An All-Around Championship Club

As I spend more of my adult life broadcasting sports, I’ve had the privilege of meeting some great new people. Although the most logical connections I could make are other broadcasters, I’ve come to appreciate employees in other departments just as much. The Pawtucket Red Sox happen to have of the best broadcasters and mentors I could ask for (Aaron Goldsmith), along with a great overall front office staff, and the players won the state’s first Governor’s Cup Championship in decades last week. (Next up: the AAA National Championship Game on Tuesday, when the Paw Sox will face the newly crowned Pacific Coast League Champs, the Reno Aces.)

Over the past few years, I’ve gotten to know a few people who work for the AAA Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, and I’ve been equally impressed by the attitude they have all shown. In the tech world, you hear about behemoths like Google and Facebook filling their offer sheets to potential employees with incentives like an indoor rock wall, free massages and other glamorous options. Those types of things don’t exist in the minor league sports world, but I guarantee the late owner of the Paw Sox, Ben Mondor, gave his employees the satisfaction of being a part of something great. Not all companies can make that claim, even if they have an on-site hot tub.

Every time I’ve visited McCoy Stadium, I’ve arrived with and left with a big (probably awkward, let’s be serious) smile on my face. Yes, the Paw Sox have had some great Red Sox prospects in the past year or two, but if they were an affiliate of the New York Yankees or any other major league team, I’d still happily visit. The Paw Sox create a great environment for their employees and fans alike, which isn’t as easy as it sounds in our realm of sports and entertainment.

The Director of Security, Rick Medeiros, is the friendliest person you’ll meet there, which is saying a lot. Before he even knew me that well, he arranged a meeting between me and Dan Hoard, the team’s #1 broadcaster at the time. I had barely told Rick my name before he shared stories with me about the Paw Sox and some of the great people he had come across in his years with the team, dropping Dan’s in right before offering to give him a call on my behalf.

As much as the wacky promo fan-boy within me regrets saying it, the Paw Sox are a fantastic organization even without the quirks of your everyday team. They have stuck to what they know they can be successful with: providing fun for the whole family without costing a fortune.

On the broadcasting side of things, the Paw Sox have set some pretty ridiculous standards. The last broadcaster, Dan Hoard, is now calling games for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. They have employed a handful of past and current MLB Broadcasters, including Don Orsillo of Boston Red Sox fame. That track record alone would be a great reason to work for them, but employees in other departments (as well as the current broadcast team of Aaron Goldsmith and Steve Hyder) have plenty of other reasons to appreciate the organization.

If I want to seem like a total sellout, I could gush on for paragraphs more about the team, but I’ll let your future experiences with them tell the rest of the story. I know you’ll have plenty to talk about once you take a trip to their park.