Given break at 22, Tyrone Brooks 'paying it forward' at Andre Dawson Classic

NEW ORLEANS -- If Tyrone Brooks needs a hook to capture the attention of the dozens of young ballplayers he speaks to every year about careers in baseball, he has the perfect name to drop: Hank Aaron.

Nearly three decades ago, Brooks, who at that time had recently graduated from the University of Maryland and was looking to work in the baseball industry, applied to join a newly formed "career initiative program," geared toward helping young people obtain that first big break.

The program was sponsored by the Atlanta Braves -- and created by Aaron himself.

"They gave me the opportunity, and [it] changed the entire course of my life," Brooks said.

Today, Brooks spends a lot of his time, in his words, "paying it forward." As Major League Baseball's senior director of front office and field staff diversity pipeline program, Brooks works tirelessly throughout the year to reach young people who are interested in careers in baseball, but need help figuring out how to get there.

This weekend in New Orleans, seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) plus the University of New Orleans will participate in the 15th annual Andre Dawson Classic. Alongside the tournament, there is another important element that takes place behind the scenes -- facetime with Brooks, who gives a brief but meaningful presentation to the players about life, and work, after their playing days are over.

• Andre Dawson Classic opens Friday on MLB Network

"The opportunity to get in front of this group is so important, that they know there is a career for them available within MLB," Brooks said. "The options are there."

These talks started the prior weekend in Houston, during the Astros' all-HBCU Cactus Jack tournament that took place at Minute Maid Park. He finished up with the teams who did not participate in that event on Thursday in New Orleans.

Since MLB's Diversity Pipeline Program began in 2016, nearly 500 young people have obtained jobs in the industry, ranging from fellowships to internships to full-time employment. Brooks' messaging is definitive -- baseball jobs aren't limited to what's happening on the field. Opportunities exist everywhere, in business and baseball operations.

"There's an opportunity to stay involved in the sport," Brooks said, while speaking to players from the University of New Orleans. "This game is basically in your DNA. You've been playing this game for so long. You know the game inside and out. Add that to what you've been doing academically, and just who you are as people, that's the recipe we're looking for to be part of our game."

Brooks encourages players to keep their resumes fresh, to join LinkedIn and be active on their individual page, and to take him up on his offer to help. This is coming from a very sincere place -- Brooks will look at anyone's resume who asks. The Baseball Industry Networking page on LinkedIn that he formed in 2009 is now up to more than 40,000 members.

"One thing you're going to find -- you cannot do this all by yourself," Brooks said during one of his presentations Thursday. "There have to be people along the way -- staff, coaches -- who can assist you. And there's people you can meet and connect with and make positive impressions. It only takes one person to believe in you, and that's how you get started. And then it's about what you do with it from there."

The Braves' career initiative program all those years ago planted the seed for Brooks, who, at 22, was hired as the club's administrative assistant of scouting and player development. In 10 years with Atlanta, he worked his way up to director roles in the baseball operations and baseball administration departments. Before joining the Commissioner's Office, he spent one year scouting for Cleveland and six years in the Pirates' organization, also in baseball operations.

Without the Braves' pipeline program in the mid-1990s -- an initiative also supported by then-Braves executive Stan Kasten and Rubye Lucas, the widow of Bill Lucas, baseball's first Black general manager -- Brooks may never have been given that first big shot.

He wants to ensure young people today know they can find support if they look in the right places.

"That's what's it's all about -- to help someone find that place where they're wanted, and then using their skillset to see what they can bring to the table," Brooks said. "And that's opened up the door for so many women and people of color to come into our game. And that's what Hank wanted to do with that program.

"With MLB and the pipeline program, it's, 'How can we help our industry as a whole?' It just has to happen organically. It's getting people in the door, and then helping them develop and grow."