(March 21, 2016) Though Tyler Murray earned Broadcaster of the Year honors last summer in the Advanced-A Florida State League, he yearned to move home to New England. He formulated a plan, packed his bags, went all in and came up aces. An STAA member since 2013, Murray is the new Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
New Hampshire is the Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate.
“Ever since I started my broadcasting career with the Daytona Cubs in 2012, my goal was to gain enough experience to return home and be the voice of an MiLB team in New England. Naturally, that left me with very few options,” says Murray.
After spending two summers in a seasonal position with the Dunedin Blue Jays, Murray moved last spring to a full-time opportunity with the Daytona Tortugas.
When Murray applied for work with the Fisher Cats this year, it was for a production assistant position. It wasn’t on air, but it was in New England. Less than one week after Murray started, veteran Fisher Cats radio voice Tom Gauthier announced he was taking a new position. Murray interviewed and got the job.
“I took a risk to get my foot in the door, and the experience I’d built up paid off. I get to rejoin the Blue Jays organization and cover the players and coaches I worked with in 2013-14 while in Dunedin, I don’t have to put my girlfriend through a fifth year of a long-distance relationship, and I get to take the next step to Double-A.
As Murray prepared to make the move up the East Coast from Florida, he purchased STAA’s “The Smart Way to Get a Broadcasting Job: A complete guide to cold contacting employers.”
“I knew I wanted to relocate to New England, and I knew an opportunity wouldn’t just fall from the sky, so the Cold Contacting Guide was an invaluable resource,” says Murray. “It showed me the best way to make that initial communication, so when the job opened up, I was already on the Fisher Cats’ radar. They never posted the job publicly, so if I hadn’t reached out in the first place, I wouldn’t have even been considered. It’s the best $8 I ever spent!”
Murray has also made great use of his STAA Talent Page.
“[Fisher Cats] General Manager Rick Brenner asked to see and hear some of my work, and I was able to quickly pull up my STAA Talent Page,” says Murray. “Before I was an STAA member, it was impossible to distribute my demo quickly and efficiently. I would send e-mails with 10 big attachments and it would take hours to put together. Now, I’ve got a professional web page that makes a great impression every time.
“In many ways, [the Fisher Cats job] is all I’ve ever wanted: broadcasting baseball and being close to my family.”
(Visit Tyler’s STAA Talent Page).