Bradenton Marauders flourishing GM primed for baseball
BRADENTON, Fla. (BVM) — At 27 years old, most people are still in the early stages of their career. Some have gotten promotions, some are still entry-level, and some are just beginning.
But then there are the outliers who have progressed beyond the norm. So is the case with Craig Warzecha, who, at the ripe age of 27, is the general manager of the Bradenton Marauders, the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Warzecha, in this position, is living out his dream. From a young age, he found interest in baseball despite not being a huge fan of most sports. The young GM played from tee ball through high school. Him and his family attended games, both major and minor league. And the whole time, he had his mind set on working in baseball.
That journey started when college rolled around. A native of New Jersey, Warzecha applied to nine schools in the Northeast region of the country, and just one in the South. That school was the University of Tampa.
“I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I thought I was going to stay closer to home,” Warzecha said. “But when it came down to making the decision, the combination of wanting to work in baseball, all the spring training sites, and the Rays; it was all attractive to me.”
So the baseball junkie headed south to Tampa, which became one of the best decisions he ever made. He was able to get out of the northern cold, attend classes of smaller size (his preference) and be around baseball 24/7. From there, his career quickly snowballed.
While at UT, he had numerous internships within baseball. During the springtime, he worked in the Philadelphia Phillies’ ticket office, and during the summer he worked at the minor league baseball headquarters in St. Petersburg.
His time with the Phillies paid off, as they were impressed enough to hire him out of college, where he worked for the organization down in Clearwater. After 18 months there, he applied for and received a coordinator of sales position within the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
The rest is history.
From sales to assistant GM to GM, all within a short three-year time frame. But Warzecha didn’t get these jobs and promotions just because he was there. He earned them, by putting the work in early.
“Over the years, there’s nothing I haven’t done in terms of operating a team, and I was pretty intentional about that,” Warzecha said. “I wanted to make sure that if somebody asks me ‘have I done this,’ my answer is always ‘yes.’ Yes, I’ve helped in concessions. Yes, I’ve been a mascot. Yes, I’ve helped with video board and camera operation.”
Warzecha says he knew that being able to do all of these things made him more well-rounded, showing that he offered a lot of value to any club willing to take him on. And even though this MiLB season has been terminated due to COVID-19, Warzecha’s work ethic has not taken any time off.
“Even though there are no games, we aren’t looking at this as a down time. We are using this time to look ahead and to the future,” Warzecha said. “How can we make 2021 the best season yet.”
The GM says that him and his organization are looking into lots of things like ticket sales, promotions, and marketing. They want to generate new fans, while also retaining the fans they currently have. To make sure this happens, Warzecha knows the team needs to stay relevant. So they’ve been staying active on social media, and helping out in the community.
“Right now, during these times, we have to support the community,” Warzecha said. “And when games get back, in turn, they’ll support us.”
So while Warzecha continues to do all of the things that got him to where he is, the obvious correlation is that he’ll continue to climb the baseball ladder. But for the time being, he’s happy with where he’s at, taking it day-by-day, year-by-year.
“If you would’ve asked me (what my dream job is) when I was in college, I would’ve said a minor league GM,” Warzecha said. “So while I’m here, there’s a lot that I want to do … and I enjoy it.”
