April 5, 2001

If getting paid to watch baseball sounds like your idea of a perfect job, meet Josh Oshinsky '00 who says his job is "a dream come true." Oshinsky is a production assistant at Major League Baseball (MLB) Productions in New York City. He views all American and National League baseball games to gather highlights for the television shows This Week in Baseball and Baseball Max. "They basically pay me to watch baseball," he says. "When I came for the interview, I stepped into the elevator and saw it was a batter's box. I knew this was the place for me."

A self-proclaimed "huge" Mets fan, Oshinsky was in the Mets clubhouse the night the team beat the Cardinals to clinch a spot in the World Series. "It has to be one of the top 10 nights of my life." He helped produce the video highlights of the "Subway Series," the World Series games between the Mets and the Yankees. "To be in New York during the Subway Series was a special experience. To work here during that was unbelievable. I went to all the World Series games. It was work-related."

One of the perks of working for MLB is a free season pass to all MLB games for Oshinsky and a guest. "One of the coolest things about my job is the League pass. I can go to any game and sit in any empty seat." But, he adds, "The best part of the job is going along when we do (video) shoots in the field. We hang out with the players for the day, and see what they're like off the field. We have to capture their personalities. I got to hang out with (Mets catcher) Mike Piazza. You're trying to act cool, but it's like, 'That's Mike Piazza!'"

Oshinsky got his start in baseball in Little League and never stopped. In high school he played 100 games a summer on various Long Island travel teams, one of which took him to Italy to play Italian pro teams. He was also a pitcher for the Leopards team. "I've been a fan for as long as I remember. Baseball has been a large part of my life."

An English major with a concentration in theater, he had internships with local television station WFMZ Channel 69, Lafayette's athletic communications office, Inside Edition newsmagazine television show, and MLB Radio, a small start-up company that provides Internet radio coverage of MLB baseball. "I knew that I wanted to be in TV," he says. "Lafayette gave me a great foundation" with strong verbal and written communication skills "which are the keys to working in the field. The technical terms (in television production) you can pick up later."

In addition to playing baseball at college, Oshinsky acted in 10 plays and directed a production his senior year. He was a co-winner of the I. Clinton Kline Prize as a senior for excellence in theater and public speaking. "Drama and baseball were the two big passions in my life in high school and Lafayette provided the opportunity to do both." He singled out Michael O'Neill, director of College Theater, as a big help. "He was both a teacher and a good friend. He made my time at Lafayette that much more worthwhile."

Interviewed just as the MLB season was starting, Oshinsky says he'll be extremely busy through October. But with 150 people in the office, "There's always someone to talk about baseball with."