Sports (+ Career)
Some people paint, others sculpt, I podcast.
Conceived with two of my baseball teammates, our WAR and Peace Baseball podcast focuses on everything MLB related: game analysis, drafts, news, and rumors.
But it’s not just baseball that I’m crazy about.
I am a sports fanatic. No single experience has forged my personality, interests, and character more than sports. It’s what makes me tick.
When I’m stressed, I calm myself researching the newest sabermetrics. For fun, I blog about trades and free agents. Even my cellphone ringtone plays the SportsCenter “Da-da-dah, Da-da-dah.” Whether it’s factoids, history, uniforms, stadiums, or fantasy leagues, I just can’t get enough of it.
Sports have shaped the way I think about numbers. One inch, one point, one run can make all the difference and I pride myself on all the geeky and random stats I’ve memorized. The people who know me know me as a numbers guy, which is one of the reasons I’m VP of Finance for my club, Investing in Imagination. My affinity for stats has also developed two other passions, aviation and history, both filled with facts, specifications, and data, information that can only be told with numbers.
But sports have shown me that numbers must be interpreted with context. It may seem that Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had a good Sunday with three touchdowns, but his three interceptions tell a different story. And this applies to more than just sports. In life, things are rarely black and white — context is crucial. Whether reading a text or interpreting someone’s emotions, one can only know the true meaning if they know the situation. That’s why I love coaching Irvine Eagle’s Special Olympics basketball so much: it’s not about just winning or losing. Helping these kids achieve self-worth is a lot more important than just numbers on the scoreboard.
I also love how sports feeds my inquisitive side. What started off as researching the New York Yankee’s history, or why the AFL and NFL merged, has evolved. I’ve branched off, studying diverse topics such as the development of the multi-purpose stadium, the 1972 Munich Massacre, and how people, including many athletes, spend their way into bankruptcy. Sports is really a microcosm for the world at large and it continues to teach me life lessons each day – whether it’s how to deal with the weight to succeed or that failure is not fatal. These lessons have been invaluable in the development of my character and growth as an adolescent.
My ambition is to use my love for sports to one day work in the front office of a professional sports team. I see college as the ideal place for me to explore the subjects that I believe are necessary to understand the modern sports business environment.
To make the WAR and Peace Baseball Podcast a quality work takes passion, analytics, situational awareness, and curiosity. We have 30 podcasts uploaded and regularly update our website with information and articles. So what’s the next logical step from debating which Major League Baseball GM is the best at formulating transactions and making trades?
To become that GM.