IC Alumna Becomes First Latina General Manager in Minor League Baseball

By Laura Ilioaei ’23, October 27, 2022

Veronica Hernandez ’13 scores big role with team.

From left to right: Lesley Cantu, community relations manager; Connor Skustad, operations manager; Al the Almond, mascot; Veronica Hernandez, general manager; Shelley the Pistachio, mascot; Chris Fleischmann, director of ticket sales; Wally the Walnut, mascot; Dawson Wright, digital content manager.

The National Associate of Professional Baseball Leagues—now known as Minor League Baseball—dates to 1901, and currently supports 120 teams across the United States and Canada. Throughout all those years, none of the teams has ever had a Latina general manager — until Veronica Hernandez ’13 came along. On May 11, 2022, Hernandez was named General Manager (GM) of the Modesto Nuts, the Class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, and part of the California League that has been around since 1941.

It was a well-earned honor for Hernandez, whose passion for working in sports was apparent when she was a student at Ithaca College. A sport media major, she also served as the event manager and secretary of the men’s club basketball team as well as the photographer for the sport event networking club.

“I love all sports. I’m a very active person, and love going to sporting events, and trying and learning new things,” she said. “I started applying to jobs in the industry as far back as November prior to my graduation, and it was very difficult to get a job in sports, and have an entity trust a fresh graduate.”

She had applied to jobs in soccer, football, mixed martial arts, and any other athletics opportunities she found. In February of 2015, she started to research opportunities to start a master’s program as a potential fall-back position.

Veronica Hernandez ’13, was named General Manager (GM) of the Modesto Nuts, the Class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, and part of the California League.

“I had some internships at IC and an internship at Cornell, and some smaller entities, but nothing at the professional level,” Hernandez said. “So, I started looking into those positions, and that time happened to be the prime hiring season for baseball organizations.”

Hernandez embarked on a career journey not unlike that of a baseball player attempting to rise through the ranks of the sport. First, she secured a position with the Danbury Westerners, a collegiate summer baseball team in Danbury, Connecticut. From there, she worked for the Hudson Valley Renegades, the short-season affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays at the time. Next came a position with the Arkansas Travelers Baseball Club, a Double-A affiliate of the Mariners, and the Lancaster JetHawks, a Class High-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, before becoming Modesto’s Director of Marketing and Promotions in 2018. She was named Assistant General Manager in January 2022, before being promoted to her current role.

“Getting into the sports industry is hard enough in itself,” said Hernandez. “Everyone has different paths; most of the time you have to make the opportunity for yourself."

As the GM, Hernandez covers a wide range of responsibilities including directing the organization’s financial goals, objectives, and budgets in conjunction with the Mariners and other executives to ensure alignment with the Nuts’ vision and policies. She also develops and maintains relationships with sponsors, season ticket holders, and local government officials, and others who could benefit the organization.

In addition to those traditional duties, she serves as a critical conduit to the community. Approximately 48% of the population in Modesto identifies as Hispanic or Latino, and when she started she was the only full-time Spanish speaker on staff — now there are three. Hernandez helps to bridge language and cultural gaps in familial, business, and other communities. During her time with the team, she’s worked diligently to expand the influence of the organization by going to outside events where she could speak about the Nuts in Spanish.

“I remember a couple of professors at Ithaca College in my freshmen year would go around the room and ask the student, ‘What do you want to do?’ and a couple of people were very specific: ‘I want to be the GM of the Boston Red Sox.’ I think that’s putting closed doors on you. Always being open to an opportunity is only going to build success for your career."

Veronica Hernandez

“Grass roots and word of mouth is the core of marketing,” she said. “I am fortunate to have the opportunity to do it in two languages. I am able to hear from the community and implement change from there.”

Throughout her rise, Hernandez’s experiences at IC, coupled with her subsequent experiences in health, education, and finance before going into sports, provided her with the resiliency and perseverance to push onwards.

“I remember a couple of professors at Ithaca College in my freshmen year would go around the room and ask the student, ‘What do you want to do?’ and a couple of people were very specific: ‘I want to be the GM of the Boston Red Sox,’” she said. “I think that’s putting closed doors on you. Always being open to an opportunity is only going to build success for your career.

“The more I grow as an individual, I realize that the saying of ‘the grass is greener on the other side of the fence’ is incomplete,” Hernandez continued. “I think you make the grass what you want it to be. So, if it’s dirt, how can you make that grow grass? And if it’s grass, how do you make it greener? You need to push through and make it what you want it to be.”

Hernandez also never let racism or sexism serve as barriers to her professional success.

“If [racism and sexism] was the cause of me not getting a position, I never wanted it at the forefront of my mind, because once you get into that mentality, it is very difficult for you to mentally jump over that hurdle,” she said. “You’re closing that door on yourself and the first step in sports, whether on the athletic or business side of things, is making sure you have that confidence in yourself to perform at the level you need to perform.”