Princeton Baseball: Not Your Typical Zoom Meetings

The Princeton baseball team has had a zoom meeting every Monday that has featured a high-profiled person in Major League Baseball. Whether it's a Major League manager, Sports Illustrated writer or a former teammate of Scott Bradley, each person discussed their own definitions of Achieve, Serve, Lead. They also communicated about the meaning of leadership and what traits that great leaders have. In addition, each person went on to talk about team culture/accountability in addition to giving back and serving others.

The players have enjoyed unique lessons from people such as Will Venable and Chris Young, two former Princeton Tigers that managed to play two sports with Tigers and eventually went on to have successful Major League careers. Venable had a nine-year career, mostly with the San Diego Padres. In his post-playing career, the former Tiger is now a third-base coach for the Chicago Cubs. Young played 14 years, highlighted by a 2015 World Series title with the Kansas City Royals. In his time after playing, Young has worked his way up in the commissioner's office and is now the Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations

"My favorite guest Coach Bradley has invited onto our weekly meetings has been Princeton alum, longtime MLB player, and current coach for the Chicago Cubs, Will Venable," said Chris Davis, senior on the baseball team. "Will's thoughts on the mindset that helped him rise up the ranks of professional baseball, constantly finding himself in a fight to stand out and add productivity to new teams he joined, resonated with me as I take the next step in my baseball career. I found his insight into new ways the Cubs are using data to optimize their in-game strategy particularly impressive. Will's capacity and willingness to continue learning long after his days at Princeton have undoubtedly played a role in placing him in a position to make a positive impact in the rapidly evolving game and industry of baseball."

David Harding had a different take on what he has gotten out of these meetings. With a roster full of players wanting to learn, the ability to get different items out of these talks is part of why they have been so successful.

"We have to make the best of our current situation and I think getting to hear from people who have been so successful in not only their baseball careers, but in life has been a pretty neat experience," said Harding. "The guests Coach Bradley has brought on have managed, played with, and worked with some of the all-time greats in baseball and the players we idolized growing up. They all have a great grasp of leadership and a winning mentality. Bringing that knowledge and experience into our program is really going a long way not only for the future of our program, but the our futures as individuals."

Daniel Day from the school's office of communications and an Athletics Fellows for the baseball team wrote a blog post on these meetings as well -
https://ballcaps.blog/2020/05/05/keeping-the-tiger-team-intact/

Here's a list of who's joined the team on their zoom meetings so far ...
Tom Verducci, MLB Network, Sports Illustrated
Harold Reynolds, MLB Network
Will Venable, Chicago Cubs, Third-base coach, former Princeton Tiger
Dave Roberts, LA Dodgers manager
Chris Young, Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations, former Princeton Tiger
Joe Torre, Special Assistant to the Major League Commissioner
Joe Maddon, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim manager

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