How to Become a Baseball General Manager

In the modern era of Major League Baseball, a top-quality general manager is an invaluable tool for a team's quest for success. Successful GMs like the Yankees' Brian Cashman, the Red Sox's Theo Epstein and Oakland's Billy Beane are as well-known to baseball fans as some major league all-stars. But climbing to the top of the baseball business takes more than just a love of the game. Teams are looking for hard-working and creative individuals who can help turn also-ran ballclubs into contenders. See if you have what it takes.

Instructions

1. Get experience either through student internships with a major league team's player development, scouting or other department, or at the minor league level. The advantage of minor league experience is that you're likely to have more responsibility right off the bat (pardon the pun) and you'll immediately be surrounded by "baseball people" from whom you can learn plenty. Internships most often run during the summer and information, including applications, can be found through a team's human resources department. Like many businesses, baseball can be a who-you-know field, so pursue any such relationships, but don't let a lack of a Major League network of friends or relatives stop you. Contact minor league teams in your area directly for internships or other opportunities (see Resources below).

2. Be patient. Washington Nationals GM Jim Bowden once said a smart newcomer to the baseball business should have "three ears and no mouth" for the first few years. If you get an opportunity, either through an internship or an entry-level job, work hard, ask questions and absorb as much as you can by sitting in on meetings and just talking with people in all aspects of the game. Don't expect to walk in the door and get a GM job tomorrow. And just know that if you get an internship or entry-level job out of college, you're not going to be making what your investment banker classmates are... at least not right away.

3. Bring something other than fantasy baseball stats to the job. Baseball executives don't want to hear who they should trade and why from someone outside the business. They do want folks who have certain talents, whether it's crunching numbers with a computer, speaking a foreign language (such as Spanish, Japanese or even Chinese, as the game seems poised to expand there) or a knowledge of contract law and economics. If Major League Baseball ever adopts a salary cap, someone who can make the team's salary numbers work will have the upper hand. There is no one direct path, as GMs have come from Wall Street and up through the ranks of a team's scouting department. Others played the game professionally, which is always a plus.

4. Learn as much as you can on the outside and then sell your strengths. But also acknowledge your weaknesses. If you're great with numbers, statistics and economics, but you've never scouted a game, play up your assets and then ask to accompany scouts to game to learn more about that part of the business.

5. Consider attending baseball's winter meetings, where executives gather to talk trades, proposed rule changes and other league business. But rather than concentrating on meeting a particular team's general manager, lower you expectations a little and seek out multiple teams and executives such as the directors of scouting and player development, or maybe the assistant general manager.

Tips & Warnings

• Entry-level jobs can include buying lunch for meetings and making endless copies, so be warned that the job entails much more than great seats at the game and one-on-one negotiations with an MVP.

Resources

• Go to each team's site here.