The Seattle Mariners announced on Friday that they’ve made a new addition to their management team. Hailing from the 50th state, Hawaii native Kurt Zwald has been named the franchise’s new senior director of business strategy and analytics.
Prior to his arrival to the Emerald City, Zwald spent 14 years in similar roles with the Boston Red Sox organization. His job with Seattle will be to help the team generate more revenue. And, Zwald stresses that it often leads to and is benefited by the squad’s success on the field.
“There’s sort of this virtuous cycle in sports where the more revenue that you generate on the business side, the more you can put that into player payroll to build out your payroll, your farm system etcetera, the more you build out those elements on the field, you hopefully lead to more wins, ideally championships,” Zwald said to Hawaii News Now . “More wins and championships lead to more fan interest. More fan interest leads to more revenue and so on and so forth.”
“When you work in the minor league level, you sort of have your job description on paper, and then there’s also a bullet of other duties as assigned,” Zwald said. “You’re really doing it all, so I think that it certainly taught me to be flexible and versatile as far as of what you’re doing on the job and really work with such a diverse group of people.”
Zwald experienced a World Series win in Boston
Oct 2, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Members of the 2004 2007 an 2013 World Series team as well as current players lineup for the national anthem prior to a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
Zwald was a member of the Red Sox front office when the team won the World Series in 2013, so he’s seen the joyous effect of a franchise bringing home the Comissioner’s Trophy.
“The championships and the celebrations are nice, but really it’s the people that you do it with,” Zwald said. “All of my colleagues, my coworkers, my teammates, all those things, those are really what make the memories of postseason runs and World Series championships and everything in between. Those are friends that I’ll have for life and memories that you’ll never forget.”
Haling from the Pacific, he would like to be a role model for the people of Hawaii, and fellow islanders in general, that even though there are no MLB teams west of California and Seattle, a career with a pro franchise is always possible.
“If my role or my career or a conversation I might have with somebody in school in Hawaii can help them to see through their passion and a career in sports, that to me is incredibly fulfilling,” Zwald said. “It’s exciting for me to see more Hawaii people in the industry as well.”
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