20 A It's Who You Know

Although I love this class and this assignment I wanted to use this networking opportunity as a way to benefit what I see as my actual future. I want to work in baseball and become a scout. In this industry just like many others it is about who you know rather than what you know. Hopefully this is acceptable.

1) Brian Parker, national cross checking scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has been in the scouting department of multiple organizations for over 15 years and is considered and expert in the field. For this assignment this is my domain expert. At my current job I am responsible for nearly 200 children. Out of those 200 there are two twin girls who happen to be Brian’s Daughters. The nature of our exchanges when it comes to baseball are very helpful. He has agreed to be a mentor to me through my baseball experiences. It is always great to have a person that is well known as a mentor. Not only can he share priceless knowledge with me but can also vouch for me when looking for a job.

2) Todd Silverman, Batting practice pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, former scout, former high school baseball coach, hitting instructor, and former college baseball player. Todd is my market expert. I have known Todd for many years. Growing up many of my friends received hitting lessons from him and he also was one of my coaches in high school. I chose him because he has been around the game for many years but in many different roles. I believe he represents the market well because he has seen it as a fan, a player, and a coach at many levels. Coach Todd has always been helpful to me as an aspiring scout. He has spread knowledge to me both as a player-coach relationship as well as a business relationship. He is important in my network because he is involved with the team I hope to work for and he also has a great reputation throughout the baseball world.

3) Kenny Reid, Baseball coach for over 20 years, and former collegiate baseball player. Kenny coaches baseball teams with players aged 14, 16, and 18. I chose him as the market supplier for this assignment. The reason for this is because he coaches the ages of players which I would be scouting. He sees players develop over the years and help supply college and professional baseball with prospects. He and other coaches like him are important in my market because they have great insight on the game and firsthand experience with the players that I hope to scout one day.

Recently I have been attacking the idea of networking but I have not really targeted it like I had to for this assignment. With this I have realized that having people in your network from different aspects of the market is very helpful.