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Brandon Forsberg Career Report Paper

Nick Kochanowicz
The Pennsylvania State University
RPTM 101
Professor Emigh
3/27/24
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For my career report, I interviewed Brandon Forsberg from the Harrisburg Senators

Minor League Baseball Team on 3/24/24. I chose Mr. Forsberg as my candidate because I not

only am interested in his occupation, but I also wanted to get some insight into why he has

stayed with the same people for so long and what his every day looks like. Forsberg attended

Slippery Rock University and started with the Senators in 1999 as an intern then became a

clubhouse manager until 2007. Then he assumed the position of head groundskeeper in 2008. He

has been with the Senators for 26 years.

When asking Mr. Forsberg what the mission statement of the Harrisburg Senators is, he

mentioned how they don’t have a set mission statement, but they do live and work by these

principles. Those principles are growing the sport of baseball and being a bridge for minor

league players to reach the professionals. Since the Harrisburg Senators are the Minor League

Team they fall under the MiLB who follow the same mission statement as the MLB which is “to

promote and grow the sport of baseball while providing fans with an unparalleled

experience”(Teal). The Harrisburg Senators serve baseball fans from various demographics from

children to senior citizens. With that, they can vary their promotions to fit the different age

groups allowing for everyone to have a great experience. While there are no membership

requirements, special season ticket packages and other added incentives exist. This includes

bigger seats, a private stadium entrance, personal suite attendants, a wait service, and a great

view. These suits can range anywhere from $600 for a 20-person suite to $1100 for 60. The

Harrisburg Senators are located in Harrisburg PA but are the minor league team of the

Washington Capitals. This means they not only get baseball fans from the area but also fans from

the Maryland and DC area. You also can take into consideration the traveling players' families,

the players' families, and other staff from the Nationals, such as scouts or development coaches.
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As a whole, the Senator provides the fans with baseball games, an American staple.

Specifically, these minor league games are supposed to showcase young talent so that fans can

get to support their players by following their journey to the big leagues. According to their

website, in their first weekend back to the diamond they have: “A player autograph signing,

Dylan Crews pennant giveaway, post-game firework show, Hershey Park tickets giveaway, and

kids run the bases” (Senators Website).

They also host youth baseball clinics in the offseason for young kids. As for Mr Forsberg and his

groundcrew, he says they make sure all the lines, infield, and outfield are kept in top shape and

safe for the players.

The Harrisburg Senators employ a core group of full-time staff to manage various aspects

of the organization year-round. While Mr Forsberg only talked about staffing for his department,

according to the Harrisburg Senators website, they have 26 permanent staff members. This

includes positions such as front office staff, marketing personnel, ticket sales representatives,

operations managers, and administrative staff. They talk about Staffing for the Senators change

range anywhere from 50-200 employees, depending on whether the team is in season or not

(Senators Website). While I couldn't find the number of interns that the Senators take a year, Mr

Forsberg and his ground Crew only take 2. Over the summer, the grounds crew consists of 8

people, and during the regular season, they add 12 groundskeepers to help manage and maintain

the field every day. These would be their seasonal workers who work only when the season is in

session. As for the Senator part-time employees, it would fall under the same as seasonal

employees. These people help with all the in-season jobs and responsibilities like game day

operations, event management, concessions, ticketing, and other duties. As for their chart

structure displayed on the website, they have upper management which includes their President,
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Vice/General Manager, and Accounting Manager. Then they have 4 departments the 2 biggest

being their Ticket Sales and Communications/Merchandising. Each has 2 directors/managers

within the department. As for Corporate Sales and Stadium Operations, there is only one

manager/director. (Senators Website)

The Senators get their funding through a lot of different ways. Their primary source of

revenue is their ticket sales. People might buy tickets because of a promotion the Senators are

running or they go on sale at the beginning of the season. They also sell box tickets and VIP

tickets to their guests. All this plays into the amount of merchandise people might buy at the

game or concessions during the game. Being a minor league team, they don't sell nearly enough

merchandise to pay their bills so they need to look to corporate sponsorships and media and

broadcasting Rights to make revenue. They are sponsored by their respected major league

baseball team which is the Washington Nationals. As for their broadcasting, all games are

broadcasted on ESPN and through the CBS sports radio network, 96.5 and 95.3.

Some of the challenges that Mr Forsberg shared was the long hours he has during the

season when it comes to maintaining the field. Rain gives him the hardest problems especially

rolling out the tarps for rain delays. While these things can seem frustrating, Mr Forseberg

expressed his love for his job. “The rewarding feeling of watching these players come through

and become big leaguers is truly remarkable. “The atmosphere of the ballpark is something

special, it just has the magic to bring people together” (Forsberg)

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Work Cited

Forsberg, Brandon (2024, March 23.) Personal Communication [Online Interview}

Harrisburg Senators Front Office Staff. MiLB.com. (n.d.).

https://www.milb.com/harrisburg/team/frontoffic

MLB. MLB Mission, Values, Culture & Jobs. (n.d.).

https://www.tealhq.com/company/mlb#:~:text=MLB’s%20mission%20is%20to%20promo

te,a%20love%20for%20the%20game

Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, January 28). Harrisburg senators. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrisburg_Senators