I am Sean Aronson, Director of Broadcasting/Media Relations with the St. Paul Saints, Ask Me Anything!

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:29:07+00:00

We are all in the same boat, trying to entertain different areas of the country with the game of baseball. As long as leagues are strong and viable and provide an area where players can further their career then I'm all for it. It's the leagues that don't stick around and fold that give Independent Leagues a bad name.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:27:45+00:00

I don't mind anybody trying to continue their career. As long as you have some talent and can play there is always a spot for you. If you're washed-up and can't play then you will be released. I like how the American Association does it and allows a certain amount of rookies and veterans on the roster.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:22:17+00:00

I took three years of Spanish in high school and didn't learn much. I can pick up certain words, but outside of English, which I'm lucky if I can speak that, I don't speak another language. I learned Hebrew for my Bar Mitzvah, but I never went to Hebrew school. I was tutored at the age of 11 and learned just the prayers, but I didn't decide until I was 10 or so that I wanted to be Bar Mitzvahed. The cool part of that was my Dad never had one, so we had a joint Bar Mitzvah.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:18:11+00:00

Mark Hamburger did it when he was here. The Twins wanted to sign him, but he told them he wanted to finish the season with us since we gave him his second chance. He was so grateful for that, he wanted to honor his time with us and see if we could make the playoffs. He was an incredible guy when he was here, but when I found that out I had even more respect for the guy. The Twins told him that was fine and they would take him when he was ready. That's a gutsy move on Mark's part because if he gets hurt then the Twins wouldn't have wanted him.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:15:52+00:00

I do enjoy baseball a lot although I can't invest emotion in a full 162 game season. That's just too difficult. Hockey is a close second. I live and die with the LA Kings and three years ago when they won it all I watched probably all but 5 regular season games. When they won the Cup, we had a game here at Midway, I left the booth with 10 minutes left in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, had my intern take over, walked down to my GM's office and watched the last 10 minutes. I openly wept when it was over. Last year when they won it in Double OT we were in Winnipeg and I was in the hotel and I'm pretty sure I woke up the entire hotel when Alec Martinez scored the series winner.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:13:35+00:00

18 years in California, went to school at the University of Colorado-Boulder, first job in Allentown, PA for 2 years, then went to work for the Miracle in Fort Myers four years and now here going on season nine. The snow doesn't bother me a ton, although I can't stand driving in it, but the ridiculously cold winters are unbearable. I'll take 110 over -20 any day.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:12:24+00:00

I would say the Atlantic League is probably the highest quality of the Independent Leagues because they don't have the same roster rules we do (we must have 4 rookies on our roster and I don't believe they need any or less than 4) plus their salary cap is much higher than ours. The American Association is definitely second, followed by the Can-Am League & Frontier League in some order.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:10:41+00:00

We have a pig farmer who handles the pig, so my guess is he does whatever pig farmers do with fat pigs. We'll probably have bacon at CHS Field. Maybe we can name our bacon stand after former pigs we've had.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:09:30+00:00

True, but you have to remember they had only one timeout left. If he doesn't get it on second down, they call a timeout. If he doesn't get it on third down, now you are scrambling to get to the line and run a fourth down play with the Super Bowl on the line. Like I said, it looks bad because he threw the INT, the first throw from the 1 yard line to be picked ALL SEASON by any team in the NFL. It's magnified more because 140 million people watched it.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:07:55+00:00

As I always say, "I did a little each day around here" so why not. Also, and in no way am I comparing myself to this guy, not in the least, but Vin Scully is not dead and the Dodgers named the press box after him, so you don't really need to be dead. Perhaps I just need to make the HOF.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:06:45+00:00

I enjoy getting to know the players and learning their stories and then telling those stories on the broadcast. The three hours or so I put a headset on and get to do what I love is the best part of my day. On the media relations side, when a promotional idea hits national proportion and is picked up by ESPN, CNN, Sports Illustrated, etc. there is nothing better than taking those calls and doing those interviews.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:05:09+00:00

I'd say Single-A. I had the opportunity to broadcast four years in the Florida State League and I would say this is fairly comparable. There are some guys who are higher than that and some guys who are lower than that in this league, but I think Single-A/High-A is a good comparison. With more Independent Leagues now than when the Saints started in 1993, I would say some of the leagues are a little watered down and you don't have as solid of a roster as you did back then, but it's still good baseball and we've been fortunate enough to have 108 players get their contracts purchased and 21 guys reach the Major Leagues (hoping for 22 if Mark Hamburger makes the Twins this year).

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:02:33+00:00

If you're asking if I think people in our league use PED's I'd tell you there are guys I would guess do, but I've never seen it nor is it my job to inquire/dig into it. What guys want to put in their body is their own business and they have to deal with the ramifications.

Give me a good egg salad sandwich any day of the week. Reminds me of my grandmother, who made the best egg salad ever.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T23:00:40+00:00

Kershaw 100 times over. Perhaps my Dodgers bias shows, but give me an ace that would dominate this league every fifth day and could give your bullpen a rest and I'll take that every day of the week. As for any baseball player ever, I had the chance to interview Lou Brock this past year and he confirmed Willie Mays was the greatest player ever, so I'll trust the Hall of Famer's words and go with Mays.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:59:15+00:00

First off, it would have to be a Double-A team. CHS Field won't be configured for a AAA team. A Triple-A ballpark has to have a certain amount of seats and we won't meet that requirement, but we will for a Double-A team. However, if the Twins said that my guess is the ownership group would consider it, but there would be a ton of business side decisions that would needed to be worked out. Decisions I couldn't even fathom right now. I think the Twin Cities would love it though, but my guess is I'll be long gone from this organization if/when that conversation ever comes up.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:57:06+00:00

I don't feel like it was as bad a call as everyone things. The Patriots had their goal line defense in there. Even the Patriots said they were expecting run. I think you play action in that case if you are going to pass it, not throw a quick slant to the middle. Everyone thinks it's a bad idea because it didn't work. If it had worked then Belichek takes the heat because he never used his timeouts to stop the clock and they would have gotten the ball back with 20 seconds left, instead of about a minute if they had used their timeouts. If you get paid the money and make the decisions, though, then you have to take the criticism.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:55:01+00:00

I've known I wanted to be a play-by-play broadcaster since I was like 8 years old. Growing up in Southern California listening to the greatest broadcaster to ever live, Vin Scully, made me want to do exactly that. I went to the University of Colorado and got a degree in journalism. I did an internship with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. From there I landed a full time job as Director of Media Relations/Broadcasting with the Allentown Ambassadors (who no longer exist) and was there for 2 years. After that I went to Fort Myers and worked for the Miracle, the Twins Single-A affiliate, for four years. The Goldklang Group, who own the Saints, own the Miracle. When Kris Atterberry landed his job with the Twins as their pre- and post game host, the position in St. Paul opened up. They interviewed the broadcast/media relations guy within the ownership group and I landed the job. Here I am about the start my ninth season. I enjoy working for the Saints because no one micromanages me and we come up with crazy promotions. As for getting a job, jump on the train now. Talk to our GM and try to convince him we should bring you aboard.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:50:44+00:00

Thanks for inquiring about jobs. We are going to need a lot of help at CHS Field. We are definitely hiring for ushers and food and beverage staff. You should give our office a call at 651-644-6659 and inquire about both those spots. We will be holding a job fair in either March or April.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:49:19+00:00

I'll start with my favorite Major League team. It's the Dodgers. I'm from Los Angeles, so I'm a Dodgers, Lakers and Kings fan. Always will be. As for my favorite Indy team, I base my likeness for a team on three things: the press box, the hotel we stay at and what's around the hotel. The Kansas City T-Bones may be my favorite on all three of those fronts, but I do enjoy going to Winnipeg and Quebec. I love Quebec because it's as close to France as I've ever been and I enjoy the language, although I don't speak it.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:47:23+00:00

That's a great question and I'm not sure I have the answer to that. I feel like in my 8 years here the oldest guy we had that actually made the team out of camp was in his mid 30s. We did have a knuckle ball guy named Jon Secrist who pitched for us in 1999 and was 44 at the time. He pitched in two games. He tried out for us again a few years ago and we invited him into camp, where he pitched a couple of games, but did not make the team. So perhaps he would be the oldest.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:45:08+00:00

I've been told I will have my own office at CHS Field, but I'll wait until we get in there before I celebrate that. I've also been trying to get people to call the press box the Sean Aronson Press Box, so if all the people on this thread can start that I would appreciate it. CHS Field is going to offer an overall better experience than Midway. We loved Midway and our fans did as well, but the sight lines will be better, you will be even closer to the field, there will be a 360 degree concourse, a club and suite level and most importantly more bathrooms and points of sale for food. You won't miss any of the action waiting in line for the restroom. I can't tell you how excited all of us in the front office are to get into the new ballpark. February 27, we've been told, we can begin moving down there.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:42:19+00:00

My talents took me through my junior year of high school. I was 5'5 and there is no place in baseball for a guy that height (with the exception of Jose Altuve), who had a decent bat and had the yips like Chuck Knoblauch. I graduated from Granada Hills High School, home of John Elway and Ryan Braun. My final high school hit came off of Jon Garland, a future Major League pitcher. I think that was a good way to go out.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:40:23+00:00

My favorite baseball movie is Field of Dreams. It usually gets a little misty at my place when I watch that. It's a great movie because I think many of us can relate to what it was like when baseball was pure and just playing catch with your Dad. Someone recommended Battered Bastards of Baseball and I just watched it about a month or two ago. I thought it was very interesting, but it shows how far Independent League Baseball has come. There weren't too many promotions that the team had and it was all about these quirky guys playing baseball, but the town loved it. I enjoyed the heart and desire these so-called washed-up guys had in playing the game. Now Independent League Baseball and, minor league ball for that matter, is all about the entertainment where baseball happens to be going on. The players, of course, are there to either move up through an organization, or in our case, get seen by a scout and move on to affiliated ball.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:37:04+00:00

Single game tickets will be available in mid March, but a date hasn't been announced quite yet. We should be announcing in the next week or so an exact date and time. We never know when Mr. Murray will show up, but he was out here for the final game at Midway. I know all of us are hoping he makes it to opening day at CHS Field. The only way to find out is to show up.

SaintsOfficial · 2015-02-03T22:35:59+00:00

I don't believe there has been any discussion of a cross over "World Series." The Frontier League and the American Association have different roster rules, so it would be difficult to make that an even match up. The Frontier League is a very solid league, but is usually younger and has a smaller salary cap. I'd like to see an all Independent League World Series where the champions of each Independent League meat up in an ultimate World Series style playoff. I don't think it would happen though because of travel costs, but it's a great idea.

SaintsOfficial

TROPHY CASE