Latest / Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden / Elevate Podcast Ep 14: Big League Leadership - Randy Lewandowski, CEO of the Indianapolis Indians

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Elevate Podcast Ep 14: Big League Leadership - Randy Lewandowski, CEO of the Indianapolis Indians · Elevate Podcast: Powered by Braden

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Welcome to the Elevate Odd Cast, powered
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for updates and behind-the-scenes
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content. Now, let's dive in.
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Hey everybody, Jason Allbeir with
0:43
another episode of the Elevate podcast.
0:45
This one I'm excited for because I'm a
0:47
bit of a baseball junkie and a baseball
0:49
geek from
0:50
from old times. In fact, if you're in
0:52
the studio here, I've got a bat that I
0:54
got signed by Pete Rose. And that was a
0:56
lot of fun getting a chance to meet him,
0:58
but I'll tell you the person that's here
0:59
with me has been around baseball
1:02
basically his whole life, right? And so
1:04
I was super excited to have Randy
1:06
Lewandowski with me from the Indians.
1:08
Welcome to the show, Randy. Thank you,
1:10
Jason. And so, before we get started,
1:13
you know, going back through your story
1:14
and kind of the the genesis of how you
1:16
get into baseball and those things,
1:18
you've been in baseball for a long time.
1:20
I think around 30 years with the
1:22
Indians, is that right? My 31st season
1:24
coming up here in 2026. There you go, 33
1:26
years. So I'm curious,
1:28
maybe some of the the coolest players
1:31
you've had a chance to interact with
1:32
over the last 33 years. Name drop a
1:34
little bit. Um well, I'll have some
1:37
recency bias, but Paul Skenes is the
1:40
first one that jumps to mind. Uh he was
1:43
only with us a short time um in 2024,
1:47
but um the fact of what he's been in
1:51
basically two years in the major
1:53
leagues, yeah, I mean, to interact
1:55
briefly, but um
1:57
you just do how polished and how good he
1:59
was going to be both
2:01
as a pitcher but as a person. And he has
2:03
the ability to lift up the Pirates
2:06
franchise because of his ability both on
2:08
the mound but also as a leader
2:10
um and how he's going to shape that
2:11
franchise. So, that was really cool.
2:13
Okay. Um staying with the Pirate Andrew
2:15
McCutchen, there's a there's a long
2:17
funny story, but I had to shuttle him
2:19
back and forth. Uh he was a 21-year-old
2:23
uh from a small town in Florida and he's
2:25
in a big city
2:27
um and just to interact with the
2:28
21-year-old, I think at the time I was
2:30
35 or 36. We didn't have a whole lot in
2:33
common, but it was interesting uh
2:36
uh to spend some time with him. Uh he's
2:38
not going to remember that, but I
2:39
certainly did have a street I vehicle
2:41
and and shuttling around a couple times.
2:44
Uh
2:44
we've done we've done some cool things
2:46
where we've brought in
2:48
um some former major leaguers, Hall of
2:50
Famers to to sign autographs. Um I think
2:53
in the Indianapolis market a name that
2:54
really resonates is Ryne Sandberg. Oh,
2:57
uh he came in both as one of
3:00
uh uh folks that we brought in, but he
3:02
also managed the Iron Pigs, who was the
3:03
Philadelphia Phillies AAA affiliate. And
3:07
to interact with him was cool. Um and
3:11
he's just like Wichita. I mean, he was
3:13
chilling and just calm, cool, collected
3:15
like he was as a player, just chill. Um
3:18
and so I got to interact with him one as
3:20
we brought him as a paid autograph her,
3:22
but we also got to interact with him as
3:24
a visiting manager. So, he got to see
3:25
both sides of that, and he wasn't really
3:27
any different. That's what was kind of
3:28
cool. And that's really um and so Ryne
3:31
Sandberg, I mean, I'm not a Cubs fan,
3:32
but there are so many Cubs fans, of
3:34
course, in this area that he certainly
3:35
sticks out. One more other Cub and then
3:37
we get on with this thing and get off
3:39
the the name dropping. Lee Smith.
3:43
I mean, well
3:45
so he's big intimidating guy.
3:47
>> Yeah.
3:48
And he was even when we walked in to
3:50
meet him in our conference room, he
3:52
signing baseballs for our staff and
3:54
doing those other things before we had
3:55
him go out and meet the fans.
3:57
But, a gentle giant.
3:59
>> Yeah. Um and to just talk with him and
4:01
hear the stories, how he All right,
4:03
maybe I shouldn't say this, but he used
4:05
to have, you know, Cubs back in his day
4:07
played all day games.
4:08
He would go and then play basketball
4:11
unknowns to the Cubs front office.
4:13
No kidding on the streets
4:16
of Chicago
4:17
along Lake Shore.
4:18
No kidding, Prickle. I actually have a
4:20
little story about him, right? So, I
4:21
remember watching him as a kid warming
4:23
up in the bullpens at Wrigley.
4:26
He's right-handed pitcher, and he would
4:28
he would get he come set, pull his leg
4:31
up, and I remember just looking at his
4:32
legs as a little kid going, "Oh my gosh,
4:35
this guy's legs are bigger than I am."
4:36
Oh, yeah. He was just a huge dude. His
4:38
hands were nice, huge. Yeah,
4:40
interesting. I had no idea that he was
4:42
playing basketball in the evenings.
4:43
>> And and of all these people that I've
4:45
mentioned, the one thing when you if you
4:46
ever want to judge somebody if they're
4:48
going to make it to the major leagues,
4:49
check their hands. These hands were not
4:51
going to get me to the major leagues.
4:53
Big, strong hands is what it is is
4:56
almost a
4:57
a tell. Oh, no kidding. Even Ken Griffey
5:00
Sr., who's not I mean, he's 6-ft 6-1,
5:04
he's not a massive man.
5:05
Meat cleavers for hands. Meat cleavers,
5:08
I shouldn't say it. It's just to handle
5:09
a bat
5:10
mostly for hitters and things like that.
5:12
Pitchers just long fingers. But, yeah,
5:14
it's it's some of the nuances that you
5:16
pick up over time. That was a trait
5:18
and/or characteristic that I'd noticed
5:20
with some of the best hitters that have
5:22
ever come through. No kidding. Wait
5:24
balls, he would have really strong
5:25
hands. No kidding. All right. All right.
5:27
Awesome. It was I'll tell you so excited
5:29
for this interview and in this
5:30
conversation. So, let's go back to the
5:32
beginning. Where are you from?
5:34
I was born in Chicago.
5:36
Um
5:38
and a suburb called it was a will suburb
5:40
called Schaumburg. Uh it's not a little
5:42
suburb anymore. Uh moved to Fort Fort
5:45
when I was about 10 years old. Uh and
5:47
then I lived in Indy since I started my
5:49
career. I was 24. So, I said I was born
5:51
in Chicago,
5:52
grew up in Fort Wayne my formative
5:54
years, and I live in catcher. So, in
5:56
Fort Wayne, going to high school, Bishop
5:59
Dwenger is that? So, athlete in high
6:02
school? Uh I guess little bit, right?
6:04
Playing all the sports, just baseball,
6:06
what were you doing? I was a basketball
6:08
player and a baseball player. You know,
6:11
Fort Wayne, I was a public school kid
6:13
through eighth grade. I made the
6:15
transition to the Catholic High School.
6:18
And Catholic High Schools are known for
6:20
football. Yep. I did play football. I
6:23
was a quarterback in the middle school,
6:25
and I remember after I rolled it
6:27
Dwenger. Um and I wouldn't say that I
6:29
was I wasn't recruited. Like if people
6:31
think that's a thing in Fort Wayne, it
6:33
wasn't at least back in the mid-80s.
6:35
Um we had some in my dad had some
6:37
interest in me going there. There were
6:38
some sports-related reasons. There was
6:40
uh you know, Christ-centered reasons and
6:43
some other things from a faith
6:44
perspective.
6:45
Um but I remember getting the phone call
6:47
when I didn't show up for football
6:49
practice. I know they had to assume they
6:50
had done some background check. Yeah,
6:52
sure. Football was not anything that had
6:54
ever really interested me very much.
6:56
Okay.
6:57
Um
6:58
but I was a quarterback. I am
6:59
left-handed, and I was at the time I'm
7:02
6'3" now. I probably was around that,
7:04
you know, cuz I was a freshman in high
7:05
school. But so, I didn't play football.
7:07
I just told them that I wasn't
7:08
interested, and and then tried out for
7:10
the basketball team. That was a unique
7:11
situation. When you made that that
7:14
change from eighth and ninth grade, you
7:16
got your buddies in eighth grade. Most
7:17
of my buddies in there was going to
7:18
Northrup High School in Fort Wayne.
7:21
And then I walked into Dwenger, and I
7:22
probably knew three or four people
7:24
total. Okay. And so, had to kind of
7:26
almost prove yourself again. Sharing
7:28
that started with basketball, and then
7:30
certainly as I got into baseball. I was
7:32
a I was a better baseball player
7:34
than I was as a basketball player back.
7:36
I probably in high school have more fun
7:38
memories of basketball. Whatever reason,
7:40
yes. So, any Well, Indiana basketball. I
7:42
mean, it's a great place to be. I played
7:44
at Dwenger, which was fun. You guys
7:46
were, if I remember correctly, you were
7:47
playing like Twisted Sister before
7:49
games. Did you play like uh
7:51
We're Not Gonna Take It or something
7:53
like that before games come?
7:54
>> I'm certain our young fan was really
7:55
good.
7:55
>> Yeah, they were crazy. I remember, you
7:57
know, being there for years after after
7:59
you. So, they So, high school
8:01
basketball, baseball. Going into the
8:04
next part of your your career, the next
8:06
part of your life, going to college.
8:08
Where did you end up going?
8:09
Uh I was a recruited walk-on to the
8:11
Indiana University to play baseball.
8:13
Okay. Um after about a semester, I
8:16
realized that wasn't a great cultural
8:17
fit for me. Yeah. Um and uh
8:22
at that point in time, I thought I was
8:23
just going to be a student. Um I put on
8:26
the freshman 15 plus 10 in that spring
8:29
semester. I gained a lot of weight. Uh
8:31
ate a lot of delivery food and pizza.
8:33
Uh And I went home one weekend, and my
8:35
dad looked at me and said, "So, you're
8:37
really not going to play baseball
8:39
anymore?"
8:40
And uh just had one of those
8:43
conversations with your your dad and
8:45
your mom and your parents and as a
8:46
family and
8:47
um
8:49
thought I would should probably continue
8:51
to pursue it. Uh once you get past the
8:53
disappointment of how I just didn't fit
8:56
and or work out at IU. Uh and it wasn't
8:59
a talent thing. I don't mean that to be
9:01
um
9:03
braggadocious. It just it wasn't a good
9:04
fit. I I just I was It's the first time
9:06
I really didn't like playing baseball is
9:08
when I was down there. And there was
9:09
just a a myriad of reasons, but uh and
9:12
some were my own and some were were just
9:13
in how the program and and and things
9:15
were were were put together, but
9:18
um I remember being recruited very
9:21
heavily by coach Don Brandon and
9:23
um and Anderson University.
9:25
Well-regarded program. But, when you're
9:27
coming out of high school, that It was
9:28
true back in the '80s. It's probably
9:31
still true today. Most kids that are
9:32
playing a high school sport, all they
9:34
think about is D1, D1, D1. That's right.
9:36
Yeah.
9:37
Uh
9:38
and I had poo-pooed Anderson and thought
9:40
it was going to be D1, but I remember
9:41
coach Brandon loved the way he
9:43
approached everything and when I reached
9:45
out to him
9:46
uh he was ecstatic to hear from me and
9:48
and opened his arms and welcoming me in.
9:51
Uh so went through that transition from
9:53
IU to Anderson and ended up playing uh
9:55
four
9:57
uh very good seasons and uh great life
10:00
lessons uh at AU, proud AU graduate. Uh
10:04
and culminated in a We were NAIA when I
10:07
went there. Uh a lot of shifts and
10:09
change in the collegiate
10:11
um sports world. We were Division III
10:14
NCAA my senior year and probably I say
10:18
this, it was
10:20
my I I don't know how many games we won
10:22
in my four years when I was there, but
10:23
it was darn close to 200. We played a
10:25
lot of games and they all kidded us,
10:27
wow. Had very talented teams my
10:29
freshman, sophomore, and junior years.
10:31
Probably a little less talented my
10:33
senior year, but as we made the
10:34
transition to Division III, the the set
10:36
up of the team was a little different.
10:38
Um but we went to the College World
10:40
Series, Division III World Series. In
10:42
NAIA, we as I said, we probably had more
10:44
talented teams we could get over a hump.
10:46
We were a better that was one of my
10:47
first lessons in teamwork,
10:49
um leadership, and just other things
10:52
that when you when you play for one
10:54
another, not just with one another,
10:56
there's a difference. Yeah. And that was
10:58
epitomized by that team that we had in
11:00
1993 at Anderson University. Finished
11:02
best in the country and uh had a really
11:04
good team and a lot of good teammates
11:06
and uh a lot of good memories. No
11:08
kidding. All right, so a couple of
11:09
questions there about college before we
11:10
move on to what comes next. What were
11:12
you studying in school? Business
11:14
management. Okay. And so as you're
11:16
thinking through what's going to come
11:17
next, what were your thoughts as a as a
11:20
college kid, where were you thinking you
11:22
were going to go?
11:23
>> That I might get drafted. That you might
11:25
get drafted. I mean, you also then you
11:26
learn really quickly when you can't run
11:28
and you don't throw very hard.
11:31
The game is going to tell you when
11:33
My game is done with you.
11:34
>> Left-handed player, yeah. Left-handed
11:36
pitcher. Yes. Direct pitch, yeah. In
11:39
high school I pitched a ton until my arm
11:41
fell off. Yeah. Uh in college I just
11:43
didn't throw very hard. Yeah.
11:44
>> And in high school that worked. There
11:45
were some other things that happened
11:47
over the years where I I lost some
11:48
movement on my fastball. Um if it was a
11:51
fastball. Um Did develop a good
11:53
changeup? I did. I I ended up being a
11:56
closer in college. Okay. Um my overall
11:59
ERA numbers aren't very good, but I
12:00
could pitch in clutch situations and and
12:02
get some key guys out.
12:03
>> Yep. Um but ultimately I was an
12:06
outfielder in high school. I get that
12:07
running thing
12:10
Had never played much first base, maybe
12:11
a little late. As a 10 and 12. Uh but
12:15
moved into the infield and that's a big
12:16
change when you're
12:18
280, 300 ft away and then you have to
12:20
move 90 to 100 ft away. So obviously,
12:23
like any kid, you hope you're going to
12:24
get drafted. You get through your four
12:26
years and you realize maybe that's not
12:29
going to happen. At some point.
12:31
>> Learned that pretty quick. Learned that
12:32
pretty quick in college. All right, so
12:33
you get humbled a little bit.
12:36
Finish up school, you've got your
12:37
degree, where do you go next? It was a
12:39
business degree and it was management.
12:43
Um
12:44
I I wasn't sure. I always wanted I
12:46
always thought I wanted to work in
12:47
sports. Now, this goes back 30-plus
12:49
years.
12:50
There were only a couple sport
12:51
management programs in the entire
12:53
country. Ohio U being the best. There
12:56
was one in UMass Springfield and and
12:58
another place. So I thought I'd be doing
13:00
my master's at some point in time. Uh I
13:02
went back to Fort Wayne, moved in with
13:04
mom and dad. I was fortunate enough to
13:06
have a brother-in-law that had a retail
13:07
business up in up in Fort Wayne and I
13:10
had worked there during some summers and
13:11
some other stuff, so I plugged in there.
13:13
They had an employee get ill and needed
13:15
someone to manage one of their retail
13:16
outlets, so I did. Um I learned really
13:19
quick that yeah, retail's probably not
13:21
what I wanted to do, but there were some
13:23
lessons to to to be learned there. I ran
13:26
into an old teammate of mine,
13:28
um, while I was in Fort Wayne, and he
13:29
had told me he done an internship with
13:31
the Indiana Pacers.
13:32
And that kind of just then you start
13:34
putting some pieces to together the
13:36
puzzle, and you sending your resume, and
13:38
you try to do some networking, and even
13:40
though networking then is much different
13:42
than networking is now, Asher. It's
13:44
writing letters and trying to dial
13:46
people up on a phone way back then, but
13:48
yeah. Um, there's some interesting
13:50
stories about that, but that that was
13:51
the the genesis of it. I always wanted
13:53
to work in sports. I always thought it
13:54
would be as a general manager,
13:56
um, trading for players, free agency,
13:59
you know, like a real general manager,
14:01
um, of a professional major league
14:03
sports team. Yeah, that all turned out
14:05
to not what I ended up doing, but um,
14:07
but that's how it kind of morphed and
14:09
worked its way into it. But sports were
14:10
always a big part of everything, and you
14:12
thought, okay, this is where I'm going
14:13
to go. It's how I learned math.
14:15
It's how I learned math. Box scores.
14:17
Okay, I do two for seven, that's 286. I
14:20
mean, you just you just Those I mean, I
14:22
studied the box scores every morning
14:23
eating my cereal. Um, and that's what I
14:27
loved and where it all came from, and I
14:31
I I remember
14:32
um, I grew up a White Sox fan, but I
14:34
remember my first game was at Wrigley
14:36
Field, and I remember when if Wrigley
14:38
still being Wrigley, um, you walk out of
14:41
the the the concourse up through the
14:42
vomitory, and I still can remember the
14:45
sights and the smells and the sounds.
14:48
>> Yeah. And that just grabbed me. Yeah, I
14:50
mean, I even to the point where I get
14:52
into the neighborhood, and you can just
14:53
sense the stadium or a ballpark is near.
14:56
>> Yeah. And that's just something that
14:57
grabbed me as a kid for whatever reason.
14:59
Were Were your parents athletes, too?
15:01
Was your My dad was a good basketball
15:03
player. Okay. Uh, he was had a situation
15:05
where he had to go to work instead of
15:06
going to college. He had some
15:07
opportunities to play, I think it was
15:09
Murray State or something like that way
15:10
back in the Okay, I guess.
15:12
>> Gosh, it would have been the '60s.
15:13
Um, and uh, but yeah, my dad grew up in
15:17
My mom and dad grew up in the inner city
15:18
of Chicago, and they're they're both
15:19
Polish, and they grew up in the Polish
15:21
neighborhood, and
15:22
um, my dad played some basketball, so we
15:24
had that. Had a grandpa, my and my dad's
15:26
dad was very supportive um of my
15:29
athletic pursuits and things like that.
15:31
That It just was something that was
15:33
always around. My dad this this can
15:35
really get off page, but my dad worked
15:37
in the um
15:39
soda industry. Okay. Yeah. You work for
15:41
7 Up in Chicago.
15:43
And back in those days professional
15:44
athletes needed to have a second job or
15:48
have a real job in the off-season. And
15:50
for whatever reason hockey players
15:52
gravitated to the beverage industry
15:54
either
15:55
beer or soda pop. Okay. And my dad there
15:59
was a group of Chicago Blackhawks
16:01
players that worked for him at 7 Up in
16:04
Chicago. And I would tell you I am a
16:07
die-hard Chicago Blackhawks fan
16:09
>> Yeah. because of those relationships. My
16:10
dad used to play cards with some of the
16:13
players and they got to know their wives
16:15
just because they were he was their
16:16
employer. Yeah. And so You add that to
16:20
together, being around it, always
16:21
playing on the driveway, had a
16:23
basketball hoop. I mean, just it kind of
16:24
second nature. Got you. All right. So,
16:26
you're still in Fort Wayne.
16:28
Work in retail. You find out that
16:30
somebody one of your friends had done
16:32
some things with the Indians.
16:34
How do you you cold call? You're making
16:36
some some writing some email or writing
16:38
some letters Okay, it was letters.
16:40
Right? How do you end up getting down
16:41
here and finding this job? So, heard
16:44
about an intern Well, it was a pseudo
16:46
internship program.
16:47
Um sent in my resume.
16:50
There was our sports medicine director
16:53
if he Anderson
16:55
um would have told me somehow some way
16:58
that he knew Max Schumacher who at the
17:00
time was the
17:01
I don't know what Max's title was back
17:03
then, but he was the guy. Okay. Uh with
17:05
Indianapolis Indians. And somehow
17:09
uh Doc Risinger is this fellow's name at
17:11
AU uh had worked for the Bears in their
17:14
spring or their um summer training camp.
17:17
And somehow, someway, also through
17:19
baseball connections, either I was at
17:21
the Pan Am Games in the late '80s, but
17:23
somehow had run across Max Scherzer. So,
17:26
he he owned just his bubble at Anderson
17:28
University running sports event program,
17:30
had done some other things in the
17:31
summers, and had gone on sabbatical, but
17:33
he had connections. And he heard that,
17:36
"Hey, I might be interested in Annapolis
17:38
sitting here, so I can at least call
17:39
down to Max Scherzer." So, did it give
17:41
me the job? No, but it's a lesson for
17:43
everybody that when you start making
17:44
connections you know, when there's a
17:46
stack of resumes, how do you get moved
17:48
up and you're at the top of the pile, so
17:49
they at least read it. Sure, and then
17:51
just being persistent with phone calls
17:52
about asking to get an interview and
17:54
referencing the guy that I had played
17:57
college baseball with that he had
17:58
previously worked there and all that
18:00
other kind of stuff, and was fortunate
18:02
enough to get an interview and even more
18:04
fortunate enough to get an opportunity.
18:05
I just told our our intern class for
18:08
2026
18:10
starting today that they were taping
18:12
this.
18:13
And
18:14
I told them this story. They talked
18:16
about what what were One of the
18:17
questions was what like what was one of
18:18
the most transformational changes, and I
18:20
said technology. Um because when I
18:23
started in 1994, we didn't have a
18:25
computerized ticket system. Everything
18:27
was done by hand.
18:29
We didn't have voicemail. I took I
18:31
worked in our box office, so we we
18:33
called them racking games, and you put
18:35
them in this rack seat section row seat
18:39
in order. Everything was with cash, very
18:41
little credit card transactions.
18:43
Answered was basically the switch or
18:45
being two other guys with a switchboard,
18:47
and when Max or at the time our
18:50
assistant general manager Cal Burleson,
18:51
if they weren't in or in
18:53
there were only
18:54
seven full-time employees, and then
18:56
there were three or four interns.
18:58
>> No kidding. Yes. We handwrote messages,
19:00
put them on a hook, and when people came
19:02
in we were on a different level at Busch
19:03
Stadium, the old place on 16th Street.
19:06
Fascinating. Learning the business
19:09
literally from the ground up. Yeah,
19:11
cash, racking tickets, handwritten phone
19:14
messages, talked about Feller because he
19:16
called to talk to Max Scherzer. No
19:18
kidding. I I was sitting there dialing.
19:19
I call my mom and dad and say, "Hey,
19:21
talked to my mom or that's cool. Did I
19:22
talk to him?" No, he asked for Max, so
19:24
he's not a fit. You know, it's one of
19:25
those things, but but you learn, I mean,
19:27
very remedial, but but what what made it
19:30
work for me and what I what you tell
19:33
any of your group of interns or anybody
19:34
that wants to get into the sports
19:36
business, it sounds cool. Yeah, it is
19:38
and it can be, sure, but it's still hard
19:41
work. Yeah. And we're not rocket
19:43
scientists, but we work really hard, we
19:45
put in tons of hours, and it's a
19:46
lifestyle business. And I got jazzed up
19:50
when the lights came on. Not because
19:51
they were shined on me, that's for the
19:52
players. Yeah.
19:54
>> But to be behind the scenes and put on
19:56
events just energized me, got me going,
19:59
um and it still does to this day, and
20:01
that's why I wanted to continue on even
20:03
after having to clean the stadium after
20:05
game or pull the tarp or what all the
20:08
the the horrible jobs that you have to
20:10
do when you're young, just getting your
20:11
foot in the door. Um
20:14
it got me excited and I wanted to
20:15
continue No kidding. So So you've
20:17
literally done all the jobs. You've seen
20:19
from from 1994
20:21
>> Yeah. till now, 2026. All right, so
20:23
you're working that role, how do you how
20:25
do you continue to navigate what what
20:27
comes next cuz obviously now is the
20:29
president CEO. Sure. We'll talk a little
20:31
bit more about what that looks like for
20:32
you, but where do you go next before you
20:34
get between here and now? Well, um after
20:38
that 1994 season, I wasn't sure if they
20:40
were going to continue to have interns.
20:42
Uh there was some talk of this new
20:44
ballpark that might get built downtown.
20:47
Um and that ended up being the big
20:49
break. I remember being at the baseball
20:50
winter meetings in in December 1994. I
20:53
had a couple
20:54
opportunities to get entry-level jobs,
20:56
full-time jobs that didn't pay very much
20:58
money, but
21:00
there was East Coast,
21:02
middle of the country, West Coast. Okay.
21:04
Been a Midwest guy. Told you I was born
21:06
in Chicago, grew up in Fort Wayne, and
21:08
you know, I wasn't in Indy, and I just
21:10
didn't float my boat.
21:12
Um, and I remember calling back to
21:14
uh my boss at the time in in Indy and
21:16
said, "Hey,
21:18
there's this talk video ballpark. Well,
21:20
there's no guarantee, Randy, but we will
21:22
probably have some interns in '95. If
21:24
you want to roll the dice, we'll know
21:25
that in a couple weeks." Uh, and if we
21:28
do, we have you back. So, I rolled those
21:30
dice and came out for a second
21:31
internship in '95.
21:34
I wouldn't say that
21:35
was any more glamorous than it was in
21:37
'94, but it was a building block. And
21:39
then, I mean, I don't want to say the
21:40
rest of the history of Victory Field,
21:42
but lots of hoops and hurdles got dealt,
21:43
and that was the That was the break for
21:45
me and and then it being six other uh
21:48
There was guys at the time where the
21:50
Indian staff dealt with 7 to 40. And
21:52
that's really them where we took off,
21:54
and I got a job in our box office as we
21:56
transitioned from Bush Stadium to
21:57
Victory Field. That that change from
21:59
Bush Stadium to Victory Field
22:02
doubling the number of employees What
22:04
was Why Why did you have to add so many
22:07
people when really you just changed the
22:09
venue? I mean, for me, it's trying to
22:11
understand the background. Um, bigger,
22:13
more sophisticated, newer, nicer. I
22:16
mean, Bush Stadium was nostalgic, and it
22:18
was a mini Wrigley Field, you know? It
22:20
was not in great shape. That was one of
22:22
the reasons why we wanted and needed to
22:24
leave because it There was just a bunch
22:26
of deferred maintenance. Um,
22:29
and
22:31
we had switched to Ticketmaster. And so,
22:34
that was our or There was a lot of our
22:35
tickets. All right. Okay, so you had a
22:37
heck deal, right? And
22:40
it just was
22:42
um It was just going to be a bigger
22:44
operation. The other thing I tell people
22:45
is we had to teach people This is going
22:47
to sound crazy, Justin. We had to teach
22:49
people in the Indianapolis market
22:51
to buy a baseball ticket, to come watch
22:53
the Indianapolis Indians. The model
22:55
um
22:56
at Bush Stadium was a little bit of
22:58
reverse marketing. We would do these
23:00
corporate buyouts. And let's just say
23:02
Great Business Systems would buy uh for
23:05
$4,000 they would get 30,000 general
23:08
admission tickets. And then they would
23:09
spread them out across their footprint,
23:11
and you hope people would grab those GA
23:13
tickets and come out and maybe turn that
23:15
into a box seat for a couple extra bucks
23:17
and maybe buy a beer or a hot dog. Yeah,
23:19
that was the model at Busch Stadium. I
23:21
mean, we had season ticket holders, but
23:22
at scale um it was these big debt
23:25
buyouts. UAW, AFL-CIO, those were
23:28
uh the the Board of Realtors. Those are
23:30
the three that I remember that stick out
23:32
that they were going to be big nights.
23:33
Got you. Because they had big
23:34
memberships, right? When they could
23:36
distribute all those free tickets. But
23:39
we moved to Victory Field
23:41
we couldn't do that anymore, right? We
23:42
had to justify, we had to pay rent.
23:44
Uh there was debt to pay off, there were
23:46
all those things. They had to actually
23:47
reduce so we had to reverse the model.
23:49
And so it just became uh you used to be
23:51
more map up. Yeah, and that was we ate
23:53
that Busch Stadium. We didn't run the
23:54
facility. At Victory Field, the way the
23:56
deal was set up smartly by by Max
23:59
Schumacher was is that we were then
24:01
going to repair and maintain the
24:02
facility. And we'd never done that
24:04
before. So we had to expand a a bit of a
24:06
facility staff and do things that we'd
24:08
never done before. It was at Busch
24:10
Stadium it was we had a promotions guy,
24:12
we had a PR guy, we had a sales guy, and
24:15
we took orders. And everybody then was
24:17
responsible to sell season tickets or
24:19
packages. And we just all became we
24:21
started to become a little bit more
24:22
specialized as it moved to Victory
24:25
Field. And now
24:26
um circa 30 years down the road because
24:28
we're going to celebrate our 30th
24:29
anniversary at Victory Field in 2026 uh
24:32
we're up to 64 full-time employees.
24:34
Suddenly. And the world is just more
24:35
specialized, and it's because of
24:37
technology.
24:38
>> Yeah, sure, of course.
24:39
>> All right. So, when did you take over as
24:41
president? How long have you been in
24:42
this role? Uh CEO this will be my third
24:45
season as a CEO. President I think was
24:48
in 2017.
24:50
Then general manager
24:53
2013 or 14. I was an assistant GM for a
24:56
really long time from the mid-2000s up
24:59
to that 2013-2014. So, as you work
25:01
backwards, um that's about how it
25:04
stair-steps back. Got you. All right, so
25:06
now
25:07
lots of changes over the last 30 years.
25:09
You mentioned some technology. Maybe I I
25:12
would say I think people people know
25:15
the Indianapolis Indians, and right?
25:16
People know baseball, those types of
25:18
things. But from a business perspective,
25:20
you have the 64 individuals now. You're
25:22
the CEO. What what's your role look
25:24
like? How are you working with the team?
25:26
You mentioned bringing out some interns
25:28
in, those types of things. What's it
25:29
look like for you?
25:31
If I could boil it down to one sentence,
25:34
it's hopefully to provide the necessary
25:36
resources for the organization and our
25:38
team to be able to execute our plans.
25:41
Yeah. I mean, that's to boil it down.
25:43
Sure, that's to be able to provide our
25:45
group with I mean, the resources is is
25:49
talent, it's uh certainly dollars,
25:52
uh it's the time, it's the opportunities
25:54
that we open doors that we can go be
25:56
successful or break a business. That's a
25:58
long way from where we used to be.
26:00
When we were at Bush Stadium and even
26:02
moved in, I mean, it was rubbing nickels
26:03
together to keep the lights on. We had a
26:05
great streak of from 1975 to 2020 being
26:08
profitable. That was back in those '70s
26:11
and '80s, that was tough in minor league
26:13
baseball to do.
26:15
Um 2020 pandemic period play, so the
26:17
streak stops. But
26:19
um
26:20
that that that was just that's some of
26:21
the genesis of of really how that's all
26:23
come together. Got you. All right, so
26:25
some questions just about you know,
26:26
Major League Baseball and how you guys
26:28
operate amongst the greater national
26:32
base shirts. Triple-A,
26:34
currently an affiliate of the Pittsburgh
26:36
Pirates. Pittsburgh Pirates. So, what
26:38
what's that mean? How do you fit into
26:40
the ecosystem? Cuz I I don't know if a
26:42
lot of folks understand Major League
26:44
Baseball and the tiers and the levels
26:46
and those things. What do you guys
26:47
follow? It's a great question. To talk
26:48
about the tiers, there are currently
26:51
four levels of baseball. There is
26:53
single A, high single A, double A, and
26:56
triple A.
26:57
Um there used to be
27:00
prior to 2020, unrelated to the
27:02
pandemic, but it fits for because there
27:05
was a contractual thing. There used to
27:06
be some rookie leagues and um some other
27:09
leagues that were then
27:11
moved away. So, the way it used to be
27:13
said, there's four leagues and you would
27:15
typically, if you got drafted, you start
27:17
in that rookie league or that uh the
27:19
single A and basically every year you're
27:21
moving up a level and you may pause or
27:24
delay and spend an extra year in double
27:26
A or triple A, or you get released or
27:29
you get traded and you work your way up.
27:30
Baseball's the hardest game to play.
27:32
There's such nuance to it. Uh it's the
27:34
only game when the defense has the ball
27:36
to start the possession. If you then go
27:37
to that, the pitcher
27:38
um makes it very challenging from just
27:40
that perspective. And there's just the
27:43
and the guys in the major leagues are so
27:45
good
27:47
um that even between triple A and our
27:48
guys are really, really good. And most
27:50
of the guys on our roster have been in
27:53
or will be in the big leagues at some
27:54
point. Most, not all.
27:56
Um but if you think about it, I think
27:58
there's still only been 20, just over
27:59
20,000 or 22,000 people that have ever
28:02
played in major leagues. Yeah. Ever?
28:04
Ever. Think about that. Yeah. Um so,
28:07
there's nuance and but you would work
28:08
your way through that. On the the the
28:10
business side of things. So, that's the
28:12
baseball. There's those levels and um
28:15
people within the major league
28:16
organizations
28:18
um make the determination as where our
28:20
guys are going to be and where they
28:21
should slot and how they move during the
28:23
course of the year between year to year.
28:25
That's the thing that we or any other
28:27
minor league baseball team, we don't do.
28:29
We don't get to do player evaluation,
28:31
player movement. So, we run the business
28:33
and in those cases run our facility. So,
28:35
that that's the it's a weird, crazy,
28:38
unique business model, but our product
28:39
is the baseball game and that's the one
28:41
thing we probably have very little to no
28:44
control over are the baseball players.
28:45
>> So, the players that show up in
28:47
Indianapolis, they're assigned by
28:49
Pittsburgh and they're paid by
28:51
Pittsburgh. They're paid by the
28:52
Pittsburgh Pirates and BoSox. So, you're
28:54
you're you're actually creating the
28:55
venue, the opportunity, the space,
28:57
bringing the fans.
28:58
>> Yes. But, the team on the field, I I
29:00
have no idea. I actually got the
29:02
responsibility. You guys were out
29:03
working your own players around, but
29:05
it's really Pittsburgh's obligation that
29:07
and who you get is who you have.
29:08
>> Yeah. And that is more filled with years
29:10
in the '50s, '60s, '70s,
29:13
there were
29:15
um
29:16
lots of instances or most cases the
29:18
instance of players were signed a
29:20
contract by the the minor league team
29:22
directly and then you if a player if
29:24
Jason was having a great year and and
29:26
the Chicago White Sox came calling, you
29:28
might get your contract might get sold
29:30
to the White Sox. You go to the big lots
29:32
of things. That changed at some point in
29:34
the late '80s, early '90s where the
29:36
major league clubs wanted more control.
29:39
Uh and then I can get to this talking
29:41
about more control not even on the
29:42
player side but on the business side.
29:45
Minor League Baseball, we used to be a
29:48
membership of 160 clubs and we fitted
29:52
the leagues who then fitted into a
29:53
national association that was based in
29:55
St. Petersburg, Florida. I'll speed this
29:57
up.
29:58
Um that that association had a contract
30:02
with Major League Baseball. Okay.
30:04
They would provide the affiliates that
30:06
the major league teams could then
30:08
provide and we had a contract with the
30:10
major league team in the last two or
30:12
four years.
30:13
It got a little hairy and there was a
30:15
lot of movement and
30:17
and
30:18
Major League Baseball, I would say that
30:20
contract uh ended at the end of 2019.
30:23
Um going into the 2020, uh there was no
30:26
baseball because of the pandemic, but
30:28
the contract lapsed and a new system was
30:30
put in place called the PDL,
30:32
Professional Development Leagues. So,
30:34
while we used to have an association
30:36
that had a contract with Major League
30:37
Baseball, we now all minor league the
30:40
now there's 120 clubs. those Ricky
30:42
League teams went away. There are now
30:44
120 clubs that have a license agreement
30:48
directly with Major League Baseball and
30:50
then Major League Baseball figures out
30:52
those affiliate assignments. Got you.
30:54
And so now we are my league baseball is
30:57
now under the Major League Baseball
30:59
umbrella directly. That didn't used to
31:01
be the case. So we're in the fifth year
31:03
of that going into the sixth season. I
31:04
guess this is the
31:06
fifth season of it.
31:07
Uh so we're halfway through the first of
31:09
a 10-year deal. It's been different. Um
31:12
there's a baseball op side of Major
31:14
League Baseball and then there's a
31:15
business op side. And there's been some
31:17
nuances and some things that we've all
31:19
had to adjust and adapt. Some good, some
31:22
not so good, but at the end of the day
31:24
uh it's a much more stable business than
31:26
it ever has been.
31:28
Um and some of that is because our
31:30
current structure. That's interesting. I
31:31
I guess I didn't know that. I knew a few
31:33
things straight I just read that with
31:35
the kids there. And there is lots of
31:36
nuance and there was sure else but that
31:38
that's trying to speed it up for your
31:40
viewers and everybody else, but it's
31:41
it's it was a it was a seismic change
31:44
>> Yeah. for all of us operators on the
31:46
Minor League side going into '21. Also
31:48
coming out of COVID with all these
31:50
restrictions. Um it was helpful that we
31:53
did have Major League Baseball leading
31:54
the way on that because of all the crazy
31:56
rules and just insane uh just to get the
31:58
players to play in '21 was what was uh a
32:02
Herculean feat. And as we've gotten into
32:04
it and now we've operated as we've come
32:06
out of all that, uh the baseball side
32:08
certainly runs really smooth. There's
32:10
still always some rubs on the business
32:11
side, but there's always going to be
32:12
when you got so much nationally trying
32:14
to come in locally to to
32:17
um
32:18
do some things and uh affect your
32:20
business, but uh it's been good overall.
32:22
Yeah, it's great. You know, the stadium
32:25
is beautiful. In fact, you it's a great
32:26
place to go watch a game, right? And so
32:28
if you're even if you're not a huge
32:30
baseball fan, it's a great place to take
32:32
your family. So it's a good opportunity.
32:33
And I mean,
32:35
we don't say this with a ton of great
32:36
pride, but a lot of people when they
32:38
leave an Indianapolis Indians game or
32:40
any other minor league baseball game,
32:42
they may not really know who won. Yep.
32:44
>> They're there for the social aspect, uh
32:47
the ambiance, the comfort, uh the fun,
32:51
the on-field promotions, whatever else
32:53
we're doing to bring somebody in. I
32:54
mentioned you know we brought in an
32:55
elite player August. There's all the
32:57
cartoon characters and we theme our days
32:59
with concession deals and and all that
33:02
and we build
33:04
our experience around that memory
33:07
making. And in in in letters a date
33:09
night, it's a family night, it's a
33:11
corporate outing. We've got a little bit
33:13
of something for everybody and that's
33:14
what we build it on. And uh we do talk
33:17
about players certainly when we have
33:19
Paul Skenes, we want to talk about Paul
33:21
Skenes. Um but
33:24
we can't guarantee how long he's going
33:26
to be with us. And so you'll rarely see
33:28
anybody like that on of of a name on a
33:32
billboard or any of our advertising.
33:34
You'll see players,
33:35
but it's more about then the family
33:37
aspect and everything else and that's
33:38
what we build it around and it's around
33:40
Victory Field and the experience and
33:41
making those memories and being
33:42
affordable and memorable family fun and
33:45
that's what our tagline says we've been
33:46
at Victory Field for 29 years going into
33:48
30. It's awesome. Love it.
33:51
So we mentioned a little technology and
33:53
knowing that you started back in '94
33:55
doing everything by hand,
33:56
>> Yep. right?
33:57
Technology's everywhere today. You were
33:59
talking about AI and all these different
34:01
tests, right? So
34:03
with inside your business, how is
34:05
technology maybe are you seeing
34:07
technology help you reach fans
34:09
differently? What are you guys using?
34:11
What are you seeing? And where do you
34:12
think maybe things might go?
34:14
Where it might go, who knows. I mean
34:16
AI's going to play a huge role in that.
34:18
Just how you can
34:20
automate and or it it it helps make our
34:23
especially our sales people more
34:25
efficient. Our front line people where
34:27
yeah, I mean if you come to our website,
34:28
there's a chat
34:30
box.
34:30
>> Yep. That's a chat bot. Yeah, right. I
34:32
mean so um and it can handle some of
34:36
those questions because I had this in
34:37
1994 V on if we have a game tonight and
34:42
it's cloudy and it looks like it might
34:43
rain. Give me phone calls or and now
34:46
thanks to you for social media where we
34:48
can push message. It's those kinds of
34:50
things that are just rinse and repeat.
34:53
You know, we can automate. That's
34:54
simple. But really when it comes to the
34:56
app, we don't know where it's going to
34:57
go but we are we're generating a lot of
35:00
most of our own content.
35:02
How we generate our leads, how we follow
35:04
through on those sales and sequence
35:06
those kinds of things. Everybody here
35:07
that's listening isn't you should know
35:09
you're getting sequence emails because
35:11
every database and CRM is going to do
35:13
those kinds of things. But it just makes
35:15
everybody more efficient. Sure. And when
35:17
you're selling baseball, it's a lot
35:19
better than selling widgets or vacuum
35:21
cleaners or anything else. And rarely do
35:23
you either get hung up on or deleted. A
35:25
lot of time my people will engage
35:27
because
35:28
it's a fun experience that people tend
35:29
to have. Most everybody has a very fun
35:32
memory if they went to Victory Field
35:34
that they had a good pleasant fun
35:36
experience. So, we want all that
35:38
together but from a tech standpoint,
35:40
we're trying to stay on top of it is why
35:41
our staff has grown. If you'd have told
35:43
me way back in the day that we'd have so
35:45
many just dealing with social media and
35:47
some of it just with email and just with
35:50
a website. But it's
35:52
that those are our front doors. That's
35:54
how we introduce ourselves to customers
35:56
and how we interact with our fans and
35:58
you have to be on top of that. And you
36:00
guys the and and it's ever changing as
36:02
everybody knows the technology means
36:03
that I'm Yeah, you guys are in the
36:05
people business creating experiences.
36:08
Right, the end product happens to be
36:10
baseball. But it's an experience
36:11
business and you're talking to people on
36:13
a daily basis. That's that's awesome.
36:15
Let's talk a little community because
36:16
you guys are
36:18
a big part of our community in
36:20
Indianapolis. And when you think about
36:21
community, it's it's your 64
36:23
individuals. It's the community when
36:25
they come into your stadium but it's
36:27
also the folks around the stadium and
36:29
our friends and neighbors.
36:31
What does community look like for the
36:32
Indianapolis Indians and how are you
36:34
guys engaging? Well,
36:36
there's a couple things.
36:38
Um we like to consider Victory Field as
36:41
Indianapolis's
36:43
uh largest and best outdoor gathering
36:46
space.
36:49
So, certainly downtown, right? Yeah,
36:51
community, bringing people together, all
36:53
walks of life, just come and have a good
36:55
time, leave their worries at the door,
36:58
um come on in, have a good time. So,
37:00
community from that perspective, yeah.
37:02
Uh we've been around since 1902. We are
37:05
Indy's original home team. Uh you'll see
37:08
that as that rolls out in 2026 and
37:10
beyond or you'll lean heavily into that.
37:13
That's not knocking any other sports
37:15
teams or we've just been around longer.
37:16
It is And this is we've been around.
37:18
Yeah, yeah, there's been professional
37:19
baseball in Indianapolis since 1887, but
37:22
as our franchise is constituted 1902 is
37:25
what our historical record is date back
37:27
to. So, we're going to lean heavily into
37:28
that. So, if you've been around that
37:30
long, you're woven within the fabric of
37:32
the community sure for 124 years. It's
37:36
our 124 seasons. So, um big part of
37:39
that. Uh we've just gone through an
37:41
internal strategic plan operation and we
37:44
heard and and most of that
37:47
uh was interviewing our staff and and a
37:50
big piece of that was people culture,
37:52
but also was community and how we want
37:55
to invest in the community, be a part of
37:57
the community. And with that as well in
37:59
2019, we introduced Indianapolis Indians
38:02
Charities, which is our charitable arm,
38:04
which is focused on giving back to the
38:06
community. So, you bring all that
38:08
together, it's huge in what we do, it's
38:10
how we get to touch people. That's how
38:12
Rowdy, our mascot, helps keep us top of
38:15
mind. Um this time of year when there's
38:17
snow on the ground or whatever else is
38:19
happening, he's still out at schools,
38:21
he's still at parades, he's still doing
38:23
all other comics. I know parades now,
38:24
but he's out about doing all kinds of
38:27
things in the community. And
38:30
that ends up becoming a sales tool as
38:32
well. And
38:34
but it's genuine with what we want to
38:36
do. We want to give back, we want to be
38:37
a part of we want to make Indianapolis
38:39
and Central Indiana a better place
38:41
to live, work, and play, and to be an
38:43
amenity to people.
38:45
People are going to come root us on.
38:47
Hopefully they do to a championship, but
38:48
it's not like the NBA finals or the
38:51
Super Bowl, but to come in and enjoy
38:54
what Indianapolis has to offer and what
38:56
Victory Field has to offer and how we
38:58
interact with people and how we can give
39:00
back both financially, but also with our
39:03
time and with our talents,
39:06
with our staff and how we volunteered,
39:08
who we partner with through our
39:09
charitable foundation. Those are all
39:10
That's being a good
39:12
a good citizen. We want our organization
39:14
to be that and we have been.
39:16
We want to continue to strengthen that.
39:17
Not many people can say they've been
39:19
doing it since the 1800s and 1902
39:21
documented. And so, you know, we talked
39:23
community, we talked baseball, we talked
39:25
all those things. Let's talk a little
39:26
bit of fun. Okay. Right? So,
39:29
if you're not working and you're not at
39:31
an Indians game, do you know what what's
39:33
fun? What are you doing? Uh before I got
39:35
a little old,
39:36
I consider myself a retired
39:39
adult recreational hockey player.
39:42
I loved it.
39:44
I got beat up and banged up a little
39:45
bit. I wasn't very good. I still had the
39:47
hand-eye coordination from being a
39:49
baseball player. This year I I skated
39:51
like I ran, which wasn't very well.
39:53
Um but really enjoyed that for
39:57
I went in and never really played I'd
39:59
never played organized hockey. I'd play
40:01
I'd pick up on a pond, but I wouldn't
40:02
with my best buddy from college and we
40:05
saw we would go to the stick and puck at
40:08
at a local ice rink and there was a
40:10
flyer about hey, join a league and we
40:12
looked at each other and said, let's do
40:13
it. And that was
40:15
scary thinking I had the equipment on.
40:18
Um and you learn how to do that. You get
40:21
out there and you just you just learn,
40:23
and it was a lot of fun. Um so, I did
40:25
it. Oh, and I'm retired. Um
40:27
Currently, I live in Noblesville.
40:28
Okay. Um my wife and I live up on Morse
40:30
Reservoir, and uh that's something that
40:32
when we get a free moment, I work in the
40:34
summer. You might see me down at a lot
40:35
of baseball games.
40:37
But uh when we do get a free moment,
40:39
whether it's with friends, with family,
40:40
or just the two of us, that has become
40:42
our go-to and uh something that uh we
40:45
try to get out on the water as much as
40:46
we can. Awesome. Yeah.
40:48
Randy, great story. Cool to hear about
40:50
the Indians. And again, you know, in the
40:52
experience business, creating
40:54
experiences for families, and creating
40:55
opportunities for Indianapolis. Thanks
40:58
for your story. It was good to have you
40:58
on the show with you, but Appreciate it
41:00
very much, and enjoyed getting to know
41:01
you, and
41:02
uh it's been a pleasure to be on with
41:03
you. Thank you. You bet. Thank you.