(December 31, 2012) Dawn is breaking over the next step in Eli Pearlstein’s career. An STAA client, Pearlstein is the new Director of Media Relations and Play-by-Play Broadcaster for the Hagerstown Suns.
The Suns are the full-season Class-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.
“This is a good opportunity for me for several reasons. For one, it’s the next level up from where I was last season. I’ll also be getting to call more games (70 vs. 38), plus I’ll be getting paid more than I was last season,” says Pearlstein, who spent last season with the short-season Auburn Doubledays.
“I’m also excited to be staying within the Nationals organization (my hometown team) and to not have to move too far from home this time, after spending the past two summers in North Carolina and New York.”
Pearlstein first saw the Suns opening in an STAA email. From there, he pulled out every trick in his arsenal to ensure his application was noticed.
“As soon as I saw the posting I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me, so I immediately sent in an email application, and I also mailed a hard copy of my application the next day,” Pearlstein explains.
“Then, I sent emails to a couple of contacts within the Nationals organization whom I have gotten to know over the past year, asking if they knew the GM at Hagerstown and if they could speak to him on my behalf. This was right around the time of the Winter Meetings, and so sure enough one of my Nationals contacts that I emailed saw [Suns GM] Bill Farley on the flight back from the winter meetings and mentioned my name to him. The next week Bill shot me an email, saying he had received my application and we scheduled a phone interview, and the process moved pretty quickly from there.”
In the two years since graduating from USC, Pearlstein has built out his baseball resume. In addition to spending last season with the Doubledays, he also has done stints with the Wilson Tobs, Kannapolis Intimidators, and the Alexandria Aces.
Pearlstein is looking forward to capitalizing on his season with the Doubledays in the coming year at his new post.
“I have a unique opportunity in the sense that I’m sure a number of players who will start the season in Hagerstown probably spent time in Auburn last year, so I will get to see how a lot of players develop from their first professional season to their second.
“Thank you [to STAA] for sending along the initial job posting email. Wouldn’t have known about the opening without it.”