SeaWolves City: The Journey of a French in Minor League Baseball
BRONX — April 19th 2007, The New York Yankees are playing the Cleveland Indians. I am in NYC for a week with family and I am discovering baseball for the first time. I understood nothing about the game. But I kept an incredible souvenir of this afternoon.
I kept an eye on baseball and decided to go back to a game when I was back in NYC in 2013. The New York Yankees were playing the Baltimore Orioles in the new Yankees Stadium. Knowing the rules of the game made my experience way better than the first time. I really became aware that baseball was America’s pastime. The atmosphere was incredible. Aspiring since a long time to a career in Sports Management, I decided after this game that my goal was to work for a professional baseball team in the states.
As a newly accepted student in Skema Business School, I had to find an internship for Summer 2014. I applied for several positions in the states through several American sports jobs boards.
I saw an offer to become a Front Office Intern with the Erie SeaWolves, AA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The offer said « local candidates » but I decided to apply anyway. One or two weeks later, I had an interview over the phone with their Director of Group Sales.
A week later, I had a positive answer. He liked my motivation and gave me my chance. I was on track to live the most rewarding experience of my life.
Visa : check.
Insurance : check.
Plane tickets : check.
Apartment : check.
I arrived in Erie, PA to start my internship in the beginning of May.
Although everything was totally new and I didn’t know anybody, I really felt at home almost instantaneously because of the warm welcome that the SeaWolves team gave me. Working in English was definitely a challenge at the beginning. My first sale experience at the ticket window was pretty slow, to say the least!
The Minor League market is really fascinating. I discovered all the different promotions on Saturdays: Bark at the Park, Paint the Park Pink Weekend, Themed nights, bobble-heads and t-shirts giveaways and so on…
I also noticed something about the sponsorship of all those promotions: a giveaway or a themed night is often sponsored by a local business.
It is a great and accessible family entertainment. Being able to see the future stars of Major League Baseball is awesome. Several players were called up to the majors during my internship or the year later (Eugenio Suarez, Devon Travis or Steven Moya who has been named Eastern League MVP and who broke the HR record of the Seawolves, and so on…).
It is amazing how the French market is different in terms of promotions and merchandise. In the French system, the SeaWolves would be a 3rd division team. Even in soccer, 3rd division teams have way less marketing and merchandise.The vertical system of baseball with affiliates at each level is totally unseen for a French.
Interning in a Minor League Team offers several advantages. It allows you to be involved in every aspect of the team’s business. I had the chance to help all the different departments of the team from sales and marketing, to entertainment and operations.
Everyday was different and rich in leanings. It allows you to have a great understanding of the running of a pro team. I could be working sales in the morning, helping with a promotional video in the afternoon, driving the mascot on the field and welcome groups during the games in the same day.
Interacting with the fans was the best part of the job. Your reward is to see the fans having a good time. They were all surprised to see a French guy welcoming them at a baseball game.
Everyday, I had trouble realizing that I was living my dream of interning with a professional baseball team in the USA. Having a stadium as your office is really unbelievable. Working in a smaller organization allows you to get to know all its members and to create very good connections.
Ringing the bell after my first group sale, being on the team’s radio with my friend Greg Gania, and driving the mascot were definitely in my top 10 moments.
My last game game was the day of Bastille Day (French National Day). I had the amazing opportunity to throw the first pitch and to receive the thanks of Greg Coleman : the team’s GM. But that is not all…
The team surprised me by playing the French national anthem and brought me a French flag on the field. Can you imagine?
After what is definitely one of the best nights of my life, I came back to the old continent with a totally new perspective about sports and souvenirs that I will tell to my grand-kids.
In addition to developing several interpersonal skills and helping improve my English, this experience helped me understand the daily operations of a pro team while providing me with a broader view about sport business.
Doing an internship with the Erie SeaWolves was not the obvious path for a French, but this experience gave me a competitive advantage over other aspiring sportsbiz students that helped land an internship at Nike France and now at Infront Sports & Media.
A huge thanks to my manager Dan Torf that gave me my chance and helped me with everything from the VISA process, finding an apartment, the ticket sales training and the integration in the local life of the city. I also want to thank Greg Gania, Garett Hickey, Kevin Eugene and Cody Herrick for their help, both in and out the stadium. And of course, I want to thank all the SeaWolves staff for their kindness and their help: Greg Coleman, Kelsey, PieMan, Amy, Chris, Kristie, Austin, Danielle and my fellow interns!
About the author:
Hugo, living in Paris (France), is a sport business enthusiast, an International ambassador for CSBN and a Msc International Strategy & Influence candidate @Skema Business School.
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