Job Posting: Phillies Internship
Phillies Baseball Operations Internship Program
The Philadelphia Phillies seek passionate, knowledgeable and highly motivated individuals with a desire to work in our Baseball Operations Department. Interns will primarily focus on Baseball Analytics with the opportunity to be exposed to all facets of the Department. The internship will include salary and benefits and will end in December. Consideration will also be given to exceptional candidates who are only available during the summer months.
Responsibilities
- Support all functions of Department by performing advanced statistical analysis on large volumes of baseball data and extracting key information to apply to decision-making processes
- Design, test, implement and maintain proprietary tools and metrics while also monitoring and incorporating publically available baseball research
- Develop interfaces and data imports to facilitate use of data and analysis
- Assist with ad-hoc research projects and present results to staff in a coherent, straightforward manner
- Track performances of prospective salary arbitration eligible players
- Provide administrative support to staff as needed
Required Qualifications
- Experience working with large datasets and statistical modeling
- Familiarity with advanced metrics, statistical analysis techniques and current baseball research and baseball data
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Ability to take initiative and work collaboratively
- Keen attention to detail
- Professional attitude, work ethic and ability to maintain confidentiality of work materials and issues as appropriate
- Demonstrated passion for and general knowledge of baseball
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working with database systems, analytical tools and web development
- Knowledge of SQL/MySQL, Oracle, R, SPSS or equivalents and how they apply to baseball
- Technical proficiency with scripting languages such as C++, HTML5, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python or equivalents and how they apply to baseball
- Advanced degree in a quantitative field of study
- Specialized training, certifications or published research
- Practical work experience in baseball industry
- Institutional knowledge of drafts, important industry dates and transactional mechanics
- Collegiate or professional playing experience
Interns must be willing and able to relocate to Philadelphia and work long hours, including nights, weekends and holidays. Interested applicants should direct their cover letter, resume and related work product to Scott Freedman at SFreedman@Phillies.com.
David Appelman is the creator of FanGraphs.
Wow… those are some serious qualifications to be an INTERN!!
Crazy that they can pull someone like this and not pay them anything
In the Phillies defense, it says the internship will have a salary and benefits.
I just finished an internship with the Rangers, and “Salary and Benefits” will most likely mean a half bag of sunflower seeds and 5 free tickets a month. My experience was incredible with the Rangers, but it is not a financially sustainable opportunity for the entry level kid.
Now Will Fletcher – You wait just a second. Are you trying to say that it was exactly like an internship is supposed to be? Shame on you.
At least the internship doesn’t require a keen attention to detail.
The sad part is that they’ll likely get at least 1000 qualified resumes for such a job.
What’s sad is that statement.
My current salary is just under 100K, and I would leave my job for this one.
Why is that sad if supply and demand suggests that there are 1,000 qualified people who would love to have the chance to turn the internship into a full-time job?
I’d love to have this so many of these jobs that are posted here… too bad I’m still in high school
The nice thing is, these postings are giving you a road map to what you need to learn and do to get there.
Yeah, this is a job I’d love to have but I’m in high school as well.
There are a lot of people out there who would be willing to give you some advice on how to break in. That’s how I ended up as a baseball writer. Usually the best way to make a name for yourself is to do good analysis on sites like FanGraphs, THT, and BPro – especially any work that involves data modeling. That way, you can get your name on a short list before they even put out the call for resumes.
I learned that I’m not great with modeling but that I like to write. And since writing pays about the same as interning for five years, plus I get to set my own schedule, it made a lot more sense for me to pursue that path.
Oops, forgot to add:
• Must be 35 years old or older.
I fucking died.
Special consideration will be given to applicants who can provide depth at first.
Well fuck you too, Ruben!
If you’re over 30 you get an invite to spring training too.
Hay you mean I still have a shot with the Fillies?
Oops, keep making the same mistake. Kinda like Kim Kardashian answering an ad from the Blackhawks…
I had my internship with a frontier league team, not MLB affiliated, but it was still an experience. I worked 70+ hours a week, got paid $180 a month and tickets to the game. It was absolutely brutal.
It’s highly likely that they will pay AT LEAST min wage/hr, which could be a lot with the OT hours. Mainly because “intern” wage claims have been a hot topic in labor litigation recently. Every large company is being advised to pay at least min wage to cut off costly lawsuits. Perhaps one could be more cavalier in a reactionary state like texas, but prob not in a modern city like Philadelphia.
Modern means litigious, evidentally. That or you’ve never seen Philadelphia.
Paid corporate commenter (AKA coldseat) – Internships in america historically have paid below min wage. Hence the “intern” label. Maybe the Phils will be good to the intern they are looking for, but maybe they will be shitty. Let’s ask the intern that is privileged enough to take that gamble next year. The reason that people are less than supportive of entities that choose not to pay employees because they don’t have prior experience based on the logic that the “experience” replaces pay is because it disproportionally favors “interns” that are already financially free from the market.
If you really think there is no problem with that model, just look at Voros McCracken’s baseball career.
right….think what you are saying is beginning to change & hence the increase in the litigation I mentioned. “Internships” are supposed to be mainly of benefit to the Intern & not the company. If the “intern” is doing tasks that the company needs to get done, then it is not an “internship” and must be paid. I think working in an analytics department qualifies as work that needs to be done by the team in the context presented…..hence, they are going to be paid at least Min Wage + the OT hours if the Phillies had half a brain/competent legal depart.
You mean Quinton McCracken?
Speaking of which, do any of you guys have his current contact info? He hasn’t returned our non-roster invite, and I just want to know why. Thanks.
Required Qualifications
-Experience working with large datasets and statistical modeling
-Familiarity with advanced metrics, such as Batting Average, Fielding Percentage, and GW-RBI
In Seattle, you only have to be familiar with Home Runs
Be fair to them…they probably have to explain complicated concepts like how OBP+SLG=OPS.
This makes me wonder if the “experience” that this future intern gets will preclude them from getting any future MLB job.
It looks likes the Phillies want a 2 person Analytics department as long as it costs them less then 1/100000th of Ryan Howards annual salary.
I feel like the lack of pay and working under RAJ would lead an intern going postal.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE SIGNED KENDREYS MORALES?
Presumably, you sign up for this job knowing that you’re going to be ignored at every turn. It’s like the sabermetric equivalent of going to a monastery high in the Himalayas, entirely cut off from society.
Someone get this job and then totally blow their NDA telling us dirty secrets about the inner workings of RAJ’s halls of insanity
If you have all those qualifications, I can get you a 9 to 5 job making $75K tomorrow.
Why would you want to “work long hours, including nights, weekends and holidays.” for intern pay?
that’s so true
Because your job would be what doing what the rest of us do in our spare time?
It’s generally a bad idea to work in a field that many people have a passion for. I once thought about a career in public transportation planning, but after taking one college course that was full of railfans and other enthusiasts, I realized there would be way too much job competition relative to the salaries offered.
Of course the same is true with the athletes themselves. Very few baseball lovers get as far as a job with a minor-league team, not to mention the majors…
It’s a bad idea if your main motivator is money, yes.
Go back to Russia, hippy.
Who the hell wants to ride the bus for ten years either?
It’s baseball man! A shot at the show.
Anyone else wondering how HTML and C++ could in any way be described as scripting languages?
Yes. Someone doesn’t proof read these, or have no clue about programming.
Because Ryan Howard said so.
It’s the Phillies’ analytics department. They’re still using tape reel computers.
I’ve written scripts in C++. I’m not sure I should be admitting that in public, but I don’t have a last name here.
Did you write some in HTML too?
You could TECHNICALLY write scripts in HTML, provided you also wrote a parser that processes HTML as an imperative language of some sort. Maybe that’s what the C++ script is for.
Not me…because I know less about computer programming than RAJ knows about advanced analytics.
This job postningen showa the flawed thinking of Ruben.
Anyone who had a grasp for saber metrics and how stats can help a team would be prepared to pay big money for it, because it’s worth it.
Ruben wants to have interns doing it cheaply.
Wrong place to be cheap IMHO.
Phillies should offer up a big salary for this position and try to get the best possible available.
They already hired that guy to head the dept…this is the same thing every other MLB franchise does. They know full well that there are literally hundreds of people with those qualifications that will gladly suffer through the hell of this internship just to say they worked for an MLB team in their front office.
I don’t think they’re going to get the best candidates by jacking up the salary anyway. Someone with those qualifications who was interested in chasing money could probably target a Wall Street analyst position. Since the magnitude of gains you can make through better analysis in finance dwarfs those for player evaluation, there is more incentive to pay for talent.
C++ and HTML aren’t scripting languages.
Such Phillies hate! He’s trying guys!!
I agree, and think it should be recognized. At the very least, they know what Fangraphs is and that some of its readers might be good candidates. Clearly they’re trying to expand their analytics department. They’re obviously not the A’s or Rays but they’ve got to start somewhere.
I’m surprised they didn’t offer another team 2 of their top 10 prospects for their intern.
Why is playing experience a plus?
Rube probably thinks that you cant possibly understand baseball unless you played it yourself at a high level. I mean, look how great he is at his job after all?
I would certainly consider it a plus. I know I’ve been able to point out flaws by drawing on my college experience. I can imagine that somebody who was actually played everyday through college or had minor league experience might have more insights. It’s also given me more than a few ideas for research over the years and I’m working on a large project that was inspired by my playing career and things that I wish I had known.
Mostly though, I’ve found my familiarity with training regiments to be the my helpful experience. I find that most fans and even writers are largely in the dark about those.
In other words, folks like Well-Beered Englishman and yours truly should plan on getting bumped by the likes of say, Brian Bannister if we were on a waiting list for this type of work.
Brad, then where do you draw the line? High school? Little league? Passion for the game is passion for the game. Excluding outsiders because “game experience” removes a bunch of people that might have amazing ideas. Did Voros McCracken play at the highest levels? Tango?Andrew Friedman only played in college for a bit. I think your comment is called elitism.
Brad,
Why would your experience of being carried to a Super Bowl championship by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense help you get a baseball job?
Players are humans, not stat lines
Speaking as someone working in (non-baseball) analysis and modeling with an advanced degree:
Knowing how what you’re modeling works always helps. The more you know the better you can do.
Stuff it would never occur to someone else to worry about can be important. I have no idea HOW having played at a high level will help, but I’m utterly confident that it will help, and I note that that’s a preferred, not required, qualification.
NOT preferring someone with actual play experience who’s otherwise qualified would be insane.
stop making sense….we hate jocks here, they know nothing that we can’t sort off a data set so we can then tell them how to play the game.
Well said.
+1
Want to know if an organization really values a skill set? See how much they’re willing to pay for it.
This set of qualifications tells me that having an organizational capacity to do real, robust analytics would be nice to have, so long as its free. If you try to build an organization on people who are desperate and don’t value their expertise, you’re going to get what you pay for.
Welcome to the wide world of sports. Someone will take it. Supply and demand.
Pro sports teams across the board don’t pay their interns (or at least not livable compensation, much less fair compensation) because they’re struggling at the margins and the money just isn’t there.
Got a problem with it? They’ll find another.
So true. Read this about NFL cheerleaders….as long as folks want to do it for little to nothing, that’s what the going rate will be:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10360990/vote-longest-award-sports-tmq-non-qb-non-rb-mvp#cheerleaders
“Folks wanting to do it” does’t make it right, it just makes it possible.
OTHOH: one can simply say “no” to an internship. This is America & this is hardly an economic/poverty coercion situation; these aren’t migrant farm workers or starving displaced Vietnamese villagers we’re talking about. There’s also dangers lurking in the nanny state, too.
Welcome to the world of ANY INTERNSHIP IN THE COUNTRY…they’re all like this. When I ran an IT Security dept, we paid (if we paid at all) our interns minimum wage and traded them like absolute dogsh!t…and they took it all so they could put our company name on their resume. Regardless of that, we always had hundreds of good resumes for every internship and none of them ever quit.
It sucks and its unfair…but its how American companies tend to operate. Why pay when you can have free slave labor like that?
Those types of American/multinational companies can lick my grimy taint.
Well, I think that needs to change. I only hire interns if I have budget to pay them with, and I pay pretty well. Still a fraction of an entry level full time employee but the expectations are different. I believe the status quo with regards to interns is unethical.
here, here.
I’m glad someone is willing to do what’s right, even if it’s not necessarily maximally profitable.
By the way, I really enjoy NPB Tracker.
ankle explosion hr celebration: actually it is profitable. Tech is very competitive, and a good intern program can help build a good pipeline of entry level hires, which is valuable. It’s a short term cost, but a long term investment.
good point–I should have said “maximally profitable in the short term,” which seems to be how most companies operate.
Ankle – you nailed it. Short term thinking does not equal long term success. Corporate interests in baseball should know that.
Luckily this is starting to change I believe, at least in the tech field. I’m currently in college and a lot of the internships I’ve looked in to are very reasonably paid, plus many have a housing stipend. I’m still not making as much as the year-round guys, of course, but enough to live very comfortably for a few months in the summer.
Of course, most other fields offer either next to or no pay for their interns, require relocation, etc. There really should be an expectation to pay interns at least a livable wage and some sort of relocation help if they need it–these interns should become your year-round staff if they’re any good, and they should be treated like that. I think enough tech companies are desperate enough for good people that they’re starting to realize that.
The problem is that baseball teams will never be desperate for good people. They’ll always come flocking.
My biggest issue is that non paying or extremely low paying internships restricts your pool. The kids who don’t have mommy and daddy to help literally can’t take the internship. You hurt your prospects.
I second Antonio’s point. Non-paying internships are inherently socially regressive. You’re basically shutting out working-class people from applying. This hurts your talent pool, and also hurts the people who are shut out (assuming your internship offers any value, at least). Particularly when internships are needed to break into a field, having only unpaid internships is tantamount to discrimination.
Most of these internships end up going to arbitrary stanford grads that Friedman or Beane already have on payroll. This started as a joke, but the thought of those two paying random kids 150K to break non-disclosure agreements is awesome.
Advanced degree in a quantitative field of study?
How many Math PhDs are applying for short-term internships?
I have a math Ph.D., and if I and my wife were retired I’d seriously consider it.
As is, I doubt they’ll come within an order of magnitude of my current pay and my wife wouldn’t be interested in moving.
I know several young physics masters who’ve been having no luck finding real jobs, if they lived in philly and were interested in baseball they might apply.
This job will get someone.
Of course, you get what you pay for. What happens when this highly educated minimum wage worker gets sick of the “long hours, including nights, weekends and holidays”, they decide to leave or slack off and are fired, and they decide to take all the inside information they saw with them?
The Phills have inside information? I’m really not sure the rest of the league needs tutelage on how to acquire or resign overpriced on the decline talent. I’m 90% certain that their method for talent selection involves baseball cards and darts and a broken random salary generator.
An important part of the job actually involves being at the table during the review of spring training invitees and pointing out which ones are dead, ala Major League.
Hey Dave… close your italics tag on the front page. The open tag ended up out there, and the close tag is behind the cut.
You’re one sick puppy.
Pun intended.
For years, everyone ripped (and rightly so) the Phillies for ignoring advanced metrics. Now, they have done the following:
1. Decided that they need to incorporate advanced analysis into their evaluation.
2. Borrowed an intern from MLB to begin developing an Analytics Department.
3. Offered that intern a full-time to run the new department.
4. Shown, through this posting, that they at least know that Fangraphs exists.
5. Begun seeking interns to work for the team and, presumably, prove that they deserve to be hired as full-time analysts.
IMO, a front office that has deserved all of the criticism that they’ve received over the years now deserves some credit for trying to move forward by correcting the errors of their past ways.
I believe there’s a requirement missing: “Must provide own abacus.”
These are “groupie” jobs. There’s people who would probably pay the Phillies to work there.
A Fangraph’s posting that does not mention Mike Trout?
All Phillies fans (including myself) read this headline and expected it to be a joke about their front office lmao