It’s hard to believe, but Opening Day is exactly one month away.  I get asked often when I speak to groups such as Rotary and Lions Clubs, “what does a minor league broadcaster do during the off-season”?  Well, as is typically the case, I’m working on various random projects to get ready for the season and, since a number of people have expressed interest, I thought I’d begin by telling you what’s going on in my world one month before Opening Day.

• This afternoon I’m jumping on a conference call with Michael Gwynn, our VP of Sales and Marketing, along with the general manager of a Massachusetts radio station. We’re in the final stages of adding them to our radio network for 2012 and are hoping to close the deal today.  We currently have a nine-station network and look to build that number to 11 or 12 by Opening Day.

• Bill Wanless, our VP of Public Relations, has given me a copy of our 20-page game program to proofread.  The son a long-time middle school English teacher, I’m one of our resident proof readers (for better or worse).  The best part is, if I have have any questions, mom is just a phone call away.

• One of the biggest things on my to-do list is to finalize my 2012 broadcaster’s scorebook. Every year I order a custom scorebook from a friend in St. Louis and I’m reaching the deadline to get my order submitted.  I’m working with PawSox graphic designed Kevin Galligan (who is currently swamped) to create a cover.  Here’s a picture of what my book looked like last year.

• Everyday I need to spend at least an hour reading various blogs, websites, and written publications about the Red Sox and what’s going on in Ft. Myers.  Especially since I haven’t worked in the Sox farm system since 2009, I have some catching up to do in order to really feel like I know all the notable names and recent story lines.  On my reading list today is the March edition of New England Baseball Journal.  It’s a little funny to think that I get paid to read what most Red Sox fans read for pleasure everyday, but it’s my job to know these things and consequently I have to dedicate enough time each day so I know the latest news.

• On my to-do list everyday: writing this blog, and helping PawSox Account Executive Pete Sachs update Facebook and Twitter throughout the day.

• I’m especially excited because starting at 1:05 this afternoon, I can listen to five different Spring Training radio broadcasts online while I work.  The MLB Gameday Audio package is the best $19.99 I spend every year.

Switching gears, some of you may know that I spent the 2008 season calling games for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.  That season, which seems like forever ago, was without question the most difficult season of my career.  I was 1,200 miles away from my home in St. Louis, took a broadcasting job that paid me $0.00, was grateful to find a landscaping job through craigslist to pay me some money, and half of our 25 games I broadcasted solo, off-air, because we could only afford to air half of our games online (via Skype).

It might not look like much, but Doran Park is one of the nicest facilities in the Cape League. I have dozens of stories from my summer on the Cape and will always be grateful for the lessons I learned working for the Braves.

If it wasn’t for my (now) wife’s charitable grandmother in Yarmouth, and her spare bedroom, I could have never afforded to take the Braves’ job, and who knows what that would have meant for my broadcasting career. Although it was a tough summer, I learned tremendous lessons and gained great perspective on the profession.

Last night my wife, Heather, and I drove to the Cape to have dinner with grandma Claire and Heather’s parents.  On our way we happened to drive by Upper Cape Technical School where the Braves’ games are played.

I never worked in a press box during my summer on the Cape. The balcony you see in this picture was my "broadcast booth" for home games. It seemed like we were rained on every week so I bought a painter's tarp to throw over our equipment so we could broadcast in a light rain.

Once we sped past the school, I quickly pulled u-turn so I could drive by the ballpark where I paid my dues during the summer of 2008.  It was great to get back there because I can still remember the first time I drove into the empty parking lot over-looking the field prior the ’08 season.  As the team’s soon-to-be broadcaster, I got excited thinking that would soon be “my field.”

Thank you to Tom Fink for hiring me in Bourne and keeping my dream of broadcasting alive.

Thank you to Claire for giving up your guest bedroom and never asking for anything in return.

Thank you to Heather for always being ready to move and for putting up with me always being away.

Thank you to my parents who somehow supported me driving half-way across the country for an unpaid, Internet-only broadcasting job.

As evidenced above, it’s impossible to make it in this business without the support of those around you.  Soon enough, another young Cape League broadcaster will learn that just like I did.

-AG

@aaronmgoldsmith
agoldsmith@pawsox.com