How is a team put together? Who finds the players who have the best chance of working well together as a team and—hopefully!—winning a championship? Teams could not exist without scouts to find players for them. This is an unusual and very rewarding career that might be right for you!
WHAT DOES A SCOUT DO?
Scouts usually work for the team’s general manager and consult with the coaching staff and even with the team’s owner. A sports scout looks for players who are a good fit for that particular team. To do this, scouts spend a lot of time attending sporting events. Scouts go to college and even high school games to scope out the players and see who looks like a good prospect to move up to the pros. (College teams also scout high school players to see if they would be a good asset for their school.) If you’ve ever attended a baseball game and seen someone sitting near home plate with a radar gun, measuring pitch speed, you likely saw a scout.
Scouts also get leads from players themselves. It is not unusual for a scout for a professional team to get emails or videos from players who want to play for that team. Scouts may also call players they’re interested in. They find these players through word-of-mouth and also by checking a list published by the MLB that is updated every week. This list compiles all the players who were released from major league teams (mostly from those organizations’ minor league teams). Scouts may then invite these players to a team tryout or even hold open tryouts for anyone who is interested.
A scout for a team may also observe players on other teams. This not only helps teams identify players they want to hire, but it also helps teams check out what their opponents are doing and devise strategies to beat them.
Name: Ned Rice
Job: Director of Major League Administration, Baltimore Orioles, Maryland
Why do you love sports?
I grew to love sports by playing them every day when I was growing up. Every day after school, I was outside playing baseball, basketball, football, or whatever else we came up with. The more you play, the more interested you become in watching the best in the world play the same games you’re playing with your friends. You could always watch all the local teams play on television, so I would watch as much as I could, which helped me learn more about each sport. Being at a sold-out sporting event when your favorite team wins and all the fans around you are going crazy cheering for your team is pretty special. Sports can give you the kinds of emotional ups and downs that are hard to understand or replace for people who don’t play and follow sports.
Why do you think it’s important for young people to get involved in sports?
To succeed in any sport takes practice and hard work, two important skills that help prepare you for the future. I think team sports can teach you even more. Learning to work with and care about others is so important, and few places teach that better than a team sport. This might not be quite as true at the younger ages when children are just trying to learn the game, but as you reach your teenage years and start playing on more advanced teams, you start to learn how important your teammates are to your own individual success.
What was your professional journey? How did you get to where you are today?
As my college graduation came closer, I realized how much I wanted to work in baseball. I asked everyone I knew if they had a connection and finally found a friend who had a friend who had interned in public relations (PR) with the Orioles. He gave me some advice, and I was able to get an interview for that internship. I was lucky in that I had graduated from college and had more free time, making me a more desirable candidate. I was lucky enough to be able to live at home so I could afford to intern, and I learned all about the inner workings of a baseball team. I always wanted to work in baseball operations, and my time in PR allowed me to network with the people in that department and eventually secure an internship in baseball operations. After a long time working for minimum wage, I was eventually hired and have been gaining experience and taking on more responsibility over the years.
What is a typical day like for you?
Every day is a little bit different. My main responsibility is to know all of the many rules that govern what we can and can’t do in baseball operations and make sure that our decision makers know the most strategic way to operate within those rules. Depending on the time of year, I might be at spring training in Florida, watching a regular season game in Baltimore, or working in the office on contract negotiations for the upcoming season. No two days are alike, and they all involve baseball, which is what keeps the job so interesting.
What education did you pursue to get a job in this career? What classes were particularly helpful?
I didn’t tailor my education to my career; I was a government major. My high school and college coursework certainly taught me how to think clearly, come up with logical solutions, and express my thoughts in meaningful and concise ways. But I learned just as much outside the classroom. I spent a lot of time in college in student government, and the on-the-job leadership training that provided is one of the most useful things I learned from college.
What work or volunteer experiences helped you gain experience and contacts as you moved up in your career?
I was pretty fortunate to land my first internship here, and then each of my steps up was the result of working hard and being well prepared, and then being in the right place at the right time.
What is the best thing about your job?
No matter how busy we are or how stressful a day can become, we’re still all working in a game we love, which makes everything more interesting. When your team achieves success, as we did last year in surprising the baseball world and making the playoffs, it’s an amazing feeling. Watching the city of Baltimore rally around the team was something I’ll never forget.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
We work hard to make the best decisions, but at the end of the day, our success is not determined by what we do but by how our players perform. We can acquire a player that we are excited about, and he can get hurt or perform at a level below what we were expecting. Conversely, sometimes a small move that we have low expectations for turns out to be tremendously valuable. We focus on improving our process every day, but there is so much uncertainty in baseball, and all of us—the players, coaches, and front office—are at the mercy of that to some extent.
There’s always a point where you get knocked down. But I draw on what I’ve learned on the track: if you work hard, things will work out.
Lolo Jones
TRACK-AND-FIELD ATHLETE
Who helped you the most in furthering your career and how?
So many people. The friend who found a friend of hers and got me an opportunity to interview for an internship. The PR employee who hired me for my first internship, and the leaders of baseball operations who hired me to join the department as an intern. I would never have had a chance to be where I am now without all those people looking out for me and giving me a chance. Once I was in that role, the two people who have mentored me the most are Andy MacPhail, our general manager who hired me full-time, and Matt Klentak, who was my direct boss and spent much of his time teaching me how to do all the things that he did. Andy gave me a meaningful role and responsibility, and was a tremendous leader by example. Watching his professionalism and leadership techniques in his role was a tremendous example to learn from. As for Matt, many people in competitive organizations are very careful to make sure nobody else knows how to do what they know how to do to ensure they remain valuable. Matt was the opposite; he thought he wasn’t doing his job right unless he made sure somebody beneath him was learning the ins and outs of what he did, so that if he ever left, the organization would be able to stay strong. Matt left the Orioles for a job with the Angels after the 2011 season, and his mentorship allowed me to take on a lot of the tasks that Matt performed. Even though neither is with the organization any longer, I still call both of them with questions, and they are an invaluable source of insight and assistance.
As a kid, did you think you would have this career when you grew up? Why or why not? What were your expectations?
Not really, oddly enough. I always loved sports and loved baseball but didn’t really consider a career in the field until I was approaching my college graduation.
What advice or tips can you give young people thinking of a career in your field?
It’s such a competitive field. So many unbelievably qualified people are willing to work for free for a chance at a job. With so many applicants, you have to try to stand out and have things on your résumé that other people don’t have. If you want to be an analyst, make sure you have top-notch database skills or, better yet, learn how to be a computer programmer. If you want to scout, get out to games, meet scouts, ask them questions, learn from them, and write your own reports. People skills are incredibly important. We spend so much time together at the office that we might shy away from hiring a qualified applicant who doesn’t fit into the office culture smoothly. Lastly, have a backup plan. No matter how prepared you are, you need to get a little bit lucky. You might find yourself approaching thirty and having just worked at different internships for the last five years and still without a job. At some point, you might need to pull the plug and make a living in a different field.
You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.
Arthur Ashe
TENNIS PLAYER
Do you plan to stay in your career for a long time? If not, what do you think you will do after your career is over?
I think so. It’s such a time-intensive job, and so many people who stay in this field for their careers end up moving several times throughout their career, so it’s a difficult job for raising a family. I’m not married and don’t have kids, so it’s a dream job for me. I’d like to be able to work in this field my whole career, but it’s always important to balance work and personal lives, so that’s something I’ll have to be constantly reevaluating throughout my career.
What demands does your job put on your personal life? How do you deal with them?
It’s certainly tricky. We work long hours, and even though we have no games in the off-season, we are even busier preparing for the following season. I don’t have to travel as much as some of our employees do, but it can still be difficult fitting in time for all the other things you want to do. You can usually sneak in a day or two off every now and then if you need, but it’s hard to ever go away for a week or two, which makes any kind of international travel or real vacation nearly impossible. That’s certainly the downside of the job, but you just try to balance everything as best you can given the circumstances.
What is your salary or compensation?
Most people have to take unpaid or minimum-wage internships for several seasons before they get hired, and once they get hired, the entry-level salaries are quite low. It’s certainly not the right industry to get into if you’re trying to get rich. Even as you start to make a little bit more money, it’s still awfully low when you break it down into an hourly rate. Some of these internships are simply not affordable unless you can secure very low-cost housing. It’s a great thrill to work in baseball, but the people who work here aren’t drawn to the industry for the pay—we’re drawn to the excitement of working for a team and working together for the common goal of trying to win a World Series.
SPOTLIGHT
Billy Beane: King of the Numbers Game
Baseball scouts loved Billy Beane when he was a high school baseball star. In 1980, after he finished high school, the San Diego resident signed with the New York Mets. However, Beane had trouble adjusting to the demands of professional baseball and didn’t rise to the major leagues as fast as he and everyone else expected. Instead, he played for a number of minor league teams, occasionally moving up to play with the Mets for a few games at a time. Meanwhile, Beane saw other players with less physical talent do better because they had more determination and focus than he did.
The Mets traded Beane to the Minnesota Twins in 1985, and he continued to bounce back and forth between the majors and the minors. After he was traded to the Detroit Tigers and then the Oakland Athletics, Beane was tired of the life of a minor league player. He asked Oakland’s general manager, Sandy Alderson, if he could have a job as a baseball scout instead. In 1993, he was promoted to assistant general manager and took on even more scouting responsibilities.
Alderson taught Beane about a system called sabermetrics, which uses statistics to measure a baseball player’s performance. Using this system, Beane zeroed in on high school and minor league players who had a high on-base percentage (often known as on-base average or OBA) but had been overlooked by other teams. This approach fit in well with Oakland’s budget, as they were trying to spend less money on player salaries and still field a competitive team. Beane succeeded Alderson as general manager in 1997. Under his leadership and statistical savvy, the Athletics reached the playoffs several times. In 2002, they became the first American League team to win twenty consecutive games.
Beane’s approach was so controversial and unusual that noted sports author Michael Lewis wrote a book about him. Moneyball was published in 2003 and became a popular movie starring Brad Pitt as Beane in 2011. Beane led his team using numbers to craft a lean, mean machine that could win ball games. What a great example of someone who succeeded behind the scenes in sports!
How Do I Get There?
If you’re interested in becoming a scout, you should spend as much time as possible studying players on your school or local teams. Working with coaches will help you figure out what qualities are good and what makes a player stand out. It’s also good to practice taking notes and keeping records. You will become a master of statistics if you’re interested in this job.
General high school courses can prepare you for a career as a scout. Speech and English courses are a great way to improve communication and writing skills, while math and computer classes will help you with the numbers work you’ll need to do. It’s also great to learn a foreign language (particularly Spanish) to make it easier to communicate with the many foreign players who come to the United States to play. Of course, it goes without saying that physical education classes are a must and playing on or volunteering on a school team is a big help too.
There are no colleges that offer classes in scouting, but some teams do run scout schools to train employees. (The Major League Scouting Bureau runs one of these schools. See chapter 11.) Other scouts sort of fall into the career by accident, as you’ll see in the interview below.
Champions keep playing until they get it right.
Billie Jean King
TENNIS PLAYER
A good sports scout is also detail-oriented, very organized, good at communicating, and able to see what’s best for the team or organization. A thorough knowledge of the rules of the sport you’re interested in is also essential.
Bringing Home the Bacon
There are about one thousand sports scouts working in the United States. The job is not that well paying. Many scouts for minor league or independent teams are only compensated for expenses or receive a small stipend. For this reason, most scouts at this level also work other jobs. Of course, you do get to go to lots of games and sporting events for free.
Name: Kevin Tuve
Job: Scout, Rockland Boulders baseball team, Pomona, New York
Why do you love sports?
I have loved sports, particularly baseball, hockey, and basket-ball, most of my life. I love the lessons learned, how hard work can pay off, and the people you meet. I have met such wonderful people being involved in sports.
Why do you think it’s important for young people to get involved in sports?
It’s important for young kids to get involved in sports for a few reasons: the discipline you learn is priceless, and the people you meet can build bonds and friendships that can last a lifetime. Young people can see that in life there are going to be ups and downs on the way to your goals.
What was your professional journey? How did you get to where you are today?
I began coaching in 1998 at Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey. It began my coaching career in girls basketball, and that lasted through 2006. I went from being a freshman coach to later being named Bergen County Women’s Coach of the Year and Herald News Coach of the Year in 2006. I then began my baseball journey in 2010 with the Pittsfield Colonials of the Can-Am League. I stayed with Pittsfield for both the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and then the team folded. I became an associate scout with the Seattle Mariners from March 2012 through July. It was in July that the Boulders brought me on board to work in the player development department.
What is a typical day like for you?
It depends. During the school year, I am teaching at Lodi High School in New Jersey. I teach history to grades nine and eleven. So it’s not until after school that I get to return calls and emails for baseball. In the summer, I am all baseball from morning until after the games at night. I enjoy the workload, but it can be challenging to do everything in the same day.
What education did you pursue to get a job in this career? What classes were particularly helpful?
I went to school to teach history. Sports was just a hobby and big part of who I am. I never was a sports management major in college, so I never took any sports classes.
What work or volunteer experiences helped you gain experience and contacts as you moved up in your career?
The contacts started when I began scouting in 2010. It’s not the money that drives me. It’s the type of work that gives me a sense of accomplishment. When I came to Pittsfield in 2010, I saw how contacts have to be made all along the way.
What is the best thing about your job?
The best thing about my job is seeing a player get signed, especially players who you have kept your eye on for a long period of time. I like to receive calls, emails, or tips on players. I just never know who will be contacting me looking for a position anywhere around the nation.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
The most difficult thing would be determining who to call back and who to pass on. You need to do research to see which players are leads and which are not worth all the effort. I follow every lead I can and give everyone an equal opportunity to state their experience, hunger, or simply their will to play baseball. Also, one tough aspect about independent baseball is keeping your emotions out of your work. In other words, don’t think every player can do this.
The only disability in life is a bad attitude.
Scott Hamilton
FIGURE SKATER
Who helped you the most in furthering your career and how?
I would say I have received very valuable help along the way from: Robert Seaman (owner of the Pittsfield Colonials); Brian Daubach (Pittsfield Colonials); Jamie Keefe (manager of the Pittsfield Colonials and now the Rockland Boulders); John Burns (my associate); my father, Al Tuve; and Shawn Reilly and Ken Lehner, who are the Rockland Boulders’ owners. All of these gentlemen have shown me parts of this business that I would never would have seen before.
Robert Seaman gave me my first opportunity in June of 2010. He, along with Brian and Jamie, showed me that you need to be tough and particular when it comes to judging talent. They also showed me that the connections you make need to be utilized and followed when referencing a player. Shawn and Ken gave me a wonderful opportunity in player development. They understand how being organized and efficient gets the best results in whatever you have to do. I like to work really hard for them since they did something special by bringing baseball to this area in 2010. John is my sounding board. I contact him five to six times each day! We check on leads, players, agents, and whatever are that day’s topics. I can’t even begin to describe the amount of thought John puts into this. My dad just keeps me sharp when it comes to some decisions I may make in baseball. [Since he’s] a retired teacher, it helps to have him to bounce ideas off of as well.
As a kid, did you think you would have this career when you grew up? Why or why not? What were your expectations?
No, I never thought I would be scouting, but I always wanted to get involved in sports. I would love to do player development for a Major League team someday. I just never had a connection to get into the game. I had unrealistic expectations like any other young kid growing up a fan.
What advice or tips can you give young people thinking of a career in your field?
Don’t expect to fall into a position. Volunteer as much as you are able to. Work so hard that you impress yourself and others. Don’t ever give up, and respect others as well as this game of baseball.
Do you plan to stay in your career for a long time? If not, what do you think you will do after your career is over?
I would love to stay in this game somehow for as long as possible. I plan to try and do that and hope for the best after that. I just love the opportunity given to me for now.
What demands does your job put on your personal life? How do you deal with them?
There are crazy hours and no days off. Baseball can cramp your time sometimes, but you learn to live with it. My girlfriend is patient and knows that certain times call for certain calls to be made. The key is unlimited minutes for my cell phone. I have to find the right times to make calls or do emails. Some days are busier than others. I try to manage the best I can, but it is up to me to make it work.
Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting, and, of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals. These are all lessons in life.
Kristi Yamaguchi
FIGURE SKATER
What is your salary or compensation?
I receive a stipend for what I do.
Why do you love being a scout for an independent baseball team?
It’s more interesting than working for a Major League team. You can bring in people from all over the world. With minor league teams affiliated to majors, you’re given a list of players to scout, so you don’t have as much freedom.
Notes:
1. Lee Lowenfish, “A Century’s Worth of Stories,” Memories and Dreams: Opening Day 2013, 35, no. 2 (2013), 14–17.