Journal #1
Doing my internship with the Baseball Factory was a once in a lifetime opportunity. After going through their program as a student athlete, it was really cool to go back and see the process from the business side of things. Baseball Factory is the exclusive program for high school baseball players wanting to move on and play collegiate and professional baseball. Some statistics that stand out are as follows:
• 99% of Division I college baseball programs have at least one Baseball Factory alum on its roster
• 70% of Division II college baseball programs have at least one Baseball Factory alum on its roster
• 60% of Division III college baseball programs have at least one Baseball Factory alum on its roster
• 1 out of every 4 players from last year's College World Series is a Baseball Factory alum
• Over $1 Billion dollars in college scholarships have been acquired for our players
• 1 out of every 4 players drafted into professional baseball have come through Baseball Factory
• 4,500+ Baseball Factory players have been selected in the MLB draft
• 350+ Baseball Factory alumni have gone on to play in the Big Leagues including CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay, Mark Teixeira and David Wright
• 50,000+ of our student-athletes have successfully graduated from college
• Baseball Factory provides players with life experiences in addition to baseball training
• We educate players in life skills to help advance their success off the field
• Our events help prepare players for college and a career, even if it isn't in sports.
Doing my internship with the Baseball Factory was a once in a lifetime opportunity. After going through their program as a student athlete, it was really cool to go back and see the process from the business side of things. Baseball Factory is the exclusive program for high school baseball players wanting to move on and play collegiate and professional baseball. Some statistics that stand out are as follows:
• 99% of Division I college baseball programs have at least one Baseball Factory alum on its roster
• 70% of Division II college baseball programs have at least one Baseball Factory alum on its roster
• 60% of Division III college baseball programs have at least one Baseball Factory alum on its roster
• 1 out of every 4 players from last year's College World Series is a Baseball Factory alum
• Over $1 Billion dollars in college scholarships have been acquired for our players
• 1 out of every 4 players drafted into professional baseball have come through Baseball Factory
• 4,500+ Baseball Factory players have been selected in the MLB draft
• 350+ Baseball Factory alumni have gone on to play in the Big Leagues including CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay, Mark Teixeira and David Wright
• 50,000+ of our student-athletes have successfully graduated from college
• Baseball Factory provides players with life experiences in addition to baseball training
• We educate players in life skills to help advance their success off the field
• Our events help prepare players for college and a career, even if it isn't in sports.
Journal #2
When going through the recruiting process as a kid, Dan Mooney was my player representative who helped me with the baseball and academic side of things. Having him offer me an internship was a great experience and going into my fist day I was excited to get started. At the beginning of my time working there, they first gave me a tour of the building. It was state of the art. Everything was brand new and the two CEO’s had massive offices. There was an area with turf cages for lessons, and behind that a gym for players and workers to use. While the facility itself was awesome, the coolest part of day 1 was that MLB network came to do a piece with the executive Vice President Steve Bernhardt. |
Journal #3
The first thing I Learned while at the Baseball Factory was how to evaluate the talent and the different showcases they run all around the world. Players are evaluated on a scale from 1 to 8. The system works as 1 being what guys in the evaluation department a “stud”. This means he is a for sure draft pick out of high school. Anywhere between a 1 and a 4 is DIV I quality player. Between 4 and 6 is a DIV II player, and 6-8 is a DIV III player. This has been the system used there for years and it has projected well. Kids through hard work and as they mature can better their personal ranking and that is always the goal at the Baseball Factory, to make every player the best player they can be.
The first thing I Learned while at the Baseball Factory was how to evaluate the talent and the different showcases they run all around the world. Players are evaluated on a scale from 1 to 8. The system works as 1 being what guys in the evaluation department a “stud”. This means he is a for sure draft pick out of high school. Anywhere between a 1 and a 4 is DIV I quality player. Between 4 and 6 is a DIV II player, and 6-8 is a DIV III player. This has been the system used there for years and it has projected well. Kids through hard work and as they mature can better their personal ranking and that is always the goal at the Baseball Factory, to make every player the best player they can be.
Journal #4
The last couple of days I have been preparing the inventory for the upcoming events around the country. At each event kids get a shirt, hat, cleats or turf shoes, and in some events a wood bat. The amount of gear that was in the storage room was unbelievable. I received a breakdown of what each kid ordered and would have to put their package together and label it. Under Armour is an official partner with the Baseball Factory so all of the gear is their brand. I remember going to those events and getting the gear was always a cool part of the event. As any athlete can attest to, getting brand new gear, especially when it is top of the line stuff from Under Armour, it’s like an early Christmas. |
Journal #5
Going through the exclusive program with the Baseball Factory helped me find the best fit for me, which was Tiffin University, and my experience here has been second to none. The main objective is to find student athletes the best fit for them both athletically and academically. The one weekend I had to work to help a few kids coming in to get filmed. Each kid in the exclusive program gets a video that displays his abilities on the field and then they can send it out to coaches in hopes the coach likes it and wants them to visit their campus. We went down to the field and got everyone’s 60-yard dash time and then they proceeded to get loose and go to their defensive positions. They then got filmed at their primary and secondary positions and then moved onto hitting where they got filmed as well.
Going through the exclusive program with the Baseball Factory helped me find the best fit for me, which was Tiffin University, and my experience here has been second to none. The main objective is to find student athletes the best fit for them both athletically and academically. The one weekend I had to work to help a few kids coming in to get filmed. Each kid in the exclusive program gets a video that displays his abilities on the field and then they can send it out to coaches in hopes the coach likes it and wants them to visit their campus. We went down to the field and got everyone’s 60-yard dash time and then they proceeded to get loose and go to their defensive positions. They then got filmed at their primary and secondary positions and then moved onto hitting where they got filmed as well.
Journal #6
The next couple of days consisted of helping to market the upcoming Under Armour National Team tryouts. The website helps explain these events and this quote sums it up pretty well “You will benefit from high level instruction and competition against players from across the country. In addition to an experience of a lifetime on the field, players will just as importantly gain life skills that can be used in college and beyond. By participating on an Under Armour National Team, you will be in the Baseball Factory program until you graduate from high school. We will provide guidance to assist in your skill development while serving as a resource to help you navigate the college recruiting process”. My job was to call every single college coach in the region in which the event was being held. For example for TEAM 1 SOUTH was the upcoming. I called schools like the University of Florida, University of Georgia, Miami University and other big powerhouses like these schools. This was a great experience getting to talk to big name coaches and trying to convince them to send their recruiting coordinators over to our events to see potential future, Gators, Bulldogs, and Hurricanes.
The next couple of days consisted of helping to market the upcoming Under Armour National Team tryouts. The website helps explain these events and this quote sums it up pretty well “You will benefit from high level instruction and competition against players from across the country. In addition to an experience of a lifetime on the field, players will just as importantly gain life skills that can be used in college and beyond. By participating on an Under Armour National Team, you will be in the Baseball Factory program until you graduate from high school. We will provide guidance to assist in your skill development while serving as a resource to help you navigate the college recruiting process”. My job was to call every single college coach in the region in which the event was being held. For example for TEAM 1 SOUTH was the upcoming. I called schools like the University of Florida, University of Georgia, Miami University and other big powerhouses like these schools. This was a great experience getting to talk to big name coaches and trying to convince them to send their recruiting coordinators over to our events to see potential future, Gators, Bulldogs, and Hurricanes.
Journal #7
Possibly the coolest part of my time at the Baseball Factory was helping kids go through the recruiting process and give advice on how to navigate through it all. This can be a stressful decision for a 17 year old kid to make, and I think getting to have them talk to me, somebody who was in their shoes just a few years earlier, helped ease their minds a bit. The key always is finding a good balance between athletics and academics and often parents are not realistic with this. It is our job to help bring parents expectations to where they need to be. This one parent was talking about their son like he was the next Babe Ruth and the fact of the matter was, he was not that. He was a solid ball player but to have schools like Arizona State on his college list was beyond unrealistic. After several meetings with the player and his family they began to understand and grasp his level of academics and play to be at a low DIV I school or a DIV II school.
Possibly the coolest part of my time at the Baseball Factory was helping kids go through the recruiting process and give advice on how to navigate through it all. This can be a stressful decision for a 17 year old kid to make, and I think getting to have them talk to me, somebody who was in their shoes just a few years earlier, helped ease their minds a bit. The key always is finding a good balance between athletics and academics and often parents are not realistic with this. It is our job to help bring parents expectations to where they need to be. This one parent was talking about their son like he was the next Babe Ruth and the fact of the matter was, he was not that. He was a solid ball player but to have schools like Arizona State on his college list was beyond unrealistic. After several meetings with the player and his family they began to understand and grasp his level of academics and play to be at a low DIV I school or a DIV II school.
Journal #8
When I began interning it was the end of one recruiting class and the beginning of another. That meant it was my job to update the Baseball Factory Exclusive Program computer system. Doing this was a long tedious process in which I had to update every kid’s information, schools interested in them, schools they are interested in, and the last time we spoke to them. Along with that academic information needed to be updated so this all took me about a week and a half of work. |
Journal #9
About half way through my summer interning at the Baseball Factory, it was time for the Under Armour All America Game. This is the gathering of the nations top high school talent and they play a game on national television at Wrigley Field in Chicago. They get decked out in gear and I had to sort it and help that inventory. I also got to witness another interview with Steve Bernhardt and MLB Network, highlighting the best prospects in the game. Seeing such a big network asking opinions of the staff of Baseball Factory was a tell tale sign that the Baseball Factory was the premier evaluation system in amateur baseball. Knowing that, it was even more awesome that I had an opportunity to spend my summer there. |
Journal #10
Another great experience was getting to sit in on a meeting that discussed expansion. Any great business looks to expand. During this meeting they talked about the risks of expanding into other sports and the benefits. Ultimately what they have decided is to expand into volleyball. There was no recruiting service for that sport and they could set the precedent for this. Softball was also expanding a bit and opening up more events around the country. Most of the executives agreed that Softball Factory would surpass Baseball Factory eventually because they are basically a monopoly when it comes to all of the services they offer. Seeing the business side was an eye opening experience.
Another great experience was getting to sit in on a meeting that discussed expansion. Any great business looks to expand. During this meeting they talked about the risks of expanding into other sports and the benefits. Ultimately what they have decided is to expand into volleyball. There was no recruiting service for that sport and they could set the precedent for this. Softball was also expanding a bit and opening up more events around the country. Most of the executives agreed that Softball Factory would surpass Baseball Factory eventually because they are basically a monopoly when it comes to all of the services they offer. Seeing the business side was an eye opening experience.
Journal #11
Getting to learn about their partnerships was another great experience. Under Armour is their main partner and provides all of the gear the players receive at the many events held throughout the country. Easton is also a partner of the Baseball Factory. When their new bats came out they send them to the Baseball Factory to be tested and evaluated by the staff and players who do lessons there. It works out for both parties and is a smart business decision because Easton gets customer feedback and Baseball Factory gets to test out the newest top of the line equipment.
Getting to learn about their partnerships was another great experience. Under Armour is their main partner and provides all of the gear the players receive at the many events held throughout the country. Easton is also a partner of the Baseball Factory. When their new bats came out they send them to the Baseball Factory to be tested and evaluated by the staff and players who do lessons there. It works out for both parties and is a smart business decision because Easton gets customer feedback and Baseball Factory gets to test out the newest top of the line equipment.
Journal #12
Possibly my most enjoyable time was when Dan showed me how other companies similar to the Baseball Factory try and gain access to their databases, signing up as coaches. High school and College coaches can gain access to the Baseball Factory database to view film and evaluations of kids going through the recruiting process. Companies for example like Perfect Game Baseball will pay people to sign up with a fake profile just to gain access to these kids profile pages and get their information. They then would invite these kids to their respective camps. After a run through for a day they let me “police” the profile search page and doing so was a good time.
Possibly my most enjoyable time was when Dan showed me how other companies similar to the Baseball Factory try and gain access to their databases, signing up as coaches. High school and College coaches can gain access to the Baseball Factory database to view film and evaluations of kids going through the recruiting process. Companies for example like Perfect Game Baseball will pay people to sign up with a fake profile just to gain access to these kids profile pages and get their information. They then would invite these kids to their respective camps. After a run through for a day they let me “police” the profile search page and doing so was a good time.
Journal #13
As an intern getting to run simple errands can be a nice time to get out of the office and move around a bit. The one day Steve Sclafani, the founder of the Baseball Factory called me into his office to go run a quick errand for him. Baseball players love their sunflower seeds so when he asked me to go get him and the office some I didn’t think much of it. That was until he pulled out an American Express black card. This card has no limit. He jokingly told me to go buy a car with it while I’m out. Once he handed me this card I instantly was nervous. What if I lose it? I drove to the store with this card so tightly placed in my hand that it left marks on my hand. Thankfully I didn’t lose it but I will tell you when I handed that card back over I truly felt the weight of the world lifted off of my shoulders.
As an intern getting to run simple errands can be a nice time to get out of the office and move around a bit. The one day Steve Sclafani, the founder of the Baseball Factory called me into his office to go run a quick errand for him. Baseball players love their sunflower seeds so when he asked me to go get him and the office some I didn’t think much of it. That was until he pulled out an American Express black card. This card has no limit. He jokingly told me to go buy a car with it while I’m out. Once he handed me this card I instantly was nervous. What if I lose it? I drove to the store with this card so tightly placed in my hand that it left marks on my hand. Thankfully I didn’t lose it but I will tell you when I handed that card back over I truly felt the weight of the world lifted off of my shoulders.
Journal #14
Towards the end of my time at the Baseball Factory, I got asked to help out the evaluation team upload all of the player evaluations from the latest camps. While it was long and tedious work the guys were a good group. It was my only time working with them so they showed me the ropes and for a few days I transferred the hard copies to electronic copies. Typing up the written portion was time consuming but for a few days it wasn’t a bad change up.
Journal #15
Wrapping up my summer at the Baseball Factory, I got to go around and thank everyone for showing me the ropes and helping me out all summer. It was a great work environment, almost Google-like, and I couldn’t have asked for a better man to do my internship than Dan Mooney. He let me do so many things other interns did not get to do. I was the only one to get to talk to college coaches, talk to families about their aspirations for their sons. When leaving, Dan thanked me for all the work I got done. He also said he wished he could have hired me right then and there so hearing that to close out my summer there was a good finishing touch. |
Journal #16
This past summer I was offered the privilege to play summer baseball in Madisonville, Kentucky for the Madisonville Miners. It was a blast living in a small town and having their support for our team. Because this town was such a key part of our team, we constantly had to do public relations events with the team. Our first one was a dinner with the teams owners which was around 30 people. At this I had to market myself to them as to how I would help the team and enhance the Miner brand. By doing this and getting to know some of the owners it led to cool opportunities later in the summer. |
Journal #17
Any athlete can tell you how great it is to play your games in front of a large crowd. Being in a small town, we had to actively market our games to the town and the surrounding area to get everybody we possibly could to come to our games. The local golf outing was a great spot for this. We wore our jerseys out to the golf course and handed out free tickets to local people in hopes they'd come out to our games. Our largest crowd this summer was around 2,000 people, and for a small town in Kentucky that was a pretty cool achievement. |
Journal #18
The town of Madisonville was all about Miner baseball. We had billboards, player cards, and memorabilia that many people bought to support the team. Some of the people who were our biggest supporters had local businesses and after a few weeks in town and everybody knew who we were, I did some radio shows and interviews. This was an awesome experience getting to help them out while doing something I've never done before. Helping out people who supported us was one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done. |