Exit Interview: Ticket Operations Trainee Michael McCoy
Ticket Operations Trainee and Tacoma, Washington native Michael McCoy last week became the sixth of the Gwinnett Stripers' nine trainees to land a position in sports.McCoy is staying in baseball, working in ticketing for the Omaha Storm Chasers, Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. It is his fourth stop
Ticket Operations Trainee and Tacoma, Washington native Michael McCoy last week became the sixth of the Gwinnett Stripers' nine trainees to land a position in sports.
McCoy is staying in baseball, working in ticketing for the Omaha Storm Chasers, Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. It is his fourth stop at the Triple-A level, following one-year stints with the Tacoma Raniers, Nashville Sounds and the Stripers. Omaha will be his first full-time job.
Media Relations Trainee Dan Reiner spoke with Michael about his abundant Minor League Baseball experiences and how they prepared him for a full-time position.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What's the job you're taking?
I'll be taking a Ticket Operations Assistant position with Omaha StormChasers. I'll be working more behind the scenes of the ticket office, creating the seasons and the events in the ticket system.
Does it compare similarly to what you were doing here?
Yeah. My experience in Gwinnett will translate directly to what I'll be doing in Omaha. I'll still help in managing the box office, assisting customers and managing the gameday staff. The ticketing software I'll be using will be the main difference on the day-to-day.
What system did you use here versus what it is there?
Everything we used was Ticketmaster in Gwinnett. In Omaha we'll be using TicketReturn, which I've never used before, so that'll be exciting.
How have your stints with Tacoma, Nashville and Gwinnett helped prepare you for your first full-time role?
They've all been different. The one in Tacoma (Stadium Ops Intern) just got me a feel of Minor League Baseball. It got me a feel of the work ethic and the day-to-day.
In Nashville (Sales Representative), I started getting into the box office as a gameday employee, so I got a look into the ticketing systems and what went on behind the scenes.
In Gwinnett, I got to dive deeper into what I was doing in Ticket Operations, so I got more experience working with more systems and more experience managing a gameday staff.
Did you make it a goal to stay in baseball?
I've only ever worked in baseball and baseball is what I imagine myself doing long term. That isn't to say I didn't look outside of baseball when I was looking at jobs, but baseball has definitely been the dream. Triple-A baseball - through my experience - has been a lot of fun. I think it's a good in-between level where you've got a lot of talent coming up and a lot of big names. On a baseball level, that's exciting to watch.
Do you have any favorite memories from Gwinnett?
My favorite memories were from "Costco Tuesday." A bunch of front office members would get lunch together at the food court because it's good and super cheap. We always had a good time hanging out together.
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