Transcript:
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Luis Hernandez: Baseball has been a man’s world for most of its century-plus long existence, but that is rapidly changing. This season, the Worcester Red Sox became the latest professional baseball team to hire a woman to a front office position, naming Rhode Island native Brooke Cooper as their general manager. She’s the first woman to hold the GM post for a Triple-A team, and she joins us now. Brooke, congratulations.
Brooke Cooper: Hi, Luis. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
Hernandez: When did you find out you got the position and how did you find out?
Cooper: I was on maternity leave when I was promoted to the general manager position. I’ve been with the Worcester Red Sox, previously the Pawtucket Red Sox as everyone in Rhode Island knows, since 2015. The last couple of years I’ve served as the assistant general manager to Dan Rea, who was our general manager. You know, he did a really great job of preparing me, letting me shadow him, sit in on some really important conversations and things that include key decision making. So he did a great job of preparing me and he accepted an elevated role with Diamond Baseball Holdings, our new ownership group, while I was on leave. And then that kind of opened the door for me to become the general manager. So there were a few conversations that took place. My maternity leave was much busier than I originally expected it to be.
Hernandez: For you, what does it mean to be the general manager of this team, and again, to be the first woman in this position?
Cooper: I would say it’s significant, not because I’m a woman. I think it’s significant because the role is significant. And so for that, I’m really proud. The fact that I’m the first female general manager for the Worcester Red Sox, that’s something that I didn’t really think about until the announcement was made publicly, and then all of a sudden it’s a headline. So I think that I’m really, in a lot of ways, I’m really blessed, I’m really fortunate that internally, that hasn’t been the dialogue. It just seems very normal.
Hernandez: I’m glad that it does seem normal, but at the same time — it’s why I mentioned in the intro — it’s still rare, and you are part of a very small group of women. So moving forward now, a lot of young women will be able to look and say, “Brooke Cooper did it.” That’s kind of special. You are a role model for a lot of people in the future.
Cooper: Yeah. I’d be lying if I said that doesn’t matter to me. You know, when I hear that I get kind of giddy inside because I remember what it’s like to be a young girl who just loves sports and the fact that I could have an impact and fostering that love for other young girls out there is really special.
You know, I talk about how normal it feels for me and in our organization, and it’s important [for me] to pinch myself and recognize that that really comes from such a place of privilege because I met Justine Siegel, who is the first woman to coach a major league baseball team, the first woman to throw batting practice for a major league team. She is someone who just broke barriers. And she talked about how it’s not a baseball versus softball thing. It’s about giving girls the chance to choose which one they want, which I thought is really special. So I think that getting to meet her just reminds me that I am standing on the shoulders of so many women who have come before me.
Hernandez: As people know, and you mentioned it, before they became the WooSox they were the PawSox. There are Rhode Islanders who still — they got some feelings about that. They miss their team, but you worked for them when they were still in Pawtucket.
Cooper: I did. I started with the team in 2015. I was a merchandise intern. I spent a lot of time in the team store there at McCoy Stadium. I also grew up going to baseball games at McCoy. We would go as a family. My dad is from Pawtucket. He talks about, you know, way back in the day when the Pawtucket Indians played there and essentially you could just hop the fence to go watch the game. It has been bittersweet for me as a Rhode Islander. I love Rhode Island through and through, and it was sad to see the team move. But also, Worcester is not that far. And I still live in Rhode Island. I drive 30 minutes to get to Worcester. It’s a great experience. We do get a lot of Rhode Islanders, and we really honor the history of the PawSox because there’s such a rich history there.
Hernandez: So you’re in your first season as general manager. How would you describe what it’s been like so far?
Cooper: It has been really exciting. It’s been challenging. It’s been a whole multitude of things and emotions. I think one of the things that’s important for people to know as a minor league general manager, like I’m not making baseball calls. I’m not saying who gets called up to Fenway and all of those things. You know, our job here is really to support the big club and to create an awesome experience for our fans. That gameday experience, that fan experience is a key focal point of mine and for the players, we see them in a different light. They’re just people trying to achieve their dream, and that’s to get to Fenway and play in the big leagues. So we get to kind of foster that part of it, which is really fun.
Hernandez: One of the things I’ve always loved about minor league baseball is that they get very creative when you have all these different fan days, different types of days. What do you got planned this year?
Cooper: Before I go forward, if I can just go back for a second, one of my favorite days that I’ve ever been a part of was when we were in Pawtucket. We transformed the team from the Pawtucket Red Sox and for one day we became the Pawtucket Hot Wieners. And if you’re a Rhode Islander, the Hot Wieners, that’s a Rhode Island food, right? And so we had a special logo, the team became that, the scoreboard said it. I think we had a Hot Wieners eating contest that day. And it was just absolutely awesome. And so we’re not doing anything that crazy this year.
Hernandez: Let me finish with this. A lot of GM’s I’ve known throughout my career, it’s hard for them to actually watch the games and have fun because you’ve got so much on your plate. Do you get to watch the games?
Cooper: I can and I should sit down and watch the games more. I don’t because it’s hard to, right? There’s so many people in the ballpark and there’s so much going on and you always feel like you gotta be doing something. And I will say that one of my favorite things — probably my favorite thing — about working in baseball is that game day atmosphere and getting to know our game day staff and getting to know our fans. It’s just the best.
Hernandez: Brooke, it’s been such a pleasure. Congratulations again. Good luck the rest of this year. I got to get out to a game and I’ll definitely stop by.
Cooper: Please do. Let me know.
