(January 17, 2018) Shawn Murnin is unconventional. He’s also the new Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the Hagerstown Suns (Nationals Class –A). What makes him atypical is his age and that he skipped the minor league baseball job fair even though he attended December’s Baseball Winter Meetings.
Murnin’s first job in the minors was as a broadcasting and media relations assistant with Scranton-Wilkes Barre in 2011. He then left baseball for three years to work as a sports TV producer and high school play-by-play broadcaster. When he decided in 2015 that he wanted to return to baseball, he was 26 years old and feared his age might work against him.
“When you’re 26 and working in a [career] where your peers are 19-22, you kind of feel old,” he smiles.
Upon reflection, Murnin says the age challenge was in his head. “It’s all about finding the right fit,” he says. “Every organization has specific criteria they’re looking for, so make your best sales pitch and showcase what you do best in the context of that position. If you’re the right fit, your age won’t matter.”
Murnin did get back into baseball in 2015, doing broadcasting and media for the Mankato Moondogs of the Northwoods League. After two seasons, it was onto the Peoria Chiefs where he spent last summer as the assistant to lead broadcaster Nathan Baliva. “The team and Nathan pushed me to be my best every day last season whether it was in the pregame show, interviews, my on-air work, and especially the media relations aspect of the job. I’ve become a big believer in being in the right place at the right time; there was no better place for me to spend the 2017 season.”
When it came time to look for a No. 1 job in affiliated ball this off-season, Murnin returned to the Winter Meetings in Orlando. Unlike past visits, though, Murnin chose this time to skip the annual job fair.
“Last year I received a few interviews and hit the job boards hard, but the best interview I had was actually set up by accident weeks beforehand,” Murnin recalls. “I made a conscious decision before the meetings this year to reach out to people and set up meetings. On top of that, I made sure to re-connect with people who I knew and by doing that made some new friends.”
Murnin’s interviews this year went much better than past experiences. “I was able to actually learn more about people and grow those relationships because I wasn’t in and out of the job room all week.”
Murnin has been an STAA member since 2015. “STAA helped me overcome my own doubts early on in my career and got me organized to get that first job in Mankato. The most helpful things now are the job leads, which are almost up-to-the-minute, and the career advice that comes directly to my inbox.”
Besides having a new job, another area where Murnin’s life is different is his perspective on age. “Over the last couple of years I haven’t been terribly concerned. I’m 29 years old, that’s still pretty darn young!
(Visit Shawn’s STAA Talent Page).