Each year, the Winter Meetings bring the entire baseball industry to one city -- practically under one roof -- with much of the attention focused on the Major League clubs and what they might have cooking as they shape their rosters for the coming season.
But there is so much more that goes on during this four-day convention every December. Away from the agents, front office hotel suites and rumors involving high-profile players are activities designed to recruit and develop young professionals seeking careers in baseball.
MLB hosted three diversity-focused career development programs the week of the Winter Meetings in Dallas: Take the Field, Advancing Bases and MLB University (MLBU). Take the Field, which is geared toward women pursuing careers in baseball, is held during a two-day period just before the start of the Winter Meetings, while Advancing Bases and MLBU take place as the meetings are concluding.
Front office executives representing all of baseball’s 30 clubs participate in roundtables, fireside chats and networking sessions, all with the intention to share knowledge with participants, many of whom will comprise the next wave of young talent working in baseball.
Advancing Bases is tailored to individuals of color, albeit open to all, in an effort to expand their personal network, industry knowledge and overall familiarity with various positions in baseball operations. The program also includes participants from MLB Voices, another diversity-focused program that aims to grow and develop aspiring broadcasters.
“It brings together our future talent that will have a chance to impact our game,” said Tyrone Brooks, MLB’s senior director, front office & field staff diversity. “And in addition, individuals from our different clubs who are willing to share and help provide resources and really pour energy into the future of our game. That’s really what this game is all about; it’s a people business.”
The two-day event gives participants “an opportunity to ask any question under the sun, and hopefully give them a platform,” Brooks said. Sessions included resume reviews and mock interviews, to give participants “every little ingredient that is going to help them take the next step, and find that opportunity to start their career in baseball.”
These events are led by Brooks -- who oversees a diversity pipeline program that has resulted in over 700 hires throughout the industry -- and Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations & workforce.
“The first step is always the most challenging,” Hill said. “The fact that they’re here, they’re taking stock in their careers, they’re showing this is what they want and they’re going to do everything in their power to make it happen.
“We want to give them everything they can take. All 30 of our clubs are here, they’re helping guide them, to give them information that will hopefully lead them to opportunity and a future in our game.”
That is also the hope of Nathan Hemingway, who traveled from Chandler, Ariz., to participate in Advancing Bases.
“Like they said on the panels, this is the future, in this room,” Hemingway said. “To gain knowledge and experience from the people who have been in the game for so many years already…I know hearing from them is only going to benefit myself, personally and professionally.”
MLB University (MLBU) is for mid-level employees currently working for Major League clubs to learn more about the business. It focuses on topics such as roster management, salary arbitration, analytics and the roles of a general manager, to prepare them for roles at higher front-office levels.
Each club nominates one employee with a diverse background, joining five members of the Buck O’Neil Professional Baseball Scouts & Coaches Association and select members of the Commissioner’s Ambassador Program.
“We want to give them exposure to what the job entails,” Hill said. “We’re not asking them to be experts, but with so much specialization with front offices today, a lot of our mid-level employees don’t always get access to all those different aspects of a front office that prepares them to be future leaders. We felt it was important to create this program.”
Participants were schooled on several topics, including league governance, collective bargaining, the Rule 5 Draft and salary arbitration.
“So far I’ve learned there’s a lot more that goes into running a team than just deciding which players are on the field, when,” said Isha Rahman, who works for the Rays front office as a baseball operations coordinator. “There’s a lot of money, a lot of things with ownership, a lot of people you have to work with. Establishing these connections with different people in my MLBU class and also learning all of this information has been super helpful and given me the tools to continue to grow in this industry.”
Athletics baseball operations analyst Myles Mensah praised the sessions for providing “a good foundation” for how baseball works, top to bottom.
“They talked about Major League Baseball and the Commissioner’s Office, how Major League Baseball is run and how it gets down to people like me, working with clubs in mid-level roles,” he said. “It was a good start to understanding from within what it looks like to work in baseball.”