Diego Ynzunza ’18

I worked for the Orleans Firebirds, a collegiate summer baseball team in the Cape Cod Baseball League, which is the premier summer baseball league for college players.

I was an analytics intern. My main responsibilities were writing advanced scouting reports for teams we would play, as well as assisting coaches and players with any statistical, or advanced data questions they had.

What was the overall work environment and company culture?

I would work before games, at the field, to formulate my scouting reports, and then would be in the dugout during games. I would get to the field around 12 for a 6:30 pm start, and then leave around 10 pm. I was issued a bunch of team gear, so I was able to wear that.

It didn’t really align with my major, but it aligned with my job as the head student manager for the baseball team at USC.

I enjoyed being around the game and learning from the coaching staff. The coaches have years and years of experience and knowledge that I was able to draw from and it’s going to help me immensely as I try to enter into the baseball world.

I think that at MJS, there was a heavy focus on public speaking, and being confident in your ability to express yourself in front of large crowds. While I didn’t ever need to speak to many people at one time, it can be intimidating to work in an area where your superiors have decades more experience than you do. But I believe that my time at MJS helped me to be confident in my words and helped me develop the necessary tools to express my ideas succinctly and logically.

In conversations with coaches and players, I gained some valuable insights into different pitching philosophies, training methods, etc. I had a firsthand experience to discuss how analytics plays a role in these players’ and coaches’ everyday lives at their own colleges.

I’m proud of my ability to develop scouting reports as quickly as I did. We had games every day, and often times teams would get new players every day. We wanted to go in fully prepared, and I made sure to make advanced scouting reports for every pitcher we would face, and I’m proud of my ability to keep up with the fast paced nature of the league, while keeping the quality of the reports at a high level.

It solidified my desire to work in the baseball industry, and specifically on the player development, scouting, coaching, operations side of things.

It was the first time I had ever lived in a different state, as I live in Pasadena and go to school at USC. It was definitely difficult at times, but I feel like I’m more well-equipped to live somewhere else after college if I get a job out-of-state.