(December 22, 2011) Ben Gellman’s new job is a win-win-win. An STAA client since October 2010, Gellman has been hired as play-by-play broadcaster for the Hudson Valley Renegades, Class-A short season affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The pairing is a win for the Renegades because they get a quality broadcaster. It’s a win for Gellman because it’s his first No.1 job in affiliated baseball, and it’s a win for Gellman’s wife Aliza, who has family living nearby.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity in terms of timing, opportunity and location,” says Gellman. “My mother-in-law lives about an hour away, which my wife is over the moon about. It’s an unbelievable arc of luck. I can’t stress how thrilled I am about being a No.1 and doing it in a spot where a lot of broadcasters have come from in the New York Penn League.”
With Hudson Valley, Gellman is also hopeful of earning opportunities in media relations and sales.
The Renegades position was not publicly advertised. Gellman learned about it after visiting with the team’s Director of New Technology, Andy Wilmert, about social media at baseball’s recent Winter Meetings. Gellman off-handedly inquired about the broadcasting position. A week later, Wilmert called Gellman, offering him the broadcasting job.
Gellman spent last season as Broadcasting and Media Relations Assistant with the Class-A Hickory Crawdads. He believes that experience, and consulting with STAA CEO Jon Chelesnik, left him prepared and confident for his visit to the Winter Meetings.
“[Jon Chelesnik] helped me grow some ideas and develop some thoughts I had tossed around but not given much weight to. Learning how to better market myself and get my name firmly lodged in the head of employers has been huge to me,” says Gellman. He is also grateful for the guidance and support he received in Hickory.
“I have to praise the Crawdads — my immediate boss [Director of Broadcasting/Media Relations] Andrew Buchbinder, the GM Mark Seaman and team president Charles Young. They have been unbelievably nurturing and helpful to me from the day I learned of the Hickory job, though today, and into the future I’m sure. Anyone who has a chance at the Hickory job should leap at it.”