Description

Jake Eisenberg and Tony Boone welcome Storm Chasers Vice President/General Manager Laurie Schlender (4:18) to The StormCast! She shares the background of her career with the Omaha franchise, including becoming the highest-ranking female in the organization's history in 2011, getting recognized with the Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year Award in 2017, and earning a promotion to General Manager in 2019. Laurie also discusses what she misses most about baseball, the importance of the #ChasersFamily, and mystery boxes! 

Inside the conversation: 

• the virtual roundtable with fellow female MiLB executives hosted by Kelsie Heneghan of MiLB.com in late November (5:30)
• the differences between an MLB GM and an MiLB GM (7:09)
• how the environment in Omaha has encouraged staff growth (9:08)
• her journey from part-time CPA in the early 2000s to GM (12:02)
• why it's important to step out of your comfort zone, especially in Minor League Baseball (17:47)
• winning the Rawlings Award and why it's bittersweet (19:48)
• the trials and tribulations of her first season as GM in 2020 (22:17)
• fan experience and safety in 2021 (28:00)
• what she missed most in 2020 (30:06)
• the birth of the #ChasersFamily theme (31:43)
• the Storm Chasers Jingle Contest (35:05)
• Storm Chasers Mystery Boxes (36:27)
• looking back on 2020 years from now (39:54)
• Rosenblatt Stadium memories and why she'll never do a full-size bat giveaway (42:01)

Also, Tony shares the answer to last episode's trivia question (50:33) and challenges everyone with a new one (54:08).

Trivia Question: How many female general managers are there in the Pacific Coast League?

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