153. Making Your Own Luck with Cleveland Guardian’s Assistant Director for Player Development Jen Wolf

153. Making Your Own Luck with Cleveland Guardian’s Associate Director for Player Development Jen Wolf

 

 

Introducing Jen Wolf

Today I’m talking to Assistant Director for Player Development for the Cleveland Guardians Jen Wolf about making your own luck.

Her Career Journey

Jen earned her bachelor’s in Management, Marketing, and Spanish at Georgetown. She had interned for the Boston Red Sox before college, so she knew that she wanted to work in sports but wanted to gain the broader perspective that a business degree would offer her. She interned at ESPN before working for the Washington Nationals, and the New York Mets. Jen moved to the Dominican Republic to work in Latin American Operations for Major League Baseball before returning to NYC and the Mets as a Minor League Coordinator. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Player Development for the Cleveland Guardians.

Making Your Own Luck

Jen’s career in baseball all started when she was in high school, working at a bagel shop where the General Manager of the Red Sox was a regular. She took a chance and told him she was interested in working in baseball and began an internship before college. Jen has built her career by making the most of every opportunity presented to her and setting up the conditions for success.

Inside this episode:

  • When Jen told the Red Sox GM she wanted to work in baseball, she didn’t know enough at the time to be intimidated. She used her naivety to her advantage and gained an incredible experience. 
  • Jen didn’t initially want to take the job in the Dominican Republic but recognized it as her best chance to stay in baseball. It ended up being one of the best things she’s ever done and gave her empathy for MLB players coming to the US as 17 or 18-year-olds.
  • Jen’s current job with the Guardians incorporates many of the same tasks and roles that she was previously doing in addition to her full-time job. She was relieved to find that she can exclusively focus on the work that moves her.
  • She started a WhatsApp chat that grew into a Slack group called The Alliance for Gender Equity in Baseball. It’s a space for women and non-binary people to network and meet up in a system that was not built for them.

Resources

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