A view of the baseball field from the Lexus Diamond Club at Angels Stadium on May 19. News Editor Marcos Lizarraga was invited by a member of the Angels Research and Development Department to discuss potential career paths post graduation. Photo by Marcos Lizarraga
If you had asked me during my first year at Pepperdine what my future looked like, I wouldn’t have been able to give you a clear answer. Like a lot of first-year students, adjusting to college life was rough for me.
I enrolled as an Economics major, not because I enjoyed it, but honestly because that’s what Brad Pitt’s character in “Moneyball“ studied — and I thought Brad Pitt was cool.
I constantly wrestled with what I was truly passionate about. That was until the trajectory of my life was changed over a game of ping-pong.
I remember playing a game of ping-pong with a few of the freshmen Pepperdine Baseball pitchers. Between rallies, we talked about our favorite MLB players and teams. When I mentioned my deep love for the game, one of the pitchers asked me if I’d ever thought about applying to work for the University’s baseball team.
Up until that night, I had no idea an opportunity to work in sports even existed on campus. The next day, I sent a long Instagram DM to the head student manager.
Joining the Baseball analytics staff was a humbling experience. Day to day, I interacted with data that I didn’t understand and baseball jargon that I had trouble deciphering.
For the first time ever, I was truly consumed by something. A puzzle that I couldn’t solve, but was eager to at least give a shot to.
I spent the summer after my first year interning the Santa Barbara Foresters, a collegiate summer-ball team ran by New York Yankees scout Bill Pintard. From there, I consumed baseball like there was no tomorrow.
Through a fellow student manager’s hiring process, I learned the truth about the hyper-competitive world of professional baseball. Major league organizations run on a seasonal calendar, and the vast majority of entry-level front office, analytics and player development roles are filled starting in January, right as teams ramp up for spring training.
That transformed my academic plan entirely.
If I waited for a spring graduation, I’d be entering the job market five months after the peak hiring window closed, competing for very few mid-season openings. But if I pushed myself, I could wrap up my Economics degree a full semester early, putting myself on par with MLB hiring season. Since then, I’ve spoken with MLB teams, primarily the Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros, about potential employment.
Breaking into professional baseball is extremely difficult, and there are no promises in a field where thousands and thousands of talented people compete for a handful of spots in only 30 organizations. But I’m stepping into the market fully prepared, ahead of schedule and ready to go after the career I want.
This story was copy edited by Lila Rendel.
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Contact Marcos Lizarraga via email: marcos.lizarraga@pepperdine.edu