The ballplayers leaving the dugout, the umpire yelling, “play ball,” and the serving of the first hot dog may seem like the start of another Trenton Thunder minor league baseball game. But in reality that moment is the fruit of hours of preparation not just that day, but also for months before the season even began.
Ask Jeff Hurley: the new guy with the job of making sure everything is ready when fans start streaming through the turnstiles.
Hurley, 34, became the Thunder chief operating officer and general manager in the off-season. A 2000 graduate of Steinert High School in Hamilton, he has been with the Thunder since 2004 when he took an intern position. The following year he was hired full-time in the ticket office. He eventually moved up in the organization.
Before that, Hurley went to Thunder games back when the team was transitioning from a double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers to the Boston Red Sox and eventually the New York Yankees.
“I remember coming here with my family,” the Robbinsville resident says on a recent game night. “The things that stick out to me were watching the game. It was great being a fan and having professional baseball in my back yard.”
He says he had played baseball in high school and then in Mercer County’s highly competitive American Legion league with Hamilton Post 31.
“I played baseball in college and played it all my life,” he says. “It’s something I didn’t want to give up, but I knew I would never further my career on that side of it.” Hurley studied accounting at DeSales University near Allentown, Pennsylvania, graduating in 2004.
“I did anything and everything,” he says of his early days with the Thunder. “Working in the office, helping out with tickets, merchandise.”
His parents still live in Hamilton Township. His father worked for Educational Testing Service, in computer programming and information technology. His mother was a homemaker. And with a fiancee, Hurley is starting a family of his own.
About his work for the Thunder, Hurley says, “I run the day-to-day operations. I’m in charge of making sure our staff is selling tickets, doing advertising, going out into the community. I have a hand in pretty much everything.”
Hurley oversees up to 35 full-time employees and 250 part-timers. His focus is on making sure tickets get sold and everything is ready for fans when they arrive — from giveaways, to food, to the 21 fireworks nights that are on the schedule this season.
“We’re busy now,” he says looking at the work underway inside Arm and Hammer Park before a game. “But the off-season is when all the planning takes place. In many ways we’re busier in the off-season than we are when the season starts.”
That’s the way it’s been for the past 22 years. The Thunder began its existence at then-Waterfront Park in 1994 as the property of the major league Detroit Tigers. Since then the team has been operated by the Boston Red Sox and, since 2003, the New York Yankees. The baseball business can be ephemeral, but the one constant since the Thunder arrived in Trenton is that the city has been a welcoming home, with a loyal fan base and robust attendance. Judging by the trophy case in the Thunder lobby, it has became a mainstay Eastern League franchise and a frequent contender for the league championship. The team also wins its share of attendance awards.
“We have great giveaways coming up, starting with knit caps,” Hurley says. Glancing at the schedule, there seems to be a giveaway or event during every home game, mostly tailored to younger fans. But there is plenty for grownups, especially thirsty ones.
“We’ve always done well,” Hurley says. “I always say the Trenton Thunder did well before I came here, they’ve done well since I’ve been here, and they’ll do well long after.”
Part of the success is the venue. “There’s not a bad seat in the place. It’s a great place to bring the family. Our goal is for every fan to leave with a smile on their face,” he says.
Nevertheless, there are things that keep Hurley on his toes. Baseball is one of many entertainment options for families in the Trenton area.
“On a day-to-day basis, you worry about weather and losing a game,” he says. The Thunder historically have gone to great lengths to get a game in even when it was pouring. “Also, we’re an entertainment business, and we compete with Six Flags and movie theaters. You try your best. Our goal is to play the game. If you have a (weather) window our goal is to play the game.”
Hurley is part of a new page in Trenton’s great baseball history.
Willie Mays played here when the baseball Giants sent their minor leaguers to play for the Trenton Giants in the early 1950s. Perennial all-star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra played here in the 1990s when the Red Sox owned the Trenton Thunder franchise.
There were memorable players in between, too. Tony Clark, first baseman and current executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, played first base here in the early days of the Thunder, when it was affiliated with the Tigers, and hit towering home runs over the trees in right field where they famously and quite regularly splashed down in the Delaware River. After Garciaparra went to play in Boston, David Eckstein took over at shortstop and eventually moved on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals, where he became World Series MVP in 2006.
And if a visiting coach at first or third base looks familiar, check your scorecard. The likes of the 1960s great Cincinnati outfielder Vada Pinson or the Chicago Cubs hall-of-famer Billy Williams just might be in the house. Over the years Yankees major-leaguers such as Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez have played with the Thunder as part of their rehabs.
“I think at some point this year we should have one of the top Yankee prospects, Jorge Mateo,” Hurley says of a promising shortstop in New York’s system. “We’ve had a lot of success with guys going up to the Yankees. We’ve been really lucky to have a lot of our top players move along up to the Bronx.”
Now add two dogs — both taking over for a crowd-pleasing, bat- fetching golden retriever named Chase — and it is a winning formula.
Trenton Thunder, Arm and Hammer Park. For schedules and more information, call 609-394-3300 or go to www.trentonthunder.com.
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