Position: Research and Development Intern

Location: Kent, WA
Employment Details:

• Seasonal, $2500/month.
• No additional benefits.
• Start Date: As early as November 1st, 2018 – no later than December 1st, 2018
• End Date: April 1st, 2019, but exceptional applicants may be offered an extension through the summer
• Candidates will be expected to work ~40 hours per week.
• This is NOT a remote position. It is located in Kent, WA. No financial relocation assistance is offered, though Driveline will put you in contact with a number of affordable short-term housing options upon accepting the role, if offered.

Description:
You will spend your time on the floor checking in with athletes, monitoring their movements, answering questions and integrating with the skill-specific and High Performance teams to collect and analyze athlete data.

You’ll work on projects like:

• Preparing athletes for biomechanical assessments via retroreflective marker placement.
• Running assessment reports in our internal tools software and in industry-standard software like Visual3d, Motive:Body, and OpenSIM.
• Collecting and cleaning data for existing and new research projects.
• Filming athletes using our Edgertronic high-speed cameras, editing the videos, and organizing them for easy access by the coaches, athletes, and research team.
• Writing blog posts and creating social media content to document findings.
• Going through your own independent research project of your choice, from study design, to IRB approval, to data collection and analysis, and finally, publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

R&D interns at Driveline Baseball spend their entire week working on internal projects that push the limits of knowledge in the baseball training space. You will be given unparalleled access to technology that few labs in the world have access to, and you will be tasked with an independent project that will eventually be published in a peer-reviewed journal with your name attached and proper credit given (all publication fees are paid for by Driveline Baseball).

You will be given a laptop and standing desk to work at inside the research lab, on the floor, and with our athletes. This isn’t a front office “hidden” position where you crank out data and no one is counting on you – you will be interfacing daily with professional athletes.

This is an opportunity to advance your career and knowledge base while being paid.

A Great Candidate Demonstrates:

• Quantitative skill and experience in major statistical packages, like R-Studio.
• Previous experience with some form of biomechanical analysis software package.
• Open source project work on GitHub or openly published preprints/blogs to review. Driveline wants to know that you have contributed in some way on your own – this internship is very self-driven and is not micromanaged. Driveline needs independent thinkers, workers, and doers who take initiative.
• Previous experience in coaching or playing baseball. Knowledge of the game within the game results in faster on-ramping at Driveline Baseball.
• Excellent verbal communication skills. Deliver the right message at the right time.
• Excellent “feel.” That mix of empathy, common sense and likability that makes people trust you.
• A mindset for growth and learning. What do you want to be better at?
• Always organized.
• Proactively creates solutions to problems. You can’t help but do a little weekend side-project to solve that issue that’s been bugging you.

Requirements:

• Familiarity with Driveline’s mission, previous research, and blog posts.
• Passion for getting it right. “Smart people know how hard it is to know something.”
• Ability to work independently.
• Must be able to stand for 4+ hours straight.
• Must be able to lift 50+ pounds.

What is Not Required:
Any form of college education. Driveline cares about what you’ve done and what you’re passionate about independently, not what class load you’ve taken.

To Apply:
To apply, please fill out this Google Forms Application. Applications are due by 10/20/2018.

Following the end of the internship, candidates will be evaluated on an individual basis for full-time roles or internship extensions.

Equal Opportunity Employer
Driveline is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, creed, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected under local, state, or federal laws. For employees and applicants for employment who have disabilities, Driveline provides reasonable accommodation.

Last night, in starting Liam Hendriks, the Oakland A’s went with The Opener, using a reliever to start the game with the expectation that he will pitch just one inning. Today, the Brewers have also opted to start a reliever in Brandon Woodruff. Unlike the A’s, the Brewers have no plans to start a reliever for one inning, or to start a reliever for one out like the club did last week when they used a LOOGY in Dan Jennings to pitch only to Matt Carpenter. When the Brewers opted for Jennings, I opined the ploy could be useful in the playoffs:

This situation might have some utility for the Brewers in the playoffs. If the team makes the Wild Card game and faces the Cardinals, then Matt Carpenter is likely to be at the top of the order. If they were to face the Rockies, lefty Charlie Blackmon is likely to lead off. While September’s expanded rosters allow for a greater margin of error, a one-game Wild Card matchup still permits more relievers, as teams need just one starter instead of four in later rounds. The Brewers conducted an interesting experiment somewhat necessitated by a lack of starting options, the unique circumstances of the September roster, and the Cardinals’ lineup.

The situation is less desirable in Game One of a five-game series, as carrying a one-out reliever can be difficult with the number of games and limited roster space. The Brewers opted not to even carry Jennings on the roster, instead indicating that lefty starters Wade Miley and Gio Gonzalez could be used in relief. Bud Black indicated he had no plans to move Charlie Blackmon out of the leadoff spot, and the lack of a LOOGY on the Brewers roster means he doesn’t even need to think about it.

As for the Brewers’ bullpen plans, Craig Counsell indicated on Wednesday the bullpen game he’s using today isn’t likely to mirror what we saw from A’s last night, with a train of relievers, or from the Rays this season, with a reliever followed by a starter:

Look, these aren’t going to be one-out appearances. These are going to be longer appearances. These are going to be two, three-inning appearances that we think we can get through with this.

In choosing Woodruff, Counsell doesn’t even believe he’s starting the game with a reliever.

And I think from our perspective, Woody is–he’s not a reliever. He has the ability to do more than that, if that’s what the game calls for. So that’s–one, he’s throwing the ball really well, and two, I think he has the potential to do a little more than a reliever maybe.

Counsell’s belief is supported by others. Before the season started, Eric Longenhagen said, “He’s a big-league-ready, sinker/slider fourth starter. Between the majors and minors this year, Woodruff has made 21 starts, including six at Triple-A in August. He struggled some overall, but he struck out 26 batters in 20 innings during that time. Since being recalled in September, Woodruff has been utilized as a reliever, but he’s gone multiple inning three times. More importantly, he’s been really good, with a 1.54 FIP, 16 strikeouts and just three walks while allowing only a single run in 12.1 innings. He features a high-90s four-seamer in relief in addition to his slider, and the Brewers hope that can get the club through the lineup at least once.

After Woodruff, Freddy Peralta is an interesting option. He’s started 14 games this season with a solid 3.85 FIP in those starts. In his last outing, he came on in relief of Jennings after that LOOGY start and went 3.2 innings, striking out three and giving up one run before the rest of the bullpen came to the rescue. Miley might be another consideration before the team can turn things over to Josh Hader, Corey Knebel, Joakim Soria, and Jeremy Jeffress.

The Brewers aren’t going with an Opener, and they aren’t going to pitch eight relievers over nine innings. What’s happening today is your more traditional bullpen game. It might not be common in the playoffs, but supplementing a couple long men in Woodruff and Peralta probably gives them a better chance to get outs than going with a starter on short rest like Gonzalez or a struggling Miley.