His goal? To become a GM one day

By Michael Sudhalter

Daniel Goldberg was born in Baltimore in 1998. Just a year earlier and on the opposite coast, the Oakland Athletics hired Billy Beane as their general manager (GM).

These two seemingly independent facts are undoubtedly connected.

Beane transformed professional baseball as we know it, bringing analytics into the game. It upset traditionalists at the time but ultimately changed the way that every Major League Baseball (MLB) team does business. His story was chronicled in the 2011 Oscar-nominated film “Moneyball.”

Meanwhile in 2011, Goldberg became a bar mitzvah. His youth and early adulthood revolved around a love of baseball and analytics and he never lived during a time when the two weren’t interconnected.

Goldberg, 25, has combined those two passions into a career and in May he was hired as the Texas Rangers marketing analyst. He comes to the Metroplex after working in a similar capacity for two National Football League (NFL) franchises — the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Commanders.

The Rangers have a marketing team that determines campaigns to reach fans throughout DFW and beyond.

It’s up to Goldberg to follow “correlations and trends” to see what’s working best in the franchise’s marketing campaigns.

“We try to be smart in our attempt to sell single-game tickets to get people to the ballpark,” Goldberg said. “We want to engage people on different platforms (radio, television and social media) and figure out which platforms are the most effective.”

The Rangers currently sit atop the American League West standings, which has helped the franchise grow its social media presence. The winning obviously translates to fans in the seats, but a social media presence is helpful as well.

Goldberg, who currently lives in the West Dallas/Trinity Groves area, is enamored with his new city. He’s arrived at a great time, with the Rangers set to host the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game next July at Globe Life Field.

“I absolutely love the Dallas area,” Goldberg said. “There’s so much to do here. I love the whole footprint of Arlington with all of the stadiums, Six Flags and Texas Live!”

Baltimore roots

Goldberg grew up in Ellicott City — a Baltimore suburb — the middle son of parents from the Washington, D.C. area.

As a result, Goldberg loved the Washington professional sports teams — and the Baltimore Orioles because the Washington Nationals didn’t arrive until 2005, when he was 7 years old.

Goldberg was already committed as an O’s fan but he still enjoys the Nationals. He found it interesting that the Rangers originated as the Washington Senators before moving to DFW in 1972.

Goldberg’s grandfather has shared with him fond memories of attending Senators games in the nation’s capital.

Goldberg became a bar mitzvah at Temple Isaiah in Fulton, Maryland — another Baltimore suburb.

“I enjoyed going to services growing up,” Goldberg said. “It was nice to do that growing up. We spent Jewish holidays with my family members and I learned about my roots. Becoming a bar mitzvah gave me a lot of confidence, which has helped make me who I am today.”

Goldberg made long-lasting relationships at Hebrew school and at Camp Airy in Thurmont, Maryland — a Jewish overnight camp that he attended for five summers.

“My mother ran the post office at Camp Airy when my brothers and I were campers there,” Goldberg said. “My older brother attended the camp for 10 years and has worked there for nine years.”

Road to sports marketing

Goldberg pitched and played second base at Howard High School in Ellicott City, but he realized that his long-term chances of working in sports would be in the front office, not on the field itself.

He interned with a professor at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and chose Purdue University for college.

At Purdue, Goldberg interned with the Athletic Department at the Big Ten Conference university in West Lafayette, Indiana. He worked with 11 different NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I teams and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in communications and a certificate in entrepreneurship.

Goldberg was interning at Purdue during his junior year when the Boilermakers routed then-#2 Ohio State, 49-20. The football game was special for all Boilermakers because Purdue student and superfan Tyler Trent predicted the victory.

Trent, who was battling cancer at the time, lost his hard-fought battle to cancer a few months later at age 20.

“We tied that game back to Tyler Trent, a strong human who really meant a lot to Purdue University,” Goldberg said. “Everything he did represented what being a Boilermaker was meant to be.”

Goldberg graduated from Purdue in May 2020 amid the
COVID-19 pandemic. Facing a challenging job market, Goldberg decided to pursue a master’s degree in sports industry management at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Due to COVID-19, Goldberg took all of his classes online and completed the program in 2022.

During his time at Georgetown, Goldberg worked for the Commanders — first in public relations, then in analytics.

He was then hired to work in analytics for the Cleveland Browns.

Making the shift to baseball

Football and baseball are two of the most popular spectator sports in the United States, but they are vastly different in terms of how fans choose to attend.

Football has far fewer games and the majority of those who attend are season ticket holders.

Baseball has to fill 81 home dates, albeit in smaller stadiums. Baseball teams have much smaller numbers of season ticket holders compared to their football counterparts.

Goldberg said the length of a baseball season is much more conducive to making a change in a marketing plan.

“You can spot a trend during a 10-game homestand and implement it by the next homestand,” Goldberg said.

In the NFL, the adjustment might not be possible until the following season.

Goldberg said his career goal is to become an MLB general manager. He loves to speak to college classes to emphasize the importance of analytics, networking and internships.

He recommends earning a degree in business or computer science and then applying it to sports.

“Analytics is a field that will continue to grow,” Goldberg said. “I’m involved with an organization called ‘Living Sport’ that is tailored to college juniors and seniors to help them enter the sports industry. A lot of people helped me get to where I am and I want to start giving back.”