Touring the Bases With…Amanda Warner

Amanda Warner is the Community Relations and Promotion Manager for the Clearwater Threshers, in Clearwater, Florida.  They are an Affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.

SEAMHEADS:  When did you get interested in baseball?

AMANDA: My love and passion for baseball started at the ripe young age of eight.  I was one of those kids that hung out at the local minor league ballpark.  My uncle, who lived next door to us at the time used to be the official scorer for the Dunedin Blue Jays in St. Petersburg, FL.  (He did this while working full time at the minor league baseball offices in St. Petersburg.) When I turned sixteen, I started to work part time at that same ballpark.  What could be better than to go to the place you love the most and get paid while you are there?

SH: Did you go to work for your uncle?

AW: Once I graduated from high school, I followed that same uncle to an independent baseball league in Amarillo, Texas. My uncle was the General Manager of the Amarillo Dillas at the time and he knew my love for the game.  He told me to come out and work for the summer to see if minor league baseball was a career I might wish to pursue.

SH:  Did you enjoy that experience?

AW: Working in baseball full time was really hard work but that summer was one of the best summers of my life.   I loved my job and also the fans.  I especially loved the game.  I assisted in the daily office duties, with on field promotions at the games.  I learned so much about the everyday life of minor league baseball and the crazy promotions and entertainment that comes along with it.  My passion for the game began to burn stronger and stronger.  After that summer, I went back home to Florida to further my college education at St. Petersburg College and got my AA degree in Communications.

SH: When did you join the Clearwater Threshers?

AW: My last year of college, I heard about a job opening in the ticket office for the Clearwater Phillies.  I applied and got the job.  I was dying to get my foot back in the door of baseball.   I started working in December of 2003, right before the move into the new ballpark known as Bright House Field.  The Clearwater Phillies had now become the Clearwater Threshers and had moved into a gorgeous new ballpark.  I was so lucky to become a part of this new ballpark and all that it had to offer its fans.  It was the start of my second year that I became the Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training/Clearwater Threshers PR Intern.  I was privileged to work with the Philadelphia Phillies PR department first hand during Spring Training.

SH: What were your responsibilities with the Threshers?

AW: I loved taking on new tasks and showing my co-workers what I could do.  In 2008 I became an official full time staff member of the Philadelphia Phillies and Clearwater Threshers.  My job title is Promotions and Community Relations Manager.  I am in charge of our yearly promotional schedule, the give away items, theme nights and fun team/street team.  I also handle all of the mascot appearances, player appearances, kids club activities, baseball camp, and kids zone/playground area in the stadium.  I find and schedule National Anthem singers for Spring Training and Threshers season too.  I am responsible for all our donation requests and promotional nights.

SH: What is your favorite job?

AW: One of my favorite parts of my job is getting out into the community and talking about our team.  My biggest project for the last 4 years has been our Pitch for Pink Breast Cancer Awareness night.  It has created quite the name for itself in our Clearwater community.  In the last four years we have managed to raise $110,000 for our local breast services and hospital.  I enjoy working on projects like Pitch for Pink that put so much hope and awareness into our community.  It has become a passion of mine and my job has helped me to step outside of the box and find ways to help others.

SH: What is the most difficult part of your job?

AW: If you ask anyone in baseball, the one thing they don’t find enjoyable is pulling tarp. (the cover used to cover an infield when it rains)  And yes even us girls have to pull tarp.  Yucky things can happen while pulling tarp. For example, one day we had a rainstorm on a Sunday afternoon.  Our head grounds keeper yelled on the radio for the staff to get down to the tarp.  It started to pour and we were hustling to get the tarp on the field in time.  As we were pulling our second section of tarp onto the field I dropped the radio that was clipped onto my belt.  On the way back for the third section I thought that I could pick up the radio and still keep up with the tarp and everyone else.  This was a BIG “NO NO!”

I tripped from the force of the heavy tarp pushing from behind me as I tried to pick up the radio.  I found myself under the tarp, in the dark.  I was frightened to death and screamed as loud as I could.

Eventually they realized I was underneath.  They stopped and everyone held the tarp up just enough for me to get my bearings and get out from underneath the giant monster.

Everyone laughed relaxing the tension that had built up over my frightening experience. That is a day that I will never forget, especially because my co-workers continue to tease me about this all the time.

SH: Are you married?

AW: No, but I am engaged to my fiancé, Kris Koch who works for the Fort Myers Miracle team and is Assistant GM.

SH: Did you play any sports when you were in school?  Play any sports now?

AW: I played soccer in my teens, through high school and my first year in college. I played for East Lake, it wasn’t for school, it was an under nineteen league.  I went to St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg Florida where I took classes at the Tarpon Springs and Clearwater Campus.

I got very adept at the game learning to use my non-dominate foot (left) as well as my right.  In fact, my left foot became better than my right. I don’t play sports anymore but I enjoy working out at the gym.

SH: What is the most memorable game you ever saw?

AW: It was game three of the 2008 World Series in Philadelphia, the Phillies against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the first game I ever saw at the new ballpark, Citizens Bank Park. It was the latest starting game in World Series History due to a ninety-minute rain delay. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit home runs that night.  The Rays tied the game in the eighth inning, 4-4, but the Phillies scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to win 5-4 on a Carlos Ruiz game winning single.

The crowd noise was deafening and the energy in the Stadium was like nothing I had ever experienced.   The Phillies organization was gracious by providing tickets for me and my staff allowing us to experience one of the best nights of our lives and to be part of baseball history. The best part is the Phillies won the World Series.

SH: Would you sum up your feelings about your job?

AW: One of the main reasons I love my job is because every day is different. I do something and learn something new on a daily basis.  How can you have a bad day when you when you walk out of your office and see that perfectly green field the players in their sparkling white uniforms, the energy of the fans as they come into the park, the smell of the hotdogs and popcorn and seeing the smiles on the children.

I am simply living my dream and am so thankful for it.

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normcoleman36@hotmail.com www.tycobb367.com

Norm Coleman is a writer, actor and photographer. He resides in Half Moon Bay, California