Justin Wolin ’15, a double-major in Sport Management and Economics, has completed his first season working for the Houston Astros. As Analyst in the Business Strategy & Analytics Department, Wolin works with various business operation departments, most commonly the ticketing and marketing departments, helping them use data to create better decisions in order to help ensure memorable experiences for fans.
Since he is constantly working with new people and departments, he does not have standard day-to-day procedures, but he enjoys how this presents new challenges for him to overcome. This line of work has been very enjoyable to Wolin so far.
“While the baseball operations side gets most of the spotlight, working on the business side of sports presents its own benefits,” Wolin said. “Probably the biggest one though is seeing the reactions of fans in the ballpark. We are constantly working on making sure that our fans having a great experience at Minute Maid Park and are working tirelessly everyday to make that a reality. Getting to see a fan smile when they first walk into the ballpark or jump up and cheer when one of our players hits a home run is what really makes working with this team worth it. I've had an incredibly enjoyable season with the team and wouldn't change anything at this point.”
Wolin said that specifically working in the Astros’ offices has been an amazing experience.
“There was a lot of energy in the ballpark with the team playing well this year,” Wolin said. “It seemed like every night the team played another exciting game and that energy spilled over from the clubhouse to the office as well.”
Prior to working in the Astros’ analytics department, Wolin gained experience in baseball with the Astros as a marketing analytics intern in the spring of 2013. In addition, during the summer of 2013, Wolin interned with the MLB Office of the Commissioner in the ticket analytics department. Outside of baseball, Wolin had worked in great detail for the Houston Rockets, the Washington Redskins, and the consulting firm Accenture. But Wolin knows that he has landed in the right spot for him and his career.
“I could very well see myself being in a similar role for the foreseeable future,” Wolin said. “My current role allows me to merge my passion for baseball and my inclination for analytics, making it a perfect match for me. Even though my career is relatively young, I feel like I am in the perfect industry for me."
While as an undergraduate student at Rice, Wolin won the Roemmich Award, honoring his work within the Sport Management department during his time there.
As for the Houston Astros, the team finished the regular season with an 86-76 record, earning the 2nd American League Wild Card seed. In the post season, the team beat the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game, but unfortunately battled and lost to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Divisional Series in 5 games.
Adrian Jones, a senior from Ridgefield, Connecticut, is majoring in Sport Management.