Better Know the Baysox - Carol Terwilliger
How long have you been with the Baysox?
This will be my 11th season.
How did you start here 11 years ago?
I started on a part-time basis. The full-time bookkeeper left and they asked me to take over and I did, and I've been here ever since. I guess I was part-time from like April through the next February and then I took over.
What were you doing before you came here?
Before that I worked for 25 years at an auto parts warehouse, then I retired and tried retirement for two years but hated it, so I decided it was time to come back to work and I've been here ever since.
What made you choose a baseball team as your second career?
I don't think I chose baseball. There was an ad in the paper for a part-time job, and I came and interviewed and got it and I like it so I'm still here. I like being around young people. They keep me young and on my toes.
Talk about that a little bit more. You are the oldest person in the office, so what is it like working with so many younger people?
I love it. I think it keeps me younger. They keep me up to date on a lot of things that I wouldn't be up to date on if I weren't around young people. I like being out on the concourse during the game, it's exciting. At this point in my life, I can't think of any place else I'd rather work than some place like a baseball stadium.
What are your job responsibilities as a bookkeeper for a Minor League baseball team?
It's completely different from what I did before. It's more complicated, I think. Everything has to be allocated to a particular game so I kind of have to tie in all those pieces and it's challenging. It's more challenging even than my other job, but after 25 years it was kind of routine, so it's really unfair to judge. I like what I do; I do the payroll, all the accounting, taxes, financial statements, human resources, all those things.
What was your biggest challenge when starting this job and adding those responsibilities?
Learning Excel. I knew nothing whatsoever about Excel or Quickbooks when I came and it was a challenge. I still, on occasion, have to go and grab one of you young people to come in and get me out of a jam.
What is the best part about working in Bowie?
The people I work with; it truly is the young people. It's what keeps me going. I know that if I were home, or God forbid, in a senior citizens club or something, I would be bored out of my mind. I'm never bored here.
You've been here longer than almost everyone else, has it been hard to see people come and go?
It has been very, very difficult to see them go. You form attachments to, certainly not everybody that's come and gone, but to certain people and when you see them leave, it's really hard. There are people here, and I know they are going to move on because this is obviously just a stepping stone for you young kids, but there are some people here now who, if they left, I would take it very personally. It would hurt.
What is something about your job that you think the average person does not realize?
The biggest thing everybody says is, 'What do you do in the winter?' Well, actually I think we almost work harder in the winter than we do when the season is going on because we are so busy cleaning up from the last season and getting ready for the next one. Really for me, that's as busy as the season and I don't think many people on the outside realize what goes into putting on a baseball game.
What is your typical day like on a game day?
Whether it's a game day or not really doesn't change my day much. I come in and do my normal work. I spend more time out on the concourse if it's a day game because I like to go out and see part of the game, but my days are pretty much very similar and there is not that much difference.
Growing up, were you a baseball fan or any kind of sports fan?
I absolutely was not a sports fan, I was a girly girl. Girls didn't play baseball then, but we did play softball, but I never wanted to play because I afraid the ball would hurt me if I tried to catch it. The most sports I ever played was when I was in high school and we had Interscholastic Sports. I was never a real sports advocate. I've been to a National Football League game, I've been to a World Series, so I did do those things, but as a viewer, not as a player.
Why did you decide to go into bookkeeping?
I always loved numbers. Originally I was going to teach, but after substituting at the local high school, I decided it wasn't for me. So, I went into accounting and worked at home in Pennsylvania, until I got married, in the same position - I was an office manager and bookkeeper. Then when I came down here it was the same thing, that's what I gravitated to because I love numbers. Two and two is always going to equal four.
You grew up in Pennsylvania, so what sports teams do you root for?
I'm an avid Steelers fan, and it pains me to say this, but I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan too. Surprisingly enough, there are a tremendous amount of Steelers fans in this area, but do I take a lot of grief in the office? Oh absolutely, because there aren't a lot of Steelers fans working here. I'm a born and bred Pennsylvania girl and I don't think you ever get that out of your system. I grew up in Pennsylvania, went to school in Pennsylvania - I went to IUP [Indiana University of Pennsylvania]. It wasn't IUP then, it was the State Teachers College, but I just believe that once you're a Steelers fan, you're always a Steelers fan. I still support Pennsylvania sports as a fan.
So what was it like moving from your home in Pennsylvania to Maryland?
I moved down here with my family and started looking for another job. I had worked in an auto parts store in Pennsylvania, so it was easy when I went to work for another auto parts store here and I stayed there for 25 years before trying retirement, which as I said, was not for me.
Do you ever participate in any of the promotions we have here?
No, not really.
Well, if you were going to dress up for Fairy Tale Night, what princess would you dress up as?
I don't know that I would want to be a princess. I would probably more likely want to be the Wicked Witch. It just appeals to me; I think I'm past the princess stage.
If you could pick one person in the office you would want to sumo wrestle against, who would it be?
Oh my goodness. It would be [Director of Ticket Operations] Charlene [Fewer].
Do you think you could take her down?
I'm not sure, but I would give it a good try. I think she would be the most fun to face.
Baysox Baseball - We'll Knock Your Sox Off. The Baysox open their 19th season as the class Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles on the road in Harrisburg Thursday, April 7. They play their first game at Prince George's Stadium Thursday, April 14, at 7:05 p.m. Baysox ticket packages are now available at www.baysox.com