(October 24, 2018) Minor League Baseball has a third female broadcaster. Jill Gearin is the new voice of the Class-A Visalia Rawhide. Gearin learned of the opportunity through STAA but it was a friend from college in Boston that helped her land the gig in an agricultural region of California.
In September, STAA members were sent a list of nearly 20 teams who are going to have new broadcasters in 2019 but hadn’t yet posted openings. The Rawhide never published the opportunity.
“I first learned about the opening in Visalia from [an STAA] email,” says Gearin. “I already knew someone on the Visalia staff. Julian Rifkind, the Manager of Baseball Operations, was a senior on the baseball team at Emerson College when I was a freshman on the softball team.”
Rifkind put Gearin in touch with Rawhide General Manager Jen (Pendergraft) Reynolds, who was hoping to hire a female broadcaster. Reynolds is one of just five female GMs in Minor League Baseball.
“[Jen] understands that I am venturing into somewhat unchartered waters. From our first conversation, I could tell that her and I thought alike and that we would get along very well,” says Gearin. “She has been working for the Rawhide for 12 years and she started out as an executive assistant. I find her climb to be the GM inspiring and I hope to learn from her grit and work ethic.”
Besides Rifkind, Gearin received help from a second person in getting her name in front of Reynolds. “I had a family friend who is a season ticket holder in Visalia. He reached out to Jen to let her know more about my background and upbringing.”
Gearin is the second female STAA member to recently earn a play-by-play job. In August, Maura Sheridan was named women’s basketball voice at the University of Vermont.
Gearin has prepared herself well for the Rawhide opportunity. She has honed her public relations skills in an internship with the Pawtucket Red Sox and spent this summer calling college games in the Futures League. She also somehow found time to be an in-booth statistician for Boston Red Sox radio broadcasters Joe Castiglione and Tim Neverett.
“Joe and Tim have been amazing mentors for me this baseball season. One thing I have learned from them is to let my passion show when I speak. Joe oozes passion for the Red Sox and I can hear the excitement in Tim’s voice in every pitch. I also learned that preparation is the most difficult part of the game, but one of the most important.”
Relocating from Boston to California’s rural San Joaquin Valley might be an unhittable curve ball for some. For Gearin, it’s a fastball down the middle.
“I knew I wanted a change in scenery,” she says. “I am no stranger to moving to a new city. The summer after my sophomore year in college I moved to Atlanta for an internship with a TV show, Paternity Court. I was able to find myself an apartment and find my way around a new city when I was 19. Because of that summer, I know I can move to a new city and I found a love for exploring new places.
Gearin joined STAA in July. “STAA provided all the tools I needed to be successful in the job hunt. I never learned how a demo reel was supposed to sound and I was unsure how to tailor my resume for sports broadcasting in general. I think the biggest example of STAA helping me was my [Talent Page]. I had no clue where to begin, but Mel built it for me. After I sent the website to the GM, she said she was impressed with how easy it was to navigate. It was not a deciding factor in my hiring, but it had a huge impact.”
(Visit Jill’s STAA Talent Page).