MILWAUKEE — From watching games at Milwaukee’s iconic ballpark as a kid to scouting talent for the Milwaukee Brewers, Ginger Poulson’s passion for baseball started young. Today, she’s proving herself as one of the top area scouts in the Midwest.
“I got into the game by looking at all the baseball cards and going to games here with my dad,” Poulson recalls.
Walking into the ballpark now feels like a homecoming, a return to where her love for baseball began.
“Now I get to see some of the players have their own baseball cards and play on that field,” she says.
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The Wisconsin native grew up attending plenty of Brewers games, unknowingly setting the course for her career. Determined to work in Major League Baseball, she taught herself the analytical skills scouts use.
“I taught myself SQL and a little bit of R, so I would feel good enough to apply for those jobs and have some confidence,” she said.
Poulson started her professional career with the Toronto Blue Jays, but when the Brewers came calling, she couldn’t pass it up.
“When the hometown team comes calling, it’s a lot of fun,” she said.
Now, as an amateur scout for the Brewers, her mission is clear:
“My job is to find players to believe in and then convince the Brewers to believe in them too. When you get to call them and say, ‘Do you want to be a Brewer?’, it’s the coolest feeling,” said Poulson.
Covering the Midwest means a lot of travel, watching practices and games at high schools to gather information for the team before the draft.
“To make sure we have all the information by July to make the best decisions for the team,” she said.
One of her proudest moments came last year when Craig Yoho,a player she scouted, made his Major League debut.
"To now be in the big leagues two years after you were drafted and two years after pitching in college, it was just really cool and just validates that sometimes a gut feeling is there for a reason, : said Poulson.
Even with the pressures of the job, Poulson said she’s grateful for the Brewers’ supportive environment.
“We all have our part to play to put the best product on the field. I know the people around me are doing theirs and that motivates me to do mine," said Poulson.
Her advice for anyone dreaming of a career as a scout?
“You might not get the first job you apply for, in fact, you probably won’t, but if you work hard, stay open-minded, and put in the grind, there’s no reason you can’t succeed,” said Poulson.
