Baseball: A Borderless Business

By Keaton Allen

In the early days of baseball, there was a dispute about the birth place of “America’s Pastime”. Was it born in the US or was it imported, based on games from overseas? We may never know the exact global DNA of the game, but we do know that the popularity of baseball has expanded across bor ders and now includes a bi-annual World Baseball Classic involving professional players representing countries from around the globe. Not surprisingly, where you find global business, you’ll find T-birds.

With 29.8% of 2017 players being born outside of the United States, Major League Baseball is now more global than it has ever been. Domini can Republic native, and Thunderbird alumnus, Hatuey “Chuy” Mendoza ‘16 knows this more than anyone. Now in his 10th year as Coordinator for Latin America Operations for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chuy is a husband and father of 6 children (two of whom were born while he was in school at Thunderbird!). Mendoza graduated from Thunderbird’s Executive MGM program in 2016. “Twenty years ago, baseball brought me to America to play this fascinating game; and every year the game brings new players to the United States,” said Mendoza. “All of these baseball players come to the sport bringing with them vari ous cultures – but with a common dream: to become a Major League Baseball player.”

Since finishing his own pitching career with the Diamondbacks in 2006, Mendoza transitioned into the team’s front office has been the D-backs’ Coordinator for Latin American Operations. He focuses his time on developing new young talent in Latin America. The Diamondbacks Acade I my in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic, prepares young baseball players for a future baseball career and also provides high-quality education for life beyond baseball. With a growing number of teams competing for Latin American talent, the Diamondbacks sent Mendoza to Thunderbird in 2014 to sharpen his skill set and give the team an advantage in the business of Major League Baseball.

“Chuy is a role model for so many of his colleagues because of his work ethic and the incredible journey he has taken to reach his current position,” said D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall. “The Latin American market, including his home country of the Dominican Republic, is a great place for us to find talent on the field, but it has also provided us with high-quality front office members, coaches and executive.”

“To be successful in this game, you must know more than just the business of baseball; and, understanding both our culture and foreign cultures has been very valuable to Chuy and the D-backs,” said Hall.

A professional baseball player isn’t the type of guy most people expect to find sitting next to them in an interna tional business degree program. One of Chuy’s classmates, Kevin Allen, remembers uncertainty about how the program would impact someone who works with baseball players.

“Within a couple of months, Chuy became everyone’s favorite classmate and by graduation he outshined most of us as he absorbed all that the school offered,” said Allen. “He was immediately implementing what we were learning and was sharing with us his significant results. Chuy’s global transformation was amazing to behold!”

People like Chuy Mendoza are what the Thunderbird EMGM program is all about.

“Chuy’s experience illustrates perfectly what makes the Thunderbird Executive MGM program unique: a cohort of diverse executives and industries creating a truly engaging learning journey, said Professor Denis Leclerc, Academic Director of the EMGM program”

On the field, the 2017 Arizona Diamondbacks excelled beyond all expectations. Part of that success is credited to work done at the ex ecutive level by staff members like Chuy Mendoza, a T-bird who works across borders.

“Since my graduation, I personally believe that my Thunderbird Global Mindset has become one of the most important tools to succeed in my career within the competitive environment of the professional sports industry,” Chuy said.