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Pirates Prospects Job Openings

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I am looking to add writers to the site for the 2014 season. In the past I’ve received a lot of interest when posting job openings. It’s usually impossible to respond to all of them, especially with Spring Training taking place. Most of the interest is in the major league position, for obvious reasons, but we have more openings for minor league coverage, again for obvious reasons. The details for each position are below, along with qualifications.

Major League Coverage

The last two years have been a bit of an experiment on this site when it comes to a new media outlet having a “beat writer”. One benefit of being new media is that we don’t have to follow the traditional rules and guidelines when it comes to major league coverage. Beat writers are responsible for detailing the day to day events, recapping games, and there is no room for opinion. What I’m looking for isn’t really a beat writer, but an analyst. We won’t be recapping games, or providing basic articles. The focus will be analytical articles, which combine stats, well reasoned opinions, and the knowledge you gain through interviews and research on the subject.

In the past we’ve focused on game stories and notebooks, plus the need for smaller daily features, and the result was that we just had a variation of what you can find everywhere else. I’d rather ignore all of that, and provide something that is unique to Pirates Prospects. And I want to do this several times per week, rather than once or twice per month.

If you’re interested, e-mail me with the title “MLB Analyst”, along with why you feel you would be a good fit for the site.

Minor League Coverage

Just like the Major League Coverage, we’re shifting the focus of our Minor League Coverage this year. Rather than having game recaps, we’re going to focus on scouting reports and analysis. You’ll be covering games, but won’t be focused on the events of the game as much as the specific players you are there to follow. This won’t be a drastic shift, since it is something we’ve been doing since day one. We’re just eliminating the game recaps, since you can get those online elsewhere.

The requirement for each article will be to have at least three of the following sources of information: live coverage, statistical analysis, information from opposing scouts, information from the player, and information from team officials. This will be an analyst position, with scouting involved via watching the players, and researching them through the previously mentioned sources of information.

We are looking for coverage for the following teams:

Indianapolis

Altoona

West Virginia

Jamestown

Bristol

Ad Sales Representative

Pirates Prospects is seeking a part-time advertising sales representative. Experience in online ad sales is preferred. The job will start as commission only, and could grow to full-time based on performance. If you are interested, please send an email to tim@piratesprospects.com with your qualifications.

Database Management

One of the things I’ve always wanted to add to the site was a section with updated statistics for every player in the system. I’d like to have a sortable stats page, plus stats on every player page, which update each night. The problem is that I have no knowledge on SQL programming, and don’t have the time to teach myself. If you have any ideas on how to set this up, let me know. If you need more information, get in touch with me and I’ll provide more details.

Apply For a Position

To apply for any position, send an e-mail to tim@piratesprospects.com with the following information:

-What position(s) you are applying for.

-Why would you be a good addition to the site? I get a lot of requests to write for the site, so what could you provide that would separate you from other writers?

-What is your availability for game coverage?

-What is your previous experience (include links to published content)?

For any writing position the following will be very important:

-Great work ethic and independent workers

-Strong grammar/spelling

-Good statistical knowledge, including an understanding of advanced statistics

-The ability to come up with original and interesting topics

-Leaving emotional biases out of the work

-Twitter and social networking experience

This site is mostly read by Pirates fans, but there are a few non-Pirates fans who read. Being a Pirates fan is NOT important here. Some of the best writers on the site in the past were fans of other MLB teams. I really want to stress this because in the past about 70% of the applications I’ve received have been along the lines of “I am a Pirates fan and I’d love to write about the team.” If the only qualification you list is that you follow the Pirates, then the application is going to be dismissed.

The site is run on WordPress, so any knowledge of that is a plus.

Writing for Pirates Prospects is a great opportunity for experience and exposure. The site saw just under 11 million page views in 2013. One of our authors from 2013 was named a finalist for the SABR Analytics awards. You’ll have the opportunity to have your work referenced by local and national media outlets.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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