Matt DeMargel a St.Louis native and a second cousin of mine has spent the last ten years as Director of Media Relations/Promotions for the Durham Bulls. Matt a life long St.Louis Cardinal fan has also written Durham Bulls Baseball: History and Statistical Summary. If your a fan of the Durham Bulls this is a must have when it comes to the history of this iconic team. I was able to catch up with Matt for a brief interview for The McBrayer Baseball Blog.
McBrayer: How in the world did you become in charge of promotions for the Durham Bulls?
DeMargel: I started my baseball career as an intern with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (COL-AAA) as a promotions intern in 1998. After a great summer there, I was hired by the Lake Elsinore Storm (LAA-High A) to run the 1999 California/Carolina League All-Star Game. Once that was over I became Community Relations Director and Assistant PR Director for the Storm. By fall I was in charge of the Game Entertainment and that winter took over PR duties. When the Bulls had an opening for a Game Entertainment/PR Director in the fall of 2000, I was a good fit. I began working with the Bulls in January, 2001 and have been here ever since.
McBrayer: Congrats with the Bulls being in first place and having a fifteen game cushion over Charlotte. This must exciting for you and the team. Can you tell us who we might see coming up from the Bulls when they expand the roster in September?
DeMargel: The two most talked about talents are Jeremy Hellickson and Desmond Jennings. Hellickson is actually making his Major League debut tonight as part of Joe Maddon's six-man rotation. Jennings is a better bet to last through the Bulls' season and head up to Tampa Bay in September.
McBrayer: Will we be seeing anything new regarding you in either the Milb or the MLB?
DeMargel: I don't think you will in the major leagues, but you never know in the minors. Right now I'm enjoying what I do with the Bulls and hope to continue doing it for a long time.
McBrayer: What has been your favorite promotion you have done so far for the Bulls organization?
DeMargel: From a team standpoint, it was probably the night we had Clay Aiken here to sing the National Anthem. This was in 2004 when he was a finalist on American Idol and the crowd here was unbelievable. We brought him in with a helicopter, he made a quick speech to the crowd and sang a beautiful anthem. It was great to have such perfect execution on a night where we were featured nationally.
On a personal level, it was probably doing shtick with WWE legend Sgt. Slaughter. I was a big wrestling fan growing up so getting to participate as a heel was great fun.
McBrayer: Do you see anything possibility happening to the Cardinal organization in regards to trading through waivers?
DeMargel: Well, my position with the Bulls doesn't afford me any kind of expertise or information regarding player moves with the birds, but if the offense struggles I wouldn't be surprised to see a bat added. I guess it will depend on what's available.
McBrayer: What did you think of the Ludwick for Westbrook trade?
DeMargel: Not a big fan, but will be happy to be proven wrong.
Thank you Matt for taking some time out for this interview.
Promotional Press Release
No comments:
Post a Comment