Alumnus Lands Job with Minor League Baseball Team

Eager baseball fans line up outside the stadium, with tickets in hand, to see their Daytona Tortugas play America’s favorite pastime. A familiar voice greets them over the stadium speakers, a voice also familiar to East Stroudsburg University students. A former station manager at ESU’s college radio station, Cory Nidoh ’15 greets the incoming fans and welcomes them to another baseball game at Jackie Robinson Park in Daytona Beach, Fla.

When Nidoh graduated from West Scranton High School in Scranton, Pa., he believed his baseball career ended.

“I knew my baseball days were numbered,” he said. “But I still wanted to be a part of the game.”

He found a different way to stay involved with the sport. He majored in communication studies at ESU, where his adventures in broadcasting led him to four years at WESS 90.3 and a stint as the sports writer and editor for The Stroud Courier, the student newspaper.

During his senior year, while other students worried about their impending graduation, Nidoh researched career opportunities. Then he discovered the Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings.

The Winter Meetings are an annual event. Every MLB team and their minor league affiliates meet in one location to discuss trades, transactions, and other business ventures. League executives, team owners, general managers, scouts, and people seeking employment with minor league organizations attend the meetings.

“The meetings were in Nashville that year. I went down there and applied and interviewed with anyone I could. I wanted to find a chance to broadcast, especially with a baseball team,” Nidoh said.

He waited about a month until he got a phone call from the Cincinnati Red’s Single-A Advanced team, the Daytona Tortugas.

The Tortugas, formally the Daytona Cubs, play in the Florida State League. They’re one of the more successful teams, winning six league titles since 1995 and winning four division titles in the past five years. Current Chicago Cubs third baseman, Kris Bryant, started in Daytona.

The Tortugas offered Nidoh a position that he admits forced him to step out of his comfort zone. Nidoh had gone to college about 45 minutes from his house, but now he had to move over 1,000 miles away for a new career.

“There were a lot of emotions,” Nidoh said. “It was daunting, exciting, and very scary all at once. I never really thought about moving that far, but you have to if you want these chances.”

Although the move seemed terrifying at the time, Nidoh’s experiences at ESU prepared him for the job.

“WESS and The Stroud Courier helped me a lot,” Nidoh said. “I met Dr. Rob McKenzie and noticed the passion he had for radio. I wanted to learn from someone who had as much passion as I do for broadcasting.”

Nidoh spent two years as the sports director for the radio station, allowing him to put together a broadcast team for every ESU athletic event. He also covered the play-by-play for all sports for WESS 90.3. As a part of The Stroud Courier, he was the sports editor and forum editor, which gave him the opportunity to cover Super Bowl XLVIII.

Nidoh also said his duties included “developing a relationship between the players and coaches and WESS.”

The interviews and years spent working with the radio station and the school newspaper helped Nidoh prepare for his new responsibilities.

“I do the play-by-play during home games,” Nidoh said. “I also host the pre-game and post-game shows.”

Every day is different for Nidoh. “I do the sales, prepare game notes, and manage social media,” he said. “There is a lot of preparation before a game, but it’s fun too.”

Now, as an alumnus, he brings his wisdom to the 2016 ESU graduates.

“This is for all of the broadcasting people, but I think anyone can use it,” Nidoh said. “Prepare to hear ‘no.’ Prepare for long hours and long nights. Prepare to do a lot of things that you would not expect to do. You have to find your own opportunities, no matter where they are.”

The advice relates back to Nidoh’s tedious schedule, big move, and the chances he took. Now as the play-by-play commentator for the Daytona Tortugas, Nidoh can reflect on his times at ESU. His love for baseball did not end in West Scranton. It blossomed into a distinguished career in Daytona Beach, Fla. Only time will tell where his passion for baseball and his broadcasting abilities take him next.

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