What Makes Minor League Baseball Work? Reflections from an Intern on a Summer with the ThunderBolts

By Lily Kocourek

 

As a fan, I always saw the ballpark from the other side of the gates. I would see the players warming up on the field, staff interacting with fans during promotions and the crowd coming together for a memorable night of baseball. I never thought much about everything that had to happen before I could sit back and simply enjoy the game. But after spending the summer as an intern working behind the scenes at Ozinga Field, I began to see the ballpark differently. 

A night at the ballpark takes more than what happens between the first pitch and final out. It takes a staff working together, departments communicating, and people willing to step outside their usual roles when something needs to get done. Behind that finished product is a carefully coordinated process that begins long before the fans take their seats. 

ThunderBolts assistant general manager Bill Waliewski, who I worked with on innings’ promotions and game day responsibilities, gave me a firsthand look at just how much goes into getting to that moment when the gates open. 

“My view of game day always is that it is a race against when the gates open,”  said Waliewski.

His day can include everything from group outings and game-day finances to retail, promotions and making sure the field and visitors’ dugout are ready. The checklist changes depending on what the day brings, but the goal remains the same: have everything ready before the fans arrive. 

There is no guarantee the day will go according to plan. 

“There’s always curveballs on any given day,” Waliewski joked. 

Group numbers can change. Schedules shift. Problems appear without warning. Each department has to adjust while keeping the larger game-day operation moving. 

Waliewski described the process as a jigsaw puzzle. Each department has its own responsibilities, but each piece has to fit with the others. 

The ThunderBolts’ small front office makes that coordination essential. Especially, from years of working alongside one another.

“It’s pretty rare, just taking a look in our league, that a core staff has been together for as long as we have,” Waliewski stated. “We work well together.” 

That familiarity means employees know what their coworkers are doing and understand when they need to step in. The organization does not have the luxury of large departments with separate responsibilities and layers of staff. 

Instead, people wear multiple hats. 

Terry Bonadonna, the ThunderBolts’ director of broadcasting and media relations, has spent 17 years with the organization. He has seen how that structure creates a sense of ownership throughout the front office. 

“Everyone within the organization has a legitimate piece of the team’s successes and failures,” Bonadonna voiced.

In a small organization, individual contributions are easy to see. When something succeeds, everyone has played a role. When something does not go according to plan, everyone has a responsibility to help fix it. 

“Communication is essential to make our team work,” Bonadonna said. “It is not always financial success, at the heart of what makes the Bolts continue to function, but operational success.” 

Operational success comes from people taking pride in their individual role. 

“Since I have the opportunity to make a difference in broadcasting, trying to make that difference positive is essential.” he stated. “I take pride in my work.” 

That pride is visible across the organization. However, it struck me especially when I began spending more time around the journalism side– learning what went into telling the story of the team beyond the final score. I wrote feature stories, worked on game coverage and saw how much preparation went into producing something fans might consume in a matter of minutes. 

Bonadonna said that being around the team everyday is what allows him to understand more than what happens during the game itself. 

“If you just check into a game occasionally, you’re not allowing yourself to see the full picture,” Bonadonna expressed. “The best part about broadcasting is the time spent day in and out with the team and within that time the full picture develops.” 

That full picture comes from small details: a highlight during batting practice, a conversation with a coach or player, or a storyline that began the previous game.

Working with him changed how I approached my own reporting. I started paying more attention to what happened before the game and between the moments that make it into the final story. 

I was not just covering what happened on the field. I was learning how the organization around it worked. 

The ThunderBolts’ work also extends beyond the game itself. 

Johnny Sole, the team’s director of community relations, was one of the first people to take a chance on me when he hired me as a promotions intern. Throughout the summer, he showed me his role extended far beyond organizing what happened in the ballpark. To Sole, the ballpark is a place where entertainment and connection are just as important as what takes place on the field. 

“We’re a baseball team, but those extra entertainment values are things that fans do look out for when they come to a game,” Sole said. “The fact that we’re a tight-knit, smaller ballpark allows people to be right in on the action.” 

That closeness is part of what makes a minor league ballpark different. 

You are seen here. 

Fans are close to the field. Employees are visible throughout the stadium. Promotions bring staff directly into the crowd. The relationship between the organization and the people in the stands feels personal. 

“I just love being a part of the Bolts and seeing people come into the ballpark,” Sole said whole-heartedly. “You can come by yourself and enjoy a game, come with your family and friends or even your coworkers. We offer a wide variety of options and opportunities for the community and having people come here and enjoy themselves is highly rewarding.”

I’m forever grateful to have experienced that sense of community this summer. The crowds I was able to connect with, the staff that encouraged me to pursue every opportunity, and the friendships I’ll carry with me beyond the ballpark. 

That sense of connection was not unique to my experience. 

As much as the summer changed the way I viewed my own role in baseball, it changed the perspective of the people around me, too. 

Matthew Skwarek, one of the promotional interns I worked alongside this summer, came into the internship with his own expectations of how working with minor league baseball would be. Studying Sports Management at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, he quickly realized how much work it truly takes to be a professional in the industry. 

Skwarek expected he would be busy, however he did not expect how quickly the chaos before a game would become routine. 

After the first few days, he found his rhythm. The work stopped feeling like a typical job and began to feel like another way to experience the game he had grown up loving. 

“As someone who grew up with baseball, being able to work around the game felt like being a kid again,” Skwarek expressed. 

But the experience also showed him how competitive minor league baseball is. 

Players are working toward the next level. Staff members are putting in long hours to keep the organization operating, Everyone is trying to make the most of the opportunity in front of them. 

Skwarek said some of his most valuable lessons came through the relationships built with staff, players, and the unexpected connections he made around the ballpark. 

That was true for me as well. 

The longer I worked at Ozinga Field, the more I realized that what makes a night at the ballpark come together is not as complicated as it seems. 

So what makes minor league baseball work? 

It is the people. 

The people who communicate when plans change. The people who take pride in their work. The people who step outside their roles when something needs to get done. The people who make fans feel like they belong. And the people, who after all the preparation still show up on gameday because they love being part of it. 

Waliewski put it even simpler. 

“I live for a game day,” he said. “There’s no question about it.” 

After everything I learned this summer, I understand what it means to live for a game day. It is not just about the hours spent preparing or the work that happened behind the scenes. It's about finding something you love enough to keep showing up for.