From the Field to Front Office

Filling the stands for the four-time Ohio Athletic Conference Championship Heidelberg University baseball team has been a constant for All-OAC catcher Steve Decker. This summer, however, his focus is on a much larger venue: Comerica Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers.
 
A Maumee, Ohio, native, Decker will be a senior in the fall and is spending his summer as an intern in ticket sales with the Tigers’ front office. He works mainly with the group sales team and has daily office duties, as well as game assignments.
 
“It has been a great experience so far,” said Decker. “I enjoy being around the offices of a major league baseball team and learning what goes on with the business side of the game.”
 
One of 20 interns the Tigers brought on board this summer, Decker works a complete week with his hours dependent on the game schedule. In the office, he helps three ticket sales directors with their call logs and invoicing. On game days, Decker prepares the club seating suites and personalizes each suite with welcome signs. Also on game days, he works with the team of the day. The Tigers organization invites little league baseball teams to the stadium, and Decker serves as a guide. He leads the guests on a tour of the stadium, and gives them an opportunity to go onto the field to take a team photo.
 
On the side, all the interns are working on hosting the Michigan High School All-Star Baseball Game. Decker is responsible for ticket sales and has been working to promote the game to local little league teams in the Detroit area.
 
In just a few short weeks, Decker found a niche he feels comfortable with. Ultimately the business management major would like to double up his knowledge on the diamond with his experiences in a MLB front office as a career.