and coaches to maximize our probability to win. Being a college baseball player myself, I was able to relate to all the players and have meaningful conversations with them without feeling underqualified or out of place. However, I have never worked in the front office or coaching staff of a higher-level team and in that role I held more of a business relationship with the players rather than a bonding relationship. This change was a tough but necessary one because once I stop playing, it will be the type of relationship that I will have with all players on a team.
Coming into the internship, I was extremely nervous because my role on the team was incredibly important to the players. The data and video that I was required to collect was crucial for players to be scouted and signed by colleges or teams. This added quite a bit of pressure to the job but made it a lot more exciting. Talking to college coaches and scouts that were looking to sign our players was such an incredible experience. I was able to explain certain metrics and promote our players for them to get the offers they were looking for. It was incredibly satisfying to watch it unfold as an intern.
As the summer went on, I took on more responsibilities including developing a pitching analysis for the coaches. Having the best view of the game and the data to go along with it, I was able to put together reports to assist the coaching staff in making decisions for the following games.
My favorite parts of my time with the Winnipesaukee Muskrats was meeting people all around the country and living in the team house. Being able to live with many of the players and coaches helped me build connections with them.
Overall, this internship was incredible, and I would like to thank the ’68 Center for Career Exploration and the Class of 1966 for helping me take this internship on. The hands-on experience that I had this summer will assist me in the future and allow me to achieve my dream of working in the baseball industry.