51 / 66
“One of the challenges for people looking to get into
the front offices of sports teams is the sacrifice of a balanced
lifestyle and family,” Kaplan says. “Baseball requires long hours,
unexpected calls, and meetings day and night and weekends. If
you’re married, having a supportive and understanding family
will be beneficial as you embark on your journey for the days,
months, and years ahead.”
People interested in an analytical job will take into account
all those factors as they consider whether to make it a part of
their career.
Other Angles
Claiming a place in the hard-working, numbers-crunching world
doesn’t have to go through sports. Many people have come into
sports analytics after solid careers in other fields. Young people
have entered the arena not after making all-star teams, but after
earning academic honors far from the playing field.
Sig Mejdal studied computer science and pyschology, then
worked at Lockheed Martin and NASA. He still loved baseball,
however, and in 2005, moved into the front office of the St.
Louis Cardinals. Today, he is director of decision science for the
Houston Astros.
49
R
ealities of the
W
orkplace