Hitting It Out of the Park

At Stonehill, Mark Leinweaver ’97 was a four-year baseball player, WSHL radio talk show host and Summit reporter. After he graduated, he combined his love for baseball and communications.

“I traded playing the sport for broadcasting it,” says Leinweaver, who grew up in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., and now lives in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

He worked in local sports radio in western Massachusetts and Connecticut for a while. And in 2009, he became a Major League Baseball agent for Beverly Hills Sports Council, where he works with players and their families—including members of the Red Sox and Yankees—helping with salary arbitration preparation and contract negotiation.

“My favorite part of the job is getting that call from a player telling you they’re going to the big leagues for the first time. It’s a special moment,” Leinweaver says. “The hardest part is telling a player that it’s time to turn the page.”

Leinweaver also has his own business, Perfect Playcement, where he speaks about character to student-athletes and parents. He describes it as “an honest, realistic, educational campaign offered to high school students and their families.” Via webinar, he gives a 50-minute workshop, highlighting social media dangers, the importance of volunteering, how to contact colleges and more.

“My Stonehill experience gave me an opportunity to try new things and take chances off the field and outside the classroom. I was the radio play-by-play announcer for basketball and football, wrote for the school paper and hosted my own radio sports talk show,” he recalls. “Those experiences taught me vital communications skills—both verbal and written—and to not be afraid to fail.”