Interview with Clippers’ Clubhouse Manager Matt Pruzinksy

A few weeks ago, I met with Columbus Clippers’ (the AAA franchise of the Cleveland Indians) Clubhouse manager Matt Pruzinsky in the clubhouse at Huntington Park. I got to view what life in the clubhouse was like for a clubhouse manager and was able to ask Matt what his role is in the clubhouse.

Today is a game day. What is the routine you have on a game day compared to a non-game day?

The biggest thing is just being here early. Staying late the night before and getting here early the next morning: 10:00 to 11:00 am is usually the time frame I get here after leaving at 1:30 or 2 am. My routine when I get in is, if I don’t have to stop at the store and get something for the clubhouse, I’m finishing up laundry with my assistant David. We finish up laundry from the night before, mostly towels. Then we are just restocking fridges, getting more snacks, and making sure everything is ready for when the guys come in. That’s basically the biggest thing in the morning. As the day progresses, it gets a little different as the players come in. They want lunch from certain places so David or one of the batboys will go get it. It just gets kind of hectic at times because everybody wants something. That’s our job to please everybody, so you can kind of see how it gets hectic making everybody happy.

What time do the players usually get to the clubhouse?

Today, we don’t have batting practice but stretch for pitchers. I think is at 4 o clock (for a 7 o clock start) so the guys will show up at 2 pm at the earliest. They take advantage of having a late start so they can sleep in or hangout with their families.

When the players do show up, what are some of the other tasks you do for them?

We just hang around, making sure to be there if anyone needs anything. We usually prepare the stuff for our pre-game spread. Today I have sushi so I’ll pick up the sushi at 4 o clock. I usually put the spread out 2 hours before game time. I’ll put out all of the lunch meats and fresh fruits, everything to make sandwiches. Sometimes guys will make smoothies with a blender. We clean up post-batting practice: most guys have two laundry loops so we pull their personal clothes from batting practice.  A lot of guys sweat and change after batting practice. We wear a dri-fit t-shirt for batting practice so most guys will throw the shirt on their loop, and then I’ll have it washed and dried by the end of game time. Basically during the game we do laundry. We then get the post-game spread all set up for the players. Once the game is over, it is “game on” for us, while its
“game over” for them. We generally average three hours after the game until we’re done. Last night we were here after 1.

How does the second day of the homestand differ from the first?

The first day is pretty busy especially after an eight game road trip because the guys haven’t been home so some guys will bring their personal laundry in from home. Yesterday was especially busy because we got in at seven in the morning and we were here from 5:30 until 1:30. We try to get all of the uniforms cleaned, and the clubhouse prepped and what not for the guys to come in. The first day of the home stand is the busiest, especially if we get new guys that met us on the road. It’s a process. The first day is always the worst. After that it gets a lot easier because everything is pretty much ready to go after the first day. Everybody usually has all of the things that they need, it’s a lot easier after that to put it that way.

How did you become a clubhouse manager?

I started in Lake County (the Indians’ A-ball affiliate). I’m from Lake County. I was a batboy there when I was in high school. Then I worked in the clubhouse my second year. The third year, I stayed in school. That was the only year I wasn’t with the Captains. That following year they called me in and said they had an opening for a clubhouse manager. I took that position. I went to Ohio State so I took every spring quarter off to work the whole baseball season from spring training to the end of the season. I was a clubhouse manager in Lake County for four years. This past fall, I heard they were hiring here. I came down and met with the general manager (Ken Schnake) and George (the Director of Clubhouse Operations). Pretty much around Halloween time I got the job and then I moved back to Columbus in January.

What is difference between being a clubhouse manager at this level compared to Single-A?

The biggest difference is probably the maturity level of the guys. Most of these guys have been around the game more and they’re older so they kind of know how it is supposed to go here. In low-A, they are a little more immature because they are younger and fresh out of high school or the draft. It is just a lot different in that respect. It is better up here: the guys have been around the game longer here and know what is going on. They are a lot easier to work with. That is probably the biggest thing. I’ve had a lot of guys up here who I knew from Lake County.

You have a 24-man roster here in Columbus. How do you make sure all the equipment gets to where it needs to be?

After the game, if we are going on an 8-game road trip, we usually have all of these trunks for extra equipment and laundry bags, plus every player has their personal “Columbus Clippers” bag that we pack for them. We pack all their essentials, like jerseys, and then they pack all of their personal stuff. We get all of that, make sure all of that stuff is out and loaded on the buses. If we fly, we will usually have an equipment truck that will leave the day before. We just have to know what needs to be on each road trip. The trainer has his own stuff; we take everything from the training room that he needs on the road and put it on the bus. We know exactly what goes on the road and you’ve got to keep track of everything. We have minor slipups here and there, someone forgets their bag or glove or whatever it might be, but we try to eliminate that. The biggest thing is keeping everything together, their trunks and bags.

How many people are you taking the equipment for?

We take it for close to 30 guys. We take all of their bags, all of their bat bags, and the standard big bat bag. We take all of the ball bags, and extra baseballs for the pitchers. That is usually controlled by (pitching coach) Charlie Nagy. We usually give him one dozen balls a day for the road. It’s a task but we get it done.

What happens when a player gets called up?

If someone is called up to Cleveland, someone from the front office or I will take the equipment up to Cleveland. That’s basically the chore: getting everybody’s stuff that is down here and getting it sent up to Cleveland. It is always good if their wife is here because they will take it up to them.

What if he gets called up to the West Coast or somewhere very distant?

If they are on the road and get called up, a lot of guys can make do with what they have and then we just send their equipment to Cleveland, that way we don’t have to overnight it. Some guys need equipment overnighted to them where ever they are at. A couple of weeks ago, we had to send some stuff over to Tampa Bay. Just depends on the guy and if they need something.

Do you keep in touch with a lot of the clubhouse managers in the Indians’ minor league affiliates?

I’m pretty close with our guy in Akron and I’ve stayed with him for the past two Spring Trainings. I know the guys in Cleveland pretty well. It’s a team effort so to say, we are all affiliated with the Indians, so we are all part of a family so you can say.

How does get-away day work?

It starts towards the end of the game just trying to get everything ready. Usually we just set the equipment up in the hallway and have it ready to go minus the player bags. When the game is over, the bus to take the players is usually here. My assistant, the batboys, George, and I will all just start taking everything out on carts to the buses and getting it loaded up. Generally the team likes to leave an hour after the game. What is good is that we haven’t had many road trips where we needed to leave the night of.

We also do their personal laundry and put it in the bags. If we leave the night of, we just put it in a wetbag and the clubhouse managers on the road will clean it when it gets there. An hour after the game isn’t enough time to get the clothes washed and dried. We only have to do that a couple of more times. When we go on the road to Louisville or Toledo, those are the road trips we can leave in the morning because it isn’t that far away. It just depends on where we go I guess.

Who decides on the bats and gloves that the players use?

They pick their own models of bats, they have their own gloves. Some get equipment from their agent for free, some have to pay for their own stuff, some through companies. Just the player and what they are comfortable with. It depends on each company too. With the apparel, its stuff we give them. They have to wear certain colors under their jersey and we try to keep everyone wearing the same colors. Luckily, a lot of guys will be in spring training and have a lot of their Indians stuff so they will have the same navy color on their clothes.

During a season, how many bats does the team go through?

A lot of guys will put in an order once a month. It depends on the player. Quite a few bats and quite a few baseballs, we go through a lot. Every guy has their own supply of bats and they order bats when they need them. About monthly guys will put in a bat order with me and I’ll send the order to our overall equipment manager for the Indians. He orders all of that and sends it up here.

What was the most memorable player that you have met in your minor league experience as a clubhouse manager?

I probably have two. It might be cliché because it’s Chris Gimenez (who swings Phoenix Bats) and Matt Whitney. They are probably my two favorite guys just because even at that level they were very respectable guys and understood the game. They were always good to me, so I would say those two guys are probably my favorite to work with the past few years. It’s great to see a guy like Chris especially, late round pick, that didn’t have so much hype coming out of college make it to the big leagues. Last year was pretty good because he is a great guy, will tell you like it is and is down to earth. You can tell a guy like that wasn’t changed by going to the big leagues for a year. It was good to see him get there.

Matt Whitney was an early round guy but he was very cool and very professional. He never really was one of those immature younger guys even though he was a high school pick. He professionally moved on to the Nationals organization and I haven’t followed him that much this year but it’s good to see guys like that make it. It’s a very good feeling. You are happy for those guys. Making the majors is the ultimate goal for the players, and you’re very happy when they reach the Promised Land, so to speak.

Thank you to Matt and the Clipper organization for allowing me access to the clubhouse and the opportunity to see what a day in a clubhouse manager’s life consists of. It is a very rare opportunity to go behind the scenes on a game day. My experience taught me a lot about behind the scenes work in professional baseball.

-Eitan the Intern

Interview with Kansas City Royals first baseman Billy Butler

I recently had the privilege of meeting Kansas City Royals’ first baseman Billy Butler during a recent Royals road trip to Oakland. As one of the primary users of Phoenix Bats, Butler has put up some very notable statistics this year, batting .308with 11 home runs and 63 RBIs. I asked the Royals’ slugger about debuting in the big leagues at a ripe age of 21 and being a baseball star in a smaller media market such as Kansas City.

This year you are batting .311 (at the time of the interview), a very impressive number. I’ve noticed that your batting average has seemed to increase each year. What has changed in your hitting approach compared to years previous?

BB: I think its just I’m getting older and being more mature. When you get to the big leagues and you’re 21 like I was, there was a lot to learn. I think I have figured out pitchers a little bit more. I think after a while you know it’s the big leagues, you get this intimidation factor that you’re like “Do I belong here?” Well last year I had a good year and I told myself this: “If you have a good year, you belong here,” and I pretty much go up to the plate every time and have this confidence factor now.

You said you were 21 when you went to the big leagues, which is a relatively young age compared to many players. How was that adjustment going into the big leagues when you were 21?

BB: I turned 21 the week before (Billy’s major league debut) so I was barely 21. I think I’m the eighth youngest or ninth youngest player in our franchise history. The adjustment is very hard. You’ve got big leagues full of older guys. They tend to prank you, the typical rookie stuff. It gets even worse when you’re so young, because they are just using that intimidation factor because they are older and they can. After a while, with any transition, they make it tougher for you to break in.

You’re in Kansas City, a small market compared to the Bostons or New Yorks. What is like being a baseball star in a small market?

BB: It’s good. I’ve played against the Bostons, I’ve played against the New Yorks, the bigger markets. I belong in Kansas City because I’m not a bigger market guy, I just want to go out there and play the game. Kansas City gives me that small-town feel but it also is a very big city, and the Midwest, the people are just very nice. They are the type of person I am, I’m from the South, but it’s the same type of culture so there was never any type of culture shock or anything like that.

In an interview with the Royal’s Gameday magazine, it says that you want to win in Kansas City. Some players go from a small market to a bigger market and win. You referenced to Johnny Damon, who went from Kansas City to Oakland and later won championships in Boston and New York. How do you see yourself as a part of getting the Royals to a championship caliber level?

BB: I hope, and I hope in the front office’s mind for us, that I’m in their future plans. I’d hate to go anywhere else. I know the business of baseball and I know the money situations for the smaller markets. You hate to bring money into your discussion of baseball, because frankly in my opinion, I think money has ruined baseball. You’ve got to make a living for your family, you have to do that. I love it in Kansas City. Obviously I’m going into arbitration next year and I’ve had a good year so your salary takes a jump. I just hope I don’t jump enough where the Royals can’t afford me or they don’t want to afford me. Hopefully they think I’m worth it and in their mind if I wasn’t worth it to them, they would have traded me by the trade deadline. I want something that would be fair for my family and fair for the team. I don’t want to be the guy that makes the most money, I want to be the guy that is just treated fairly and just play.

What is it like being the center of this young team, even though you are only 24 years old yourself?

BB: I’m happy to be one of the guys the young guys come up to.  I mentor them and I show them how to the play the game and show them how to win in Kansas City. Just to be the guy the Royals build around, I feel like we’ve got some good young talent now and we just need to start building around it. What you really do is in house and through drafting. I feel like I have that certain value to me because I was drafted by the Royals and they want to keep as many Royals players as they can. I have that on my side–they want more Royals guys, they don’t want to go outside and get players from there. The Royals want to keep it in house, and I like the way that sounds.

Speaking of which, you were drafted by the Royals in the first round of the 2004 draft out of high school. At that time, you were also offered a baseball scholarship from the University of Florida. What was appealing to sign with the Royals straight out of high school instead of a Division I school with a prestigious sports program?

BB: Honestly, as a kid growing up, your dream is to go play in the big leagues. I had a full ride scholarship to the University of Florida and got drafted in the first round. Obviously I had a lot of leverage because of my full ride scholarship to the University of Florida. I had a really nice signing bonus with the Royals and it would have worked out that they would pay for my college scholarship even if I didn’t play baseball anymore. That made it a pretty easy choice for me to not go to college and go to Major League Baseball. I had my agent that I just hired and I had multiple scouts tell me I had nothing left to prove. I was used to swinging a wood bat as I’d already been using wood my whole senior year. It just wouldn’t have benefited me to just keep using metal.

You talk about using a wood bat. Do you feel your hitting would have gone down if you spent a few years using metal in college?

BB: I don’t think so. I debuted in the big leagues when I was 21, that’s usually when you’re a college junior. I definitely think if I did the college route, I wouldn’t have gotten to the big leagues as fast. There is nothing that can replace playing in the big leagues at a younger age. I would have gone to school and played with Matt LaPorta, and some good players at the University of Florida. Matt LaPorta made a great decision in going to the University of Florida: he was a fifth-rounder of out of high school and then became the fifth or sixth overall pick after he went to college. People seek different routes. I mean Stephen Strasburg went number one overall, and he didn’t get drafted out of high school. If he was drafted then, it wasn’t very high. You go from not even being on the map to the overall number one pick. I was the 14^th overall pick, so pretty much the only thing I could do was work my way backwards not forwards. Obviously I could have gone to the college and the risk factor is always there. You could injure yourself and hurt your stock, but you could also help your stock so college is an option you just have to weigh.

On a different note, I noticed you did a national television advertisement with the Pepsi Refresh Project. How did that come about and how did you start becoming involved with the Pepsi Refresh Project?

BB: Every year there is a representative for the Royals, and I happened to be that guy this year and hope to be for the years to come since I really enjoyed it. For The Pepsi Refresh Project in Kansas City, we are renovating 37 baseball and softball fields. That was very appealing to me because I remember when I was playing little league.  I want every kid to go out there and play on a good surface, have a good atmosphere and not have a bad playing experience. Great fields are hard to come by, especially at that level. Just my charitable donations and involvement in the community made it a no-brainer for Pepsi to want to use me for that.

In every interview, there is always a ton of behind the scenes work that needs to be arranged for the interview to occur I would like to thank Billy Butler for his time to give the interview. I would also like to thank Billy’s agent as well as Charles Trudeau and Seth Cramer of Phoenix Bats for getting the interview with Billy arranged.

-Eitan the Intern

Interview with Kasey Schweitzer, Kansas City Royals’ Manager of Special Events and Promotions

As I mentioned in my blog entry about Kansas City, Phoenix Bats held a Billy Butler Youth Replica Bat giveaway on July 18^th with the Kansas City Royals and Fox Sports Kansas City. For this giveaway, Phoenix Bats worked arduously with the Kansas City Royals Special Events and Promotions department. I had the opportunity to meet Kasey Schweitzer, the Royals’ Manager of Special Events and Promotions. I questioned Kasey about the thought process that goes into each promotional giveaway at a ballpark.

How do you schedule promotions for the upcoming season? How early in advance to you need to schedule them?

KS: We (Kasey and her department) will start planning for the 2011 season in late July or early August. As we lay things out, we start to see if we want to giveaway more of this item or that item based off of current promotions. We then narrow the promotion down to see if the promotional item should be a kid’s giveaway, or if it should it be for all fans. We want to have a variety of people getting the promotional item and encourage them to want to come back to more ballgames.

What are the criteria for a giveaway?

KS: We want the giveaway to be an item that people see as value. We want people to look at the giveaway and say, “That item has good value, it will be worth it to buy this ticket and get the item.”

How do you determine if a promotion is successful enough to repeat next year?

KS: The telling factor with promotions is attendance. You look at the attendance and really see how those things draw on each other. We do a T-shirt Tuesday giveaway one Tuesday a month. You can look at a T-shirt Tuesday compared to a non-T-shirt Tuesday game and see the difference in attendance. You can also look at a Saturday where we give away a replica jersey compared to a Saturday where we giveaway a cap, and you see a big difference in attendance as well. A cap giveaway is going to be a good draw at the ballpark, but a jersey giveaway will be a sellout.

Have any odd promotional ideas come across your way?

KS: Hmmm……I don’t know if I can really answer that question because I haven’t had any crazy ideas come up to me since I’ve been in this position. Kansas City and the Midwest is a very conservative, family oriented area. Everything we do for a promotion goes along with that approach.

In addition to scheduling promotional giveaways, your job title suggests that you also handle special events. What events outside of the promotional giveaways does your department run?

KS: Aside from the giveaways, we have a 610 Saturday where we provide a band, different contests, specials and other entertainment features. We do theme nights like 80’s Night. We have our Salute to the Negro Leagues night, which is nice because we can partner with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum that is here in Kansas City. We do other programs like Christmas in July where we partner with one of the big Christmas radio stations in town and host a toy drive. We try to make the events very cohesive and hold events that make sense. We aren’t going to throw some random event just to try and get people here, but try to make events that make sense and execute them well.

Are there heritage nights or community nights that your department hosts as well?

KS: We host a lot of different events that have a wide range of appeal. You’ve got the Negro Leagues day for the baseball fan that comes out and sees the former Negro Players. There is Girls Night Out, an event we do twice a year. It is for the women that might come out to the ballpark only once a year. Girls Night Out has become a huge event out here. One date benefits the Susan G. Komen foundation while the other benefits the American Heart Association. We open up the outfield early, have a huge pre-game party and vendors such as Macys come out and set up booths. We even have a fashion show, so we really run the gamut on the special events to draw people that might not always come.

How does working in Kansas City, a smaller baseball market compared to New York or Los Angeles, affect the promotions your department runs?

KS: There are a lot of markets that don’t do any giveaways. Your large markets like New York, Boston, or Los Angeles rarely have giveaways. Part of deciding a promotion does involve looking across Major League Baseball and finding what promotions have worked for other teams. We draw on those ideas to see what would work here in Kansas City. A promotion that might work well in Tampa Bay might not work in Kansas City. But we might be able to adjust something that works in Tampa Bay to become a good item here. For example, the Marlins or the Rays might give away a beach set, we aren’t going to give away a beach set, but we can look for something that has that same perception, like a barbeque set.

Do you have a favorite promotional giveaway?

KS: I don’t have a specific favorite but you can look and see that fan favorites are always bobbleheads. I had a season ticket holder call me and ask me about all of the bobbleheads we have had in the last five years so he could make sure he had all of them.

Last year we didn’t giveaway any bobbleheads, we gave away figurines of our retired numbers instead. People liked the figurines because they had a connection to the new stadium but many still missed the bobbleheads. Anytime you do a bobblehead giveaway, there will be a huge crowd and as people seem to love the item.

Thank you to Kasey for taking the time to be interviewed. Having gone to a Royals game firsthand, her department does a tremendous job with promotional giveaways at Kauffman Stadium. I have no doubt that her influence plays a part in the high quality of promotions at Royals games.

-Eitan the Intern

The Kansas City experience with Eitan the Intern

If I could describe to a person all of what Kansas City has to offer within the confines of one intersection, I would point to the corner of 18^th and Vine Street outside downtown Kansas City. The intersection of 18^th and Vine remains an integral part of American history even though it may not contain the same glamour as 42^nd Street and Broadway in New York City or Bourbon Street in New Orleans. 18^th and Vine and its surrounding district has established 35 Baseball Hall of Famers, numerous Grammy award winners, and barbeque so amazing it would make some strict vegetarians eat meat.

If you have already made it through the first paragraph of this post, you might be wondering why the streets of 18^th and Vine have any relevance to Phoenix Bats. Phoenix Bats traveled to Kansas City recently to witness the first bat give-away promotion, provided by Phoenix Bats, with a major league ballclub. On July 18th, the Kansas City Royals held a Billy Butler Youth Replica Bat Giveaway to the first 8,000 children who entered the ballpark. Since Billy Butler swings Phoenix Bats, the Phoenix Bats and Fox Sports Kansas City (the giveaway’s sponsor) logos were placed on the replica bat. To a company the size of Phoenix Bats, Billy’s promotional giveaway was very significant because it highlighted not only Billy Butler but Phoenix Bats as well.

After landing in Kansas City at 11 o’clock on Saturday morning, Phoenix Bats general manager Seth Cramer and I ventured to Arthur Bryant’s BBQ, a few short blocks away from the Negro League Baseball Museum. After quickly noticing the line at Arthur Bryant’s extended to the nearest intersection, Seth and I made the wise choice to go the Negro League Baseball Museum first.

The museum itself was very impressive. Though the museum’s size was smaller than I had imagined, the museum articulated the bittersweet tale of the Negro Leagues quite well. The museum celebrates the accomplishments of the Negro Leagues and African-American baseball, but conveys the tragedy of many talented African-American baseball players who were denied a spot in the major leagues. The museum houses an impressive array of memorabilia from “Buck” Leonard to the legendary pitcher Satchel Paige. I highly recommend the museum as the museum weaves baseball, Kansas City, and past racial segregation in this country all into one.

I have one short story from the museum that reflects how far this country has progressed since the founding of the Negro Leagues. In the museum, there is a miniature sized baseball field towards the exit with statues of baseball legends of the Negro Leagues such as “Cool Papa” Bell and Josh Gibson. This is also the only spot in the museum where hyper-active little children can run around freely without much protest. As I was heading towards the exit, I noticed this energetic young blond child romping around the field. As I passed him, he said “I’m sorry, I just love baseball.” I wasn’t really sure what to make of what the child said at first but then a thought hit me. To this kid, the museum wasn’t about white baseball players or black baseball players, it was just about baseball. Even the young ones can provide a good moral lesson from time to time.

When Seth and I finished the typical tourist tour of the museum gift shop, we went back to Arthur Bryant’s BBQ. The restaurant was packed when Seth and I arrived, but it didn’t appear that we would be waiting until next week for food. As a somewhat principled vegetarian, I did not taste the meat at Arthur Bryant’s (I left that to Seth) but it seemed everyone at the restaurant thought they just landed in barbeque heaven. Post-barbeque nirvana, Seth and I drove to Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals.

I can safely say that Kauffman Stadium is one of the most underrated stadiums in baseball. If stadiums could be compared to women, Kauffman Stadium was a girl with a pretty face that had a little bit of meat on her bones earlier but then went to Curves and lost 20 pounds. Kauffman Stadium contains the amenities of any modern ballpark, is relatively cheap in concessions compared to other stadiums, and offers a beautiful view of a Kansas City hillside. Of course, it did need a renovation or two to reach that stage, but Kauffman Stadium is still a beautiful ballpark. The stadium had the feel as if it had just been built and appeared quite well maintained. The Royals did an amazing job of providing an in-game experience for fans as well.

That weekend, the Royals played the Oakland A’s, the team I grew up rooting for when I was younger. It was a great experience seeing my hometown team playing on the road. The vast majority of the A’s games I’ve attended have been in Oakland, so I gained a new perspective on being a visiting fan. After the game (and a very long day), it was onto to a hotel in suburban Kansas City for some much needed rest.

On Sunday, it was back to the ballpark for the bat giveaway. Although I was a tad too old to receive a bat, it was nice seeing the numerous amounts of children glowing as they received a bat of their hometown hero. Before meeting with the Manager of Special Events and Promotions for the Royals, Kasey Schweitzer, I went to the Royals Hall of Fame. If you like baseball museums, Kansas City might just be the place for you. Between the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the Royals Hall of Fame, there is good amount of baseball history to go around. I must say, the Royals Hall of Fame displayed a tremendous amount of memorabilia as well. In fact, a Phoenix Bat is even displayed in there. After touring the Hall of Fame, it was time to interview Kasey. Kasey and I discussed organizing promotions for a ballclub and the thought process that goes into a promotional giveaway. Right as the interview wrapped up, it was time for the first pitch. Despite the good old Midwest humidity, I had a great time at Sunday’s game as well. Following the Royals-A’s game on Sunday, Seth and I finally headed back to Ohio, our tummies full of barbeque and baseball.

Coming soon: An interview with Kasey Schweitzer, the Royals’ Manager of Special Events and Promotions.

-Eitan the Intern

Ask an Agent with Eitan the Intern

In this entry of “Eitan the Intern”, I interviewed sports agent Michael Bonanno of Oak Sports Management. Only 23 years old, Michael was recently featured as the cover story in Biz Magazine. I was able to catch up with Michael over email to ask him some questions about his profession.

Here is my Q&A interview with Michael:

What influenced you to become a sports agent?

MB: Business and personal relationships. I played professional baseball and always enjoyed the business side of it. I enjoy being around the game and enjoy seeing a client succeed and do well.

How were you able to become a sports agent?

MB: I was a law major while at Brevard College (FL), and when my playing career finished, through a mutual contact, I met the President of our company (Don Webster). We discussed starting the agency and why I believed it could be successful. Being a co-founder of a company with one of the top contract negotiators in the world is humbling. I try to learn as much from him as possible.

How do you decide when to sign a client?

MB: It varies, some perspective clients are referrals through current clients, while we approach others or they contact us. When we sign a client we want them to be as comfortable as possible about the decision. Ultimately if the agency wants the player, it is always his decision about what agency to join.

How often do you have to touch base with your clients? Do you tend to follow your clients on a day by day basis or do you tend to follow your clients weekly?

MB: Each client is different, I would say on average it is every 3-5 days though. Some prefer speaking daily, while others are biweekly or monthly. I leave it completely up to the player to dictate; they know I follow them daily and my phone is there day or night if they would like to talk.

What are the players looking for when they sign with you and Oak Sports Management?

MB: You are getting one of the top contract negotiators in North America, and an agency that prides ourselves on the integrity of our athletes and the game of baseball. We are committed to meeting the individual needs of our players, during and after their professional playing careers.

Does the prominence of agents such as Scott Boras or David Falk hamper the ability of smaller sports agencies to sign clients?

MB: It could, but I have found no affects of that. I respect those two individuals but am excited, in only one year, what we are accomplishing at Oak Sports. I believe what we offer as a company can compete with anybody.

How does becoming an agent for baseball players vary than becoming an agent for athletes in other sports?

MB: Each sport has different requirements to become a certified agent. Certain sports are a little bit more extensive then others. There will be a hockey division of Oak Sports Management, but I am strictly a baseball agent.

What do you consider the most gratifying and stressful aspects of your profession?

MB: As good as seeing a client hit a double, steal a base or strike a batter out is, the most gratifying for me is the personal and business side of baseball. Being able to negotiate a contract, get an endorsement deal or having them call me for advice is gratifying. In all honesty, I don’t stress much doing this job. It is very time consuming and isn’t easy but that’s what drives me and challenges me to become one of the best in this industry.

How do you maintain a contract for your client if he is either not performing well or not getting enough playing time so to speak?

MB: That is out of the agents hands and in complete control of the organization he is with. When speaking with the team you will know how they feel about him and if they’re in the team’s future plans. If a client is not getting playing time however and we believe he should be, we will contact the organization to get more information but it is a case by case basis.

What is the biggest challenge for a young player in the minors?

MB: The biggest challenge would be the competition and mental aspect of baseball. It’s not an easy job being a minor league baseball player, it is a full out grind. Between the hours you put in, travel, competition, struggle and personal life, you need to be strong mentally.

Thank you to Michael for allowing the time to do an interview with him given his very busy schedule. I am sure in a few years we will hear of him and his clients quite often.

That’s all for today’s post. Have a great July 4^th weekend.

-Eitan

Eitan the Intern goes down to the Clippers

In my younger days, even the worst of ballparks appeared to me as the Taj Mahal with dugouts and grandstands. As I grew older, I lost touch with a feeling of awe that I used to have when ever I ventured to a ballgame. Last Monday I drove down to Huntington Park (home of the Columbus Clippers) with the founder of Phoenix Bats, Charley “Lefty” Trudeau. At the ballpark the sense of awe I experienced staring at the stadium’s entrance took me back to my grade school days. The brick façade of the Clippers Huntington Park delightfully reminded me of my first trip to AT&T Park (then Pacific Bell Park) where I stared in admiration of a jewel of a ballpark right on the San Francisco Bay.

However, the purpose of my trip with Charley was not to take a tour of Huntington Park but rather to talk with Minor League players who are currently swinging or considering swinging Phoenix Bats. But before Charley and I talked to the players, we went into the Clipper’s front office where we met Clipper’s radio broadcaster Scott Leo, who you should expect a blog entry about in the near future. We also met Clippers General Manager Ken Schnake, who must have the nicest office view of anyone in the Minor Leagues. Unfortunately, Ken’s encompassing office view of the ballpark was soured by the incoming rain which descended upon the field. After talking with Ken, Charley and I visited the Clipper’s clubhouse. In the clubhouse we met the clubhouse manager for the Clippers, Matt Pruzinsky. It was relatively apparent from Matt’s busy office that being a clubhouse manager encompassed many tasks and duties before first pitch. Because the weather conditions at the ballpark were not exactly ideal, many players strolled around the clubhouse as they waited to take batting practice in the indoor batting cages next door.

Attending batting practice was an incredible but yet nerve racking experience for one who was not a professional baseball player. It was amazing on one hand to watch ballplayers, many of whom are one phone call away from the Major Leagues, launching baseballs from their wood bats across the cage as if they were shooting bullets from an Uzi. On the flip side of the coin, it was also nerve racking to watch because I was only a few yards away from these bullets with seams. Given the amount of sheer force each batter appears to put on the ball, it is no shock that there is always a need for baseball bats around the clubhouse.

I had the privilege of meeting Clippers outfielder Chris Gimenez at batting practice. Chris discussed the feel and handle of the bat he was currently swinging, his R141 Phoenix Bat maple bat model. I was to learn more about Chris as well, discussing with him baseball and life in Northern California, where he is also from. When I told Chris I am currently attending The University of Arizona, Chris then introduced me to his teammate Jordan Brown, a fellow Wildcat. One perk I will admit of attending a large university like The University of Arizona is no matter what part of the country I am in, it is not very difficult to find another Wildcat. I was shocked to learn from Jordan that between the Clippers and Cleveland Indians rosters, there were four Arizona Wildcats between the two ball clubs. After discussing the U of A and Tucson with Jordan, Charley and I met with some of the other Clipper ballplayers to get their input on some of the other Phoenix Bats baseball bat models.

After heading to the visiting clubhouse, where Charley showed some maple and ash bats to the visiting Norfolk Tide players, Charley and I went into to the Clipper’s dugout to talk with some of the Clippers coaches. Enduring the humidity (a very foreign concept in Northern California), I was able to meet Clippers manager Mike Sarbaugh and chatted with him about baseball and college football as well. In the dugout I also met assistant clubhouse manager Dave. Dave relayed to me snippets of the daily routine in the clubhouse both on game day and before road trips. Judging by the amount of work and lack of sleep involved in being a “clubbie” after meeting both Matt and Dave, I hope the clubhouse has lots of energy drinks lying around. To conclude my day, I watched the Norfolk Tide take batting practice in the same indoor cages downstairs before leaving the ballpark and heading back home.

Being able to go behind-the-scenes at the Huntington Park was a very intriguing experience. Seeing the preparations on game day gave me an insight into all of the hard work and amount of precision needed to make a baseball team function. Additionally, being able to talk with the ballplayers enabled me to understand the daily routine of a minor league player as well. My experience yesterday was memorable, an experience that I am sure will be engrained in my mind for many years.

That’s all for now. I’ll talk to you later.

-Eitan

Introduction to Eitan the Intern: Do you know the way from San Jose?

Hi, my name is Eitan and I am interning here at Phoenix Bats. I am spending the next couple of months blogging about everything and anything related to behind-the-scenes work at Phoenix Bats.

But before I tell you what I will be doing with Phoenix Bats, I should probably tell you a bit about myself. I come from the beautiful city of San Jose, California and I will be a sophomore at The University of Arizona this fall. I am a huge baseball fan which is a relatively good trait to have if you are interning for a baseball bat company.

Today was the first day of my internship here at Phoenix Bats. Managing to keep my eyes awake (waking up at 3 AM for a flight the day before is not very enjoyable), I miraculously made it to the Phoenix Bat office bright and early this morning with Phoenix Bats GM Seth Cramer.  Shocked to learn I would not be making coffee runs on my first day of work, I did find some tasks that I have to do over the next few days. Here are some examples:

• Weighing bat billets (tubes of wood that come in from our mill) with wooden bat guru Joel
• Preparing the office and factory for tour groups
• Heading with Charlie “Lefty” Trudeau to the home of the Columbus Clippers, Huntington Park, to talk with minor-leaguers
• Posting Tweets and Facebook updates for Phoenix Bats

Those tasks definitely seem better than coffee runs. In any case, I’m out for now, I will talk you later. Feel free to email me atinternx@phoenixbats.com if there are any specific blog topics you want me to write about.

-Eitan