The boys of fall

It’s easy to see a team’s first-ever World Series win as a dream come true.

But for the Texas Rangers, that final Nov. 1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks also represented the culmination of years of hard work, both on and off the field.

Three WashU alumni with expertise in the business of sports have had key roles in the Rangers organization and have spent years helping position this team for its successful 2023 season.

Alexander Booth, AB 2015, is the assistant director of research and development in baseball operations, drawing on his background in statistics. Sam Linker, AB 2020, who minored in sports business, is an analyst in the amateur draft division, where he evaluates top high school and college players. Zack Kessinger, BSBA 2015, JD 2018, is the Rangers’ associate counsel, negotiating business agreements for the organization.

Booth, Linker and Kessinger discussed their roles with the team, as well as the paths that took them from WashU to a championship season.

The sports business program helped put me in touch with the right people to start my career in baseball analytics.  

Sam Linker

Read about it here.

 

Photo: Patrick Rishe (second from left), director of the Sports Business Program at WashU, poses with three members of the Texas Rangers’ front office—all WashU alumni. From left, Zack Kessinger, Sam Linker and Alexander Booth. (Courtesy Photo)