Cortez is a rookie with the Nuts, but not in life

Minor League Baseball is full of front office rookies, those who are working their debut season in the industry. Mary Cortez is one of them and, to get there, took a far more circuitous path than most.

For three decades Cortez was on the road for six months a year, visiting Catholic Churches throughout California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon on behalf of a company that produced church bulletins. That job ended during COVID, and she transitioned to working as a home health aide and then for an automobile auction house. As 2024 began, while at an age when most people are slowing down, Cortez plunged headlong into the latest and perhaps unlikeliest chapter of her long professional career:

Marketing manager for the Modesto Nuts, the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

“Every day I’m learning something different, and I’m enjoying it,” said Cortez, speaking during a game at Modesto’s John Thurman Field in May. “I’m no spring chicken. I’ve been around for a long time.”

Cortez is an anomaly within the Nuts’ front office and in the Minor Leagues at large, as new full-time employees are far more likely to be in their 20s. It’s a great industry in which to metaphorically wear many hats, taking on a variety of responsibilities that help clarify future career goals. But it’s also described, near universally, as a grind. Long hours over the course of long homestands may result in fatigue and burnout; work-life balance can be a problem.

Cortez acknowledges the challenges but does so while exuding cheerfulness and positivity.

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“What’s hard is you’re learning something new all the time, figuring out how the whole thing works like a piece of the puzzle,” she said. “You’re putting it all together and you’ve got a million pieces.”

Prior to the pandemic, when she was still in the church bulletin business and traveling often, Cortez began working for the Nuts as a gameday employee stationed at the guest services desk. She’d always been a fan of the team, once arriving at the ballpark with her family at 6 a.m. for a Rickey Henderson bobblehead giveaway, so why not work for them? It was in this part-time capacity that she got to know Nuts general manager Veronica Hernandez, whose first season with the team was in 2019.

“What’s important about guest services is that you have a consistent person, because the changes that happen on a day-to-day basis are immense,” said Hernandez. “It was really nice when she became consistent for me, grabbing things quickly and learning new things.”

The two stayed in touch and, after Cortez became a proverbial free agent, Hernandez reached out about the Nuts’ marketing manager role.

“With her experience and the way [the Nuts’] marketing department shaped out, it was ‘Hey, Mary, you’d be perfect because you understand print and traditional marketing,’” said Hernandez. “We have a digital content manager [Chris Estrada], so I needed someone to focus on getting our name out there in the traditional marketing sense. I found the perfect person with great experience that wanted to work with us.

“She’s retirement age!” added Hernandez with a laugh. “She doesn’t have to do this. It’s really good energy. It’s someone with a wealth of life knowledge, so it’s really nice to be able to talk to her about life and what’s important, understanding some of the judgment calls that I have to make as a general manager. She gets it because she’s seen it all.”

Cortez acknowledges that the job can be overwhelming at times, that there are “good days and bad days.” Whether it’s reaching out to media contacts, learning the intricacies of a new computer program, getting to know the players or figuring out the logistics of a ballpark birthday party, every day brings something new.

“I remember growing up and my mom saying, ‘Do this or do that,’ and [my reaction] was, ‘You’re old, you don’t know anything,’” said Cortez, who now has a different perspective. “I know a lot, and young people don’t always appreciate that. So I had to make sure that what I brought to the table was okay, but it takes a lot. I don’t know what they know. They’re quicker, more aware of things. I haven’t been in this field. [Baseball] has not been my life. It’s been my pleasure, my hobby.”

Ultimately, she said, it comes down to this: “Enjoy what you do, that’s the main thing. I enjoy this, the good, the bad and the ugly. That’s how life is. It’s always good. You just have to keep going.”