• Loading stock data...
Monday, June 30, 2025

The Odd Jobs of an Intern in Minor League Baseball (MiLB)

This is posted as part of our Summer Intern Blog Series. Be sure to come back each week as interns from around the country share their summer experiences with us!

By: Lauren Benda, @LaurenBenda

As an intern you will have many odd jobs. You may even find yourself shoveling snow. Photo Courtesy: Lauren Benda 

There are several different myths about doing an internship, but the biggest are the tedious tasks you will have to complete during your time at your internship. From stapling papers to brushing the mascot…nothing will surprise you by the time you finish your internship in MiLB.

Here are just a few of the things that I have had to do in my internship:

1. Staple the stat packs! Before every game our broadcaster, Dan Hasty, sends out an email with basically every updated stat in MiLB for all of the teams in our division, the Midwest League (MWL). It also includes current rosters of both teams, game notes for the specific game and lineups. During the games I work in Guest Services, and guests will come up to ask for these packs we put together that have the lineups, stats and current rosters of each team. We call those stat packs! Now that we are busier, I print about 60 of these packs out. Although the printer does staple we don’t get lineups right away, which means I am stuck stapling 60 lineups to the current stat packs. It takes a minute, but after a while I am afraid I will end up with carpel tunnel.

2. Taking care of the mascots! Here at the West Michigan Whitecaps we have three mascots Franky the Swimming Pig, Roxy and Crash the River Rascal. Every time we have a home stand we need to wash the mascots because of how sweaty they get. Who wants a smelly mascot? The answer is, nobody does. When kids hug them you want them to smell flowers and not sweat. So we wash them, brush them and we recently painted their eyes. To everyone’s surprise it makes a world of a difference when they are brushed.

3. Tarp pull/shovel the field…Opening day 2016 was April 9th. It was a Saturday, and one of our biggest snow storms we had all season. I wasn’t supposed to be in until 11 that day, but I woke up to a few texts and emails saying to bring your shovel and dress warm — be there at 9:30am. We were playing no matter what it took. This was a full on team effort…everybody was there and we shoveled the whole entire field. Our grounds crew spent the night at the field making sure all of the snow was off the tarp so it was easier to get it off in the morning. You can’t put the whole entire experience into words, but you can watch the video here. We also have to tarp the field…a lot. So far this season I think we have pulled tarp about 20 times. Maybe more. We have team A and team B and the interns are usually on call since we all live so close. To figure out what a tarp pull is you can click here. It may seem like a task, but it’s a great team building experience and you learn what a full team effort looks like.

My internship has included a lot of experiences I never thought I would have, but the people I am doing it with make every experience that much better. Here at the Whitecaps the interns are treated like front office members, and I don’t think you will find an intern here that won’t say they aren’t having one of the greatest times of their life and gaining a huge amount of experience.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Key Takeaways of “Lessons from an Intern”

This is posted as part of our Summer Intern Blog Series. Be…

True Challenges of an Intern

This is posted as part of our Summer Intern Blog Series. Be…

A Lesson on Confidence: Walk Like A Matador

This is posted as part of our Summer Intern Blog Series. Be…

5 Takeaways From My Summer Internship

By: Todd Rogers, @Todd_TTU My summer internship here at ACU has finally…

Featured Today

The Battle Over Wimbledon’s Ambitious Expansion Plan

A classic NIMBY standoff on one of the most hallowed grounds in sports.
Seattle Rough & Tumble
June 28, 2025

Women’s Sports Bars Are on the Rise. Survival Isn’t Guaranteed

Some women’s sports bars are cashing in. Others are clawing for funding.
June 27, 2025

Shitposters Have Taken the Reins of Pro Sports’ Official Voices

Meet the social media pros turning sports teams into internet trolls.
Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) hoists the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena
June 26, 2025

Stanley Cup’s International Summer Tour: Rules, Repairs, and Raucousness

No pro trophy tour compares to the NHL’s three-month global victory lap.

What Rolapp’s NFL Exit Means—and the Top Candidates to Replace Him

NFL media boss Brian Rolapp leaves; the league hunts for his replacement.
May 23, 2025

New LPGA Commissioner: Women’s Golf ‘Really Hard’ to Find on TV

Former PGA of America COO Craig Kessler will lead the tour.
Gabby Thomas
exclusive
June 12, 2025

Grand Slam Track Cancels Los Angeles Meet As $30 Million Track Start-Up..

Sources close to Grand Slam insist money is not an issue.
Sponsored

Hottest Matchups Following NFL Schedule Release

The NFL released the 2025 regular-season schedule, and anticipation is already building in the ticket marketplace with four months to go.
Donald Trump, Nick Saban
May 22, 2025

Proposed Trump College Sports Commission May Never Happen

The White House is not sure of its plans.
May 15, 2025

PGA Championship Tees Off With Free Food, Record Hospitality Sales

General admission includes unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Jun 12, 2019; Boston, MA, USA; St. Louis Blues center Ivan Barbashev (49) and right wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) hoists the Stanley Cup after defeating the Boston Bruins in game seven of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden
May 15, 2025

The 10 Biggest Stanley Cup Upsets of All Time

Since the 1984–1985 NHL season, 10 squads have defied the odds.
Allyson Felix
May 1, 2025

Allyson Felix on Olympic Pay, Nike, and Track’s Big-Money Era

Felix talked to FOS about her push to help Olympic parents and more.