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Orioles Assistant GM Eve Rosenbaum Visits Big Train and Grays Before Friday Matchup
Eve Rosenbaum chats with the D.C. Grays' players before Friday's game. Photo by Taylor Bretl.
By Taylor Bretl | Photos below courtesy of Bethesda Big Train
Before the D.C. Grays and Bethesda Big Train faced off on Friday night, Baltimore Orioles assistant general manager Eve Rosenbaum stopped by Shirley Povich Field to talk to both ball clubs. A Bethesda native, Rosenbaum spoke about what a day in her life as a front office member looks like, as well as answered any questions that players and coaches had.
A lot of the ballplayers from both teams are currently pursuing business-related fields in college, and were keen to learn more about the business side of the sports world. They were also interested in understanding what GMs and other front office representatives look for in a player, helping them gain insights into how to become the best players they can be.
In the D.C. Grays’ talk with Rosenbaum, the first question raised was “How common is it for a player who left MLB to travel overseas for let’s say Mexico or Japan, and then go back to MLB? And as a GM, do you really look for players overseas or stay focused on the draft only?”
“It’s really rare,” Rosenbaum said. “Usually when someone goes overseas to play their time in the majors is done, but there are sometimes where that’s not the case. That doesn’t mean we don’t look though. Ramón Urías who is one of our infielders is an example. He has been a great player for our team the past couple of seasons.”
The next question addressed related to sending guys both up and down in the system, and the difficulty it brings. “How hard is it to send a player down from the major leagues back to the minors? I mean we saw Jackson Holliday get called up but then he struggled more than expected and got sent back down. Just how do you decide to send him down and when to send him back up, especially a player like him being the No.1 prospect in baseball?”
“Sending a player down from the MLB to the minors is never an easy decision to make. Like you mentioned in Jackson Holliday, we saw some struggles that needed more attention. Sending him down to AAA was the needed decision so he can get back on track to be a better ballplayer the next time an opportunity in the majors occurs” Rosenbaum emphasized.
Following her chat with the Grays, Rosenbaum spoke to the Big Train players and coaches.
The first question raised came from a collected group of Big Train pitchers asking, “Is there a specific pitching metric that you track that you find the most important?”
“I’ve always looked at a lot of metrics over the years, but we have a really advanced understanding of them now. What I pay most attention to is spin, break, and how well a pitcher can hit corners. Guys like Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and DL Hall are examples of that. They rely a lot on the fastball, but also get good break on the off-speed pitches with true spin on it,” Rosenbaum said.
The following question was similar, but about the offensive side of the game: “When drafting hitters, what are the perks you look for?”
Rosenbaum responded, “A big part is not just looking at baseball card stats, but also their peripherals. Does this guy make solid contact, take a lot of walks, barrel up the ball well? Factors like that are important to us.”
Stepping away from stats, Big Train coaches were curious about a player off the field. “What do you look for in a ball player in addition to their talent?”
“We look for makeup a lot, we want to know what your life is like. Is he going to make trouble in the clubhouse or is he going to step in as a leader?” Rosenbaum said. “It really matters how you deal with adversity as well. If you strike out a couple times in one game, will that frustration roll over to the next day?”
The last question of the evening came from the players. “How involved are you in deciding roster moves?”
“We spend a lot of time talking about roster transactions like Jackson Holliday or Heston Kjerstad. We talk about this stuff everyday.”
Eve Rosenbaum brought joy to both ballclubs in her time at Shirley Povich Field. Outside of talking with players and coaches, Rosenbaum connected with the fans as they entered the ballpark. Plus, fans got to take a little bit of history home with them as well – the Big Train handed out Eve Rosenbaum bobbleheads, commemorating the Bethesda native's rise from Povich Field fan to Orioles front office member.
