Ganter Takes on Groundbreaking Role with Pirates

It’s not Iowa, it’s Pittsburgh. And it’s not the famed “Field of Dreams,” it’s PNC Park.

But for State College native Chris Ganter, working for the Pittsburgh Pirates is truly a dream come true.

Ganter was recently hired by the Pirates. He is the manager of youth baseball initiatives. The position is a new one with the longtime National League club.

“The Pirates are really on the forefront of wanting to get out in the community in western Pennsylvania and increase (youth baseball) participation numbers,” Ganter said. “My job is really the first of its kind with the Pirates. It’s pretty cool. I get to do a lot of great things. I’m extremely excited.”

Ganter’s position is part of Major League Baseball’s “Play Ball!” initiative. With participation numbers in youth baseball dropping, the MLB is trying to turn that around.

“Numbers have been dropping across the board, especially in inner cities and minority communities. That made people sit up and take note and try to figure out what’s going on. This is a major initiative by Major League Baseball. We want to make the sport fun again for kids and do anything we can to make that happen,” Ganter said.

Ganter — a State College Area High School and Penn State University graduate — grew up cheering on the Pittsburgh Pirates.

To call PNC Park his office? Well, it doesn’t get much better than that, he said.

“This is a dream job for someone like me. I’ve always loved Major League Baseball, baseball in general. Even though I played football in college, there’s always been something about baseball that attracts me. I’ve always followed the Pirates very closely.”

For Ganter, the road to PNC Park wasn’t exactly a smooth one.

The State High grad, of course, played quarterback at Penn State. At Penn State, he was a three-year letterman and a three-time academic All-Big Ten. He was also selected as the Ridge Riley Award recipient, which is presented annually to “the senior member of the football team who best displays sportsmanship, scholarship, leadership, and friendship.”

At Penn State, he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and completed his MBA in 2007.

He had a few jobs after graduation, including working for Merrill Lynch in New York in its Global Markets division. He also worked for Sun Life Financial Distributors in Boston. He then started his own company, Go2Athlete.

Most recently, he was working in California in the music industry. However, he had his sights set on a return home.

“I started thinking about a move back East and I started (job) searching and looked at the Pirates. I happened to find this. It was absolutely perfect for me, my background and what I wanted to be doing,” Ganter said.

He said he feels right at home in Pittsburgh.

“I really enjoyed New York City and Los Angeles, but I really love Pittsburgh. It’s a big city, but it has a certain small-town feel in a way and I really like that. I knew that coming in, but I’ve realized it more and more the longer I’ve been here,” Ganter said.

His job with the Pirates takes him throughout the city and into the suburbs. There are so many facets to the job, he said, and he loves each and every one.

“The best part? That’s really hard to narrow down. I feel lucky every day and I never once take it for granted. Getting to walk into PNC Park and try to find ways to get kids interested in baseball? That’s about as cool of a thing as I can be doing with my time, I think.”

For as long as he can remember, Ganter has loved sports. After what he described as a “cup of coffee” on Wall Street and a foray into the entertainment world, Ganter kept coming back to sports.

When he’d watch a game on television or in the stands, the love of the game would come back to him.

“I’d be watching sports and I’d think, ‘I should be doing something there.’ Football or baseball, I felt like that was where I belonged. To actually be able to make it happen is very special,” he said.

And while Ganter loves Pittsburgh, his heart will always be in State College. He still makes it back to town quite frequently.

“I love State College,” he said. “It will always be my home.”

Ganter said that working with children is about the most rewarding occupation there is.

“There have been a couple of times I’ve seen something just light up a kid’s face. It can be something as simple as getting a really cool bat or glove,” Ganter said. “There are so many things that bring back memories of when I was a kid. That’s been really special for me.”