Dream Job

My friend Dan has a dream job. Two years ago, he landed a job as a Stringer for MLB.com. He gets paid to watch baseball games and enter game information into a computer system for MLB.com's GameDay system. He scored around 30 games at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City during the 2004 season.

Last winter, Dan and his family moved to Colorado where he was lucky enough to become a Stringer for the Rockies. His departure left a vacancy in Kansas City, and I promptly applied for the job.

It should be noted that when Dan got the job, it was not a well publicized position. He saw the opening posted on the SABR list server. After the 2004 season, MLB.com publicized their openings in a joint campaign with Monster.com. I'm sure the number of candidates increased dramatically for the 2005 season.

I sent my application in via Monster, and in late February, I received an email asking me to fill out and return a baseball quiz. I was so excited about even being considered that I completed the quiz and returned it quickly.

After several weeks, I still had not heard back from them. I took a closer look at the quiz and realized that I may have rushed through it too quickly and I may have answered a few questions incorrectly. I was very disappointed to have not gotten the job.

This winter, I'm sure MLB.com will again post their openings, and I again will apply for the position. Hopefully, I will again be asked to complete a quiz, but this time I will carefully and deliberately complete the quiz and hope for the best.

Dan recently posted an excellent article describing a day in the life of a Stringer. Check it out.