Eve Rosenbaum bobblehead night celebrates her influential baseball career

Eve Rosenbaum speaking to Big Train players before the game. (Esther Frances)

In the Rosenbaum household, MLB opening day was a school holiday, whether or not the school agreed. Love for baseball runs deep in the Rosenbaum family, and that love led Eve Rosenbaum up through the sport to become the highest ranking female executive in major league baseball.

Eve is the assistant general manager of the Baltimore Orioles and a key executor of the Orioles’ massive turnaround in recent years. She may be one of only a few women in the highest levels of the sport, but for Eve that’s nothing new. She grew up playing on boys' baseball and soccer teams, not thinking about how she was different, but rather always striving to play her best. 

“I never really thought about the fact that I was the only girl around because I was better than a lot of the boys, so it just was who I was. I was playing hard,” Eve said. “That's translated into my job where I don't sit there and think about how I'm the only woman in the room. I think about what's the decision that’s needed for this team.”

Lately those decisions have involved the big names in the Orioles organization, but before Eve was a big shot in the big leagues, she was a Big Train volunteer. She made her homecoming Friday night and was honored at the Big Train game with her own bobblehead.

Back when Eve was a little leaguer, she worked the old hand-operated scoreboard for the Big Train. Along with that hands-on experience, Eve was also introduced to baseball analytics from an early age. When she was thirteen, her parents gifted her a membership to the Society for Baseball Research for her bat mitzvah.

Eve went on to play softball at Walt Whitman High School and Harvard. In college, she got her first taste of working in professional baseball interning with the Boston Red Sox. She then worked for the NFL for a few years before returning to baseball to work in international scouting for the Houston Astros. In 2019, she landed back with her hometown team, the Orioles.

Growing up in Bethesda with her baseball-loving parents set Eve on her future career path.

“Both of my parents are huge baseball fans, and so they always tell me that I knew how to throw before I knew how to walk,” Eve said. “I think I definitely got the love of baseball from my parents, and that’s what encouraged me to keep playing and get an internship and work in baseball.”

Eve Rosenbaum with her parents, Greg and Marti, and Big Train president and founder Bruce Adams. (Esther Frances)

Eve’s father, Greg, is the co-principal owner of the Dayton Dragons, the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The Dragons have the longest consecutive sellout streak by a professional sports team — 1,543 games as of Friday — in large part due to their focus on the fan experience. They put on skits between innings and have giveaways with priority given to season ticket holders, unlike most professional sports teams, which operate on a first-come, first-served basis.

Greg’s career path started with little league, similarly to Eve, but unlike her, he wasn’t a gifted athlete.

“I wasn't very good,” Greg said. “I'm not athletic, but I had a love for the game that the little league recognized. So when I turned 15, they asked me to stop playing and start managing.”

From little league manager to now minor league owner, Greg established himself in the baseball world, and his daughter Eve is doing the same. As Eve reaches the heights of the sport, she’ll always remember that her first experience working in baseball was as a volunteer with the Bethesda Big Train. After her bobblehead giveaway Friday night, a new generation of baseball fans was inspired by Eve and her impressive career. 

"A bobblehead is a sign that you've made it," Eve said.

Eve has certainly etched her name in the baseball history books, and now her likeness is immortalized as well in the community where she and her family nurtured their love of baseball.