Phillies #CollegeSeries Baseball Analytics Night

Sponsored by Temple University's Fox School of Business

On Monday, April 6, college students and recent graduates are invited to go behind-the-scenes with baseball analytics executives at this exclusive #CollegeSeries pre-game event!

Please note that this event is no longer available.

Event Details

  • Learn from executives who are an integral part of the Phillies’ Baseball Operations, Research and Development, and Integrative Baseball Performance Departments during a moderated question-and-answer session in the Phillies Media Room. Panelists will provide excellent insight into how analytics is utilized in baseball operations, as well as share their career experience and advice. Speakers include: Andy Galdi, Director, Strategic Initiatives, Baseball Operations, The Phillies; Michael Czahor, Lead Quantitative Analyst, Integrative Baseball Performance, The Phillies; and Kiri Oler, Quantitative Analyst, The Phillies.
  • Practice networking with Phillies executives and other special guests during a Phillies Networking Hour. Meet informally with front office personnel from various departments, as well as those who spearhead the Phillies intern and Phillies Ballgirls programs. Attendees are invited to bring their resumes.
  • Meet members of Temple University's Fox School of Business who will be on-site to share information about their graduate programs.
  • Cheer on the Phillies with a ticket to that night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with seating in Sections 241-245 (a ticket value of $30). Ticket price includes $12 worth of concession and merchandise credit.

Additional Details

  • Check-in begins at 4 p.m. and features a Networking Hour and selfies with the World Series Trophies until 5 p.m.
  • The panel portion of the program officially starts at 5 p.m., followed by the Phillies-Blue Jays game at 7:05 p.m.
  • The event is limited to 200 students. Interested professors, recent graduates, and parents of students are welcome to attend.
  • Dress is casual to business casual.
  • Students are urged to ask questions throughout the program, as well as in advance, to @Phillies using #CollegeSeries
  • Cost: $30. Includes (in addition to the above networking and panel) a game ticket sections 241-245 ($30 value), as well as $12 worth of concession credit that can be redeemed throughout the ballpark for food, beverage and/or merchandise.

Speaker Bios

Andy Galdi – Director, Strategic Initiatives – Baseball Operations, The Phillies

Andy Galdi joined the baseball operations department in 2016 as director of research and development. He was promoted to his current position in January 2020. In his role, Andy assists leadership in setting short- and long-term goals across all of Baseball Operations and helps to execute and re-evaluate those goals.

Andy began his baseball career in 2009 as a baseball operations intern with the New York Mets. Following his work at the Mets, Andy spent two years at the NBA Commissioner’s Office as a statistical analyst in league operations, focusing on analyzing referees and the impact of potential rules changes. In 2013, he began working at Google in Mountain View, Calif., where he served as a quantitative analyst for YouTube.

Born in Bethesda, Md., Andy is a 2008 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a double major in business administration and mathematics. He earned his master’s degree from Stanford University in statistics in 2013.

Michael S. Czahor – PhD, Lead Quantitative Analyst, Integrative Baseball Performance Department, The Phillies

Michael S. Czahor graduated with honors from Rowan University in 2013 with a Bachelors in Mathematics. During his time as an undergraduate, he was a statistician intern for the Philadelphia 76ers. His senior project was centered around applied survival analysis methods.

In 2014, Michael was awarded an Integrative Graduate Education Research Trainee (IGERT) Fellowship on behalf of the National Science Foundation to pursue statistical research in the field of wind energy.

In 2016, Michael earned a Masters of Science in Statistics at Iowa State University, focusing on field failures of large-scale wind turbines. While earning his Masters, Michael was hired as a research consultant at the prestigious Fraunhofer Research Institute in Hanover, Germany, where he developed reliability software to predict when field failures of power converters within doubly-fed induction generator turbines would occur.

In 2018, Michael earned a Co-Major Doctorate of Philosophy under Distinguished Professor Dr. Bill Meeker, with honors in Statistics and Wind Turbine Engineering at Iowa State University. While doing his doctoral work, Michael led efforts to analyze Big 12 Referees in NCAA Basketball games. Just after receiving his doctorate in 2018, Michael was hired as a Quantitative Analyst for the Philadelphia Phillies, where he currently works full-time.

In 2020, Michael was promoted to Lead Quantitative Analyst of the new Integrative Baseball Performance Department. His primary research interests include Bayesian modeling in STAN, vector autoregressive time series modeling, and statistical reliability engineering. Michael is also a statistical coach/tutor for students at local universities. Outside of work and research Michael enjoys coaching youth sports and traveling.

Kiri Oler – Quantitative Analyst, The Phillies

Kiri grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the University of Idaho in 2011 with bachelor’s degrees in English and Math then went on to receive a master’s degree in Security Informatics in 2012.

Following graduation, she performed cyber security research for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, with an emphasis on using graph theory to enhance computer network security for enterprise businesses.

In 2015, she began teaching Algebra and Trigonometry at the community college level and eventually moved to Colorado to teach full-time. While teaching, she spent her free time to apply her analytical research skills to baseball data and presented some of her research at SaberSeminar in Boston. The presentation drew interest from teams, leading to a one-year fellowship with the Minnesota Twins in 2018 before joining the Phillies’ research and development department in 2019, where her research focuses on tactics and strategy for the big league club.

Networking Hour Participants

Check back soon for Networking Hour participants.

2020 Spring Semester

2020 Summer Semester

2020 Fall Semester

  • Monday, August 21 (rescheduled from August 8) - Business of Sports Night for business, sport management, operations, and management students
  • Thursday, September 21 - Finance & Accounting Night for finance/accounting, business, economics, math & sport management students
  • Tuesday, September 26 - Business of Sports Night for business, sport management, operations, and management students
  • Wednesday, September 27 - Baseball Analytics Night for business intelligence/analytics, economics, MIS/information technology/computer science, marketing, business & sport management students
  • Thursday, September 28 - Sports Digital Media & Marketing Night for communications, journalism, broadcasting, advertising, marketing/digital marketing, TV production, social media, business & sport management students

Testimonials

“If you are looking for events to network and gain a lot of information from professionals in the industry, the Phillies College Series is an amazing experience for an even better value.” - Dominic, Neumann University

“The College Series was an excellent event, the panel was very helpful and gave great insight on what it’s like to work behind the scenes, would 100% recommend!” - Ayla, Stockton University

“The College Series is a valuable experience to network with industry professionals face-to-face!” - Addison, Bloomsburg University

“The College Series was an extremely fun and useful experience to be a part of. The networking and paneling helped me get an understanding of what I may find myself doing in the future, as well as useful information as to what I should do now to best prepare me for the future.” - Mason, Millersville University

“I really was impressed by the College Series. As a freshman who is still adapting to the college life it was nice to experience something like this for the first time. I didn’t feel judged or scared to talk to any of the office staff during the networking hour, and it was a very cool experience.” - Morgan, Kutztown University

“A fantastic event with fantastic panelists, every single time.” - Edwin, Temple University

“The Phillies and Temple’s Fox School of Business did an amazing job running this event! The opportunity to network with such fantastic individuals was such a valuable experience!” - Jared, Lebanon Valley College

“The networking event was an excellent experience. Connecting with individuals who are at the same career stage I am currently in was truly motivating. The panel session was not only insightful, but hearing from established professionals reassured me that I, too, can carve out my own path to success.” - Grace, Rowan College at Burlington County

“College Series night was an incredible experience that gave me a behind-the-scenes look at the business of baseball. Hearing directly from the panelists about their career paths, challenges, and day-to-day responsibilities was both inspiring and practical. The opportunity to connect with professionals from a Major League organization provided valuable insights into how different departments work together to create success on and off the field. I left the event with a clearer vision of the possibilities in sport management and a stronger motivation to pursue my career goals.” - Quentin, Ithaca College

Inside Tickets