\n\n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”thumbnail_url”:null,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Classes such as “Minor League Operations” and the “Role of a GM” — the latter was taught by Theo Epstein, who helped orchestrate World Series titles with the Red Sox and Cubs, and Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations \\-\\- gave participants who wouldn’t normally get firsthand experience of how to run a organization an inside look at the front office. \n\n“One of the biggest takeaways from the MLB University was that it connected the dots,” said Brewers regional supervisor Dan Nellum. “Being in scouting, I hear a lot about free agency, player development and building Minor League rosters. You hear a lot of terms, but don’t get to fully understand it. But with this opportunity, MLB University connected the dots for those things.””,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”While MLB University is the latest MLB-led career development program to improve diverse representation within baseball operations and on-field roles, it joins a long list of initiatives with the same goal. The MLB Diversity Fellowship, Take The Field and the Diversity Pipeline Scouting & Coaching Development programs have also led to many full-time positions with Major League Baseball.\n\nRecent MLB University participants who earned promotions in the past year — such as Allison Lunenborg (Padres’ director of baseball operations), Max Kwan (Pirates’ director of player personnel), Meghan Jones (Cubs’ vice president of baseball strategy) and Gavin Dickey (Astros’ special assistant to the general manager) — are just a few of the many individuals who benefited, and will continue to benefit, from the support and networking of MLB University. \n\n“We thought it was necessary to show our future leaders of the game what it means to be a general manager, to run a baseball operations department, so over the course of the past 12 months we exposed them to the different aspects of running a front office,” said Hill, who led MLB University during its first year. \n\n“The one thing when you speak to our group here \\[at MLB University\\] can tell you is that they’ve been able to grow. They’ve been able to grasp our subject matter and learn from it, grow their own knowledge base and understanding of growing a front office.””,”type”:”text”}],”relativeSiteUrl”:”/news/mlb-university-offers-career-development-for-club-employees”,”contentType”:”news”,”subHeadline”:null,”summary”:”MLB University already has its first batch of graduates.\nThe inaugural 10-month program, which was announced last November, consisted of 21 classes that focused on topics such as roster management, salary arbitration, media strategies, analytics, medical research and roles of a general manager.\nEach MLB club nominated one non-senior-level professional”,”tagline({\”formatString\”:\”none\”})”:null,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”jackson-stone”,”title”:”Jackson Stone”,”type”:”contributor”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”}],”type”:”story”,”thumbnail”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/cyjxxuk9hfy6iwpe6mih”,”title”:”MLB University offers career development for club employees”}}}}
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6:15 PM UTC
MLB University already has its first batch of graduates.
The inaugural 10-month program, which was announced last November, consisted of 21 classes that focused on topics such as roster management, salary arbitration, media strategies, analytics, medical research and roles of a general manager.
One year in, 12 of the first 37 members have already been promoted to a higher position within their club or with a new club.
Vinesh Kanthan, who was nominated by the Rangers to take part in MLB University last year as an assistant director of baseball operations, is now the director of baseball operations with the Marlins. Kanthan was one of 35 participants who got together at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., to celebrate MLB University ahead of its second year.
“Being selected by the Rangers for this was humbling and exciting, and clearly it’s worked out because I got a promotion with another team,” Kanthan said. “Again, just going back to the theme of opportunity, any time people invest in you, it’s pretty special.”
MLB University not only provided Kanthan with the knowledge to be successful at his position, but also introduced him to new ideas and strategies about how other departments are managed.
“We are in an industry that is segmented by design because more and more baseball ops people are coming into the industry, and [as a result], departments get bigger,” Kanthan said. “A great example is where I’m at right now with the Marlins. It’s a smaller front office, and there are a lot of advantages to that, but as we continue to build out, we will need more people. And when you help manage those people, you need to understand all these different departments.”
Classes such as “Minor League Operations” and the “Role of a GM” — the latter was taught by Theo Epstein, who helped orchestrate World Series titles with the Red Sox and Cubs, and Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations — gave participants who wouldn’t normally get firsthand experience of how to run a organization an inside look at the front office.
“One of the biggest takeaways from the MLB University was that it connected the dots,” said Brewers regional supervisor Dan Nellum. “Being in scouting, I hear a lot about free agency, player development and building Minor League rosters. You hear a lot of terms, but don’t get to fully understand it. But with this opportunity, MLB University connected the dots for those things.”
Recent MLB University participants who earned promotions in the past year — such as Allison Lunenborg (Padres’ director of baseball operations), Max Kwan (Pirates’ director of player personnel), Meghan Jones (Cubs’ vice president of baseball strategy) and Gavin Dickey (Astros’ special assistant to the general manager) — are just a few of the many individuals who benefited, and will continue to benefit, from the support and networking of MLB University.
“We thought it was necessary to show our future leaders of the game what it means to be a general manager, to run a baseball operations department, so over the course of the past 12 months we exposed them to the different aspects of running a front office,” said Hill, who led MLB University during its first year.
“The one thing when you speak to our group here [at MLB University] can tell you is that they’ve been able to grow. They’ve been able to grasp our subject matter and learn from it, grow their own knowledge base and understanding of growing a front office.”
