Ballpark Figures
Get to know the alumni behind every Phillies victory
By April White
BEFORE THE MEN in red pinstripes run on to the diamond, before a single fan enters Citizens Bank Park, even before the first pitch of spring training in Clearwater, there are some 700 people at work year-round behind the scenes of the Phillies organization. (And as many as 1,750 more on game days!) It takes this unseen team—of operations experts, sales whizzes, marketing mavens, medical professionals, and many, many others—to make the team on the field the Philadelphia institution it is. We asked five Holy Family alumni what it takes to hit it out of the park every game from opening day well into October.
Ryan Simon ’11, ticket services manager
Many hats: Simon has worked for the Phillies organization as an usher and a salesperson, in the merchandising department and on the giveaway staff, and he has spent the last 10 seasons in ticketing services. “I just love being at the ballpark.”
Coaching staff: “I often liken this role to a college football coach.” Managing ticketing services means recruiting talent, mentoring employees, and meeting the media, in a sense. “When things have gone sideways on the football field, the coach has to stand on the podium and talk to the press about what went wrong. That’s me on the phone with customers who are unhappy with one of my employees. I take accountability.”
The Philadelphia fan: “The beauty of Philadelphia is, the sky is falling if we lose three games in a row, but when we win three games, there’s no better place to be.”
Off the field: “We have no control of what happens on the field, but what we can control is the experience that fans have with us. The beauty of the Phillies—and it’s one of the things I think that separates us—is we try to do our best in making decisions that are fan-first.”
Unexpected claim to fame: While in merchandising, Simon also served as a bobblehead model. His hand was the basis for Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels’s and his foot stood in for 1990s fielder John Kruk’s. “They put me in a mullet wig when they did that photo shoot.”
Sean Bowers ’07, clubhouse operations coordinator
In the club: Bowers started as a bat boy for the team in 2002 at the age of 16 and continued in the role while at Holy Family. After an operations internship at Phillies spring training, “I told myself I wanted to stick around as long as I could in the clubhouse.”
The job: “We are essentially the equipment managers.” Bowers and his colleagues have to anticipate next season’s team’s needs nearly a year in advance. They also pack up the athletes’ basic gear for road trips. “If they’re going to Denver and San Francisco, we make sure everybody has a lightweight and a heavy jacket in the bag. That’s not always something they will think about.”
It has happened: “Guys have forgotten their gloves. That one’s on them.” (Bowers will overnight the missing game equipment.)
All that laundry: Between batting practice gear, game uniforms, and lots and lots of towels, Bowers often runs 20 loads of laundry a day. “Early season grass stains are the worst—I always thought they must spray-paint the field, but they say it’s the fertilizer— and super-thick pine tar is tough to get out, too.”
What fans don’t see: The predawn unpacking. “Anytime the team comes back from a road trip, we meet the team and we unpack the equipment, the laundry, and the luggage.” That includes the golf clubs many players take on the road. “We have a separate storage area for that.”
Bianca Freeman ’12, director of partnership marketing
First role with the Phillies: As an usher in 2012, during her senior year at Holy Family. “I was positioned somewhere different within the ballpark every home stand, and I greeted fans, answered any questions they had about the ballpark, and showed them to their seats.”
On the field: Freeman played centerfield for the Holy Family softball team, recording more than 100 hits in her career as a Tiger.
Why this team: “I grew up watching the Phillies with my mom and dad. It was always my dream to work here in some capacity. So, I figured majoring in sports marketing was the next stepping stone there and then I would figure out the best way to get my foot in the door within the organization after graduation.”
Day-to-day duties: “I oversee the partnership marketing team, which is responsible for managing all of our partner relationships and bringing every element of those partnerships to life. That includes everything from stadium signage to branded social content, TV and radio commercials, and any sponsored community events—anything that you see tied to a brand in the ballpark. A big part of the partnership marketing is making sure our partners feel like true extensions of the organization and not just sponsors.”
New this season: Freeman and her team helped to create and launch the Kings Swings Playground inside the First Base Gate, the exclusive Philadelphia Insurance Club behind home plate, and the newly renovated Cadillac Hall of Fame Club overlooking the diamond.
Giannina Cipolloni M’18, mental performance coach
Most common question: “What is a mental performance coach?” People often confuse mental performance resources with mental health resources—two different departments in the Phillies organization. “I’m helping the player’s performance from a mentality standpoint: how to maintain your calm under pressure, how to focus on the right things. When people hear that they say, ‘That’s amazing’ and ‘I need that.’”
Why this profession: “I had the yips playing softball at the University of Virginia. I had never experienced a mental block that stopped me from being able to play a sport that I’d been doing since I was eight years old. So, I started working with a mental performance coach. I felt like I ran out of time in college, so it’s really been a passion of mine to work with athletes to help them develop their mental game before they even get to a block.”
Where to find her: Cipolloni works primarily with rookie-level players in Clearwater, Florida “on the field, in the dugout, in the batting cages, in the bullpen, working side-by-side with other coaches to help the players be the best version of themselves they can be.”
How to keep your calm in front of 43,000 fans: “Some people actually thrive in that environment. They’re using that adrenaline to focus in on what they need to do. For others, it’s learning how to regulate emotions. We work a lot on how to breathe correctly and focus on the right things at the right time. When the pitcher releases the ball, a hitter can’t be focused on ‘wow, these fans are all here and, oh my gosh, what happens if I strike out?’”
Valerie Miller ’14, ballpark operations coordinator
First pitch: “I started playing baseball in the first grade.” Miller continued on to play softball at Holy Family and the love of the game led her to a Phillies internship during her senior year.
Out of the park: In 2015, Miller was a ball girl, a role with on- and off-field responsibilities. “We were assigned to Philadelphia Parks & Recreation locations to teach kids about fitness. Running around outside and playing games—I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
What it takes: “As a kid I would just come to the games and I had no idea about all the stuff that happens behind the scenes. I’ve done a little bit of everything: pulled tarp on the field, driven a forklift, raised the championship pennants. I was even giving tours at one point. It’s different every day.”
A little help: Miller is involved in interviewing and onboarding the hundreds of game-day staff—ushers, security personnel, ticket-takers— who make the stadium run. Fan favorite: “I handle all of our fan comments—all of the phone calls and emails and handwritten forms. They aren’t all bad. There are people who comment to praise our staff. Those make it worth it.”
Most memorable moment: “The 2022 post-season was like lightning in a bottle. I never thought I would work a World Series game. It was all adrenaline. It all happened so fast.”
Photos by Miles Kennedy. Photo of Cipolloni: Courtesy of Clearwater Threshers.