Never Be Afraid To Start A Conversation: It May Just Change Your Life!

Life is full of experiences and conversations that at the time, seem small, but turn out to be pivotal moments in our lives. With the fast-approaching start of the baseball season, I’ve found myself reflecting on one such occurrence connected to baseball in my life.

In 2001, I attended the Baseball Winter Meetings in Boston. For those unfamiliar with the sport, the Winter Meetings are the event in the business of baseball. Major League Baseball (MLB) General Managers (GM’s), work furiously to improve their clubs via trades or by signing top free agents. Members of the press from across the country, cover the action. Conference rooms are jammed with personnel from across MLB and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) attending events and workshops on all aspects of the game. Meanwhile, nearly every facet of baseball related products can be seen at the Baseball Trade Show.

 Finally, MiLB hosts the Professional Baseball Employment Opportunities (P.B.E.O.) seminar.  , The seminar teaches individuals new to the industry what it takes to succeed within it. Simultaneously, MLB and MiLB franchises post openings and interview candidates. Then 24 and determined to work in the game, I was thrilled but nervous that first day.

At the Business of Baseball Workshop, I listened intently to the advice of individuals across MiLB. The speakers included:  Shawn Smith, then GM of the Lowell Spinners Ron McKee, former owner of the Ashville Tourists and MiLB President, Pat O’Connor. Wanting to stand out, I raised my hand when O’Connor asked anyone who was scared to do so. He told me not to worry and the workshop began. Participants were urged to tread carefully. McKee reminded us “If it smells bad, tastes bad and looks bad, it usually is bad.” O’Connor and Smith went further “No one (they reminded us) is bigger than the game.” A few days later, I went to a Q and A session with members of the Red Sox Front Office that changed my life forever.

 I found myself listening to and respecting a Latino gentleman with a firm voice and very approachable demeanor. He asked great questions and one of the panel members, Mike Tamburro, then President of the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox, called him “Cookie” before answering his questions. Meanwhile, the rest of us got a generic “yes?” to our inquiries.”Here” I said to myself, “is someone I can empathize with!” Come hell, high water or Bucky Dent, I was determined to connect with him.

While the program was ending, I introduced myself to Augusto “Cookie” Rojas. I asked him how he’d become involved in baseball and for his advice on what I should do for the rest of the day. He explained how he was determined to make a career in sports and that each day he came home from work, put on “an orange tee shirt” and went to work selling tickets and keeping Pawtucket’s McCoy Stadium clean. He asked me how old I was. I told him. He looked me in the eye with an intensity and determination that I will never forget and said, “you need to be down there [at the Trade Show] networking!” We shook hands and off I went.

Surrounded by hundreds of booths and thousands of people, I found myself taking risks, talking to people from North Dakota, Australia, you name it… In a word, I learned that successful networking depended on projecting a positive, warm, professional presence. Such a presence allows you to begin to build positive relationships with professionals whom you have the opportunity to learn from and, perhaps, hear about potential openings. I saw how networking is not a one way street, that you must demonstrate your passion and commitment, and be willing and able to help or advise those in your network when it is needed. In addition, I saw the critical importance of making a great first impression and how poor decisions had lasting consequences for your reputation and career. Most critically, I realized that as a person with a disability, it was imperative for me to both have a strong network and to stand out in a unique way.

I have difficulty standing for more than 15 minutes. Standing is a core requirement of many positions in sports. To move around this impasse, I decided to begin performing the National Anthem on my violin. I felt this unique activity would give me the ability to connect with decision makers in baseball. It did.That March, I tried out for Shawn Smith and the Spinners. The first gig brought me another and so on. Through skills learned at the Winter Meetings, in the summer of 2004, I secured an internship at the Boston Commission for People with Disabilities. On August 11, 2004, I fulfilled a dream and performed the Anthem for the Red Sox at Fenway Park.  Meanwhile, I continued building my network with individuals across baseball. Over the last 16 years, I’ve had the privilege of meeting and getting to know some incredible individuals involved with the game, including the late Carl Bean, Johnny Pesky, Jeff Idelsen, Scott Poley and Bill Smith. Jeff, Scott and Bill have been supportive of my efforts and work over the years. For that and their friendship, I am truly grateful.

While my career has moved into the disability and employment space, Rojas’ action had a pivotal role in my professional development. Without it, who knows what would have happened? I certainly would not have developed my skills in networking so early in my career. Next time you’re at an event, listen and never be afraid to speak with someone with whom you have something in common. You never know what that conversation or tip will do.

What about Cookie?

In January 2016, he was named Senior Vice President and General Manager of the (then) New Orleans Zephyrs (now known as the Baby Cakes), the Miami Marlins AAA affiliate.Rojas and his staff are working hard to build a winner in New Orleans. Nearly 20 years after first meeting him, I reached out to Rojas and wrote a piece about his journey in baseball. It was wonderful to reconnect and let him know how his advice changed my life.

Steve McEvoy is a Disability Employment Specialist based in NYC. He is a firm believer in the power of consumers and employees with disabilities to increase organizational profitability, particularly sports teams within struggling markets.  You can learn more about him here.