As a High Schooler who wants to work in baseball operations what's the best degree to get to have the best shot at getting into the business?

Hey Yitz,

I would suggest in majoring in a business related field as that can be applied to a variety of different roles you could fill for a baseball team. I studied business and accounting at USC and worked for the football team while I was there. By the time I was ready to graduate, I was presented with many opportunities to work in the sports industry for a variety of teams.

My suggestion would be to major in something you enjoy and feel like would be applicable to sports, and try and get a job with the university sports teams or operations in order to further expose you to opportunities in the industry.

Lindsey

I graduated from the University of Oregon in 2017, and had multiple friends who took advantage of the school's highly rated sports business program. The concentration is offered as part of the Lundquist College of Business on campus, and is a great place to learn the many facets of the sports industry. One of the University of Oregon's most renown alumni is Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. Mr. Knight has made large investments to the school's sports business program, and injected some of Nike's creative and exciting culture into the courses as well. Students have the opportunity to get hands-on experience working with sports teams such as some of the school's stellar athletic departments, as well as local sports teams.

If you would like more details on the program, I suggest you explore their website: https://business.uoregon.edu/ug/concentrations/sports-business

Hi Yitz,

If you are able to, I recommend getting a sports and event management degree. If your school does not offer that as a major I recommend majoring in business. I am majored in International Business and Marketing with a minor in Sales. Those degrees certainly opened up a lot of opportunities for me. From experience, I can say that having a sales background is probably the easiest way to get your foot in the door for a front office baseball position.

I love baseball and super excited that you're looking for a career in that field. Remember, a baseball team is like other companies so the degree depends on what you ultimately want to do. I have friends in baseball ops and some of them have business degrees, others have sports management degrees. I also know folks who are in Human Resources and equipment management. So, in my opinion, this is about getting your degree in the area that interests you (ensuring that they have those roles in either MLB or individual teams (pro and minor leagues). While you're doing that, try to build a relationship with someone already in baseball. I wish you the BEST. So exciting!

Try to get involved with the industry as early as possible. Start by applying to internships for baseball organizations. Experience is just as important as the degree!

On the business side, accounting can get your foot in the door for most industries because organizations need accountants. It is only a matter of whether a specific organization you are interested in is hiring for an accounting position. A quick search on my local MLB team's career website yielded some results for accounting/finance positions. Best of luck!