“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.” – “Field of Dreams”
For over 186 years, baseball has been a constant. Ever since I can remember, baseball has been a part of my life, too. From falling asleep after a long day listening to Jon Miller broadcasting for the Giants in the car with my Dad, my Angels rally monkey or having to choose between “mommy’s team” (the Angels) and “daddy’s team” (the Giants) when it came to choosing which napkins to set the table with. To the family rivalry between the Dodgers and Giants, being a baseball sister and playing softball for 10 years myself – it’s true that a diamond is a girl’s best friend, my best friend.
Fast forward 20 years—I’ve grown up and so has my love for the sport. Even though I took off my cleats for the last time my senior year of high school, I’ve realized that I never really could leave the game behind. Since then I’ve taken my passion for sports and channeled it by working in sports. I’ve become quite the woman in sports so to say, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ve hit the ground running doing everything I could to get involved in the sports world. I started as a sports reporter for our campus radio station and later joined the student-led NIL organization, Oregon Accelerator. I also became a founding member of Oregon Women in Sports Communications, where we created a space for women to network and learn from industry professionals. Through my internships with the University of Oregon Athletic Department and the collegiate summer ball team, Orange County Riptide, I’ve seen how much more there is to baseball beyond the scoreboard. Game promotions, fan engagement strategies, media relations and player branding—these are the stories behind the stories.
This blog, “The Business of Baseball PR”, will dive into the fascinating intersection where baseball, business and communication meet. I’ll explore how effective public relations strategies fuel attendance, drive fan loyalty, shape player narratives and impact team brands—from the major leagues down to collegiate and summer ball. Drawing from my hands-on experience learning by doing—planning game-day promotions, leading NIL-focused campaigns for student-athletes and creating marketing strategies for summer league baseball—I aim to share a real-world perspective from someone who is growing in the industry, not just studying it from afar.
I chose this topic because I’ve seen firsthand that baseball isn’t just a sport—it’s a brand, a community and a business. PR has the power to elevate that business by building emotional connections between fans and teams. It’s what makes someone proudly wear a jersey, defend their team on social media, or bring their family to a ballpark summer after summer. Or in my case, to hand-sew custom napkins to have at dinner, or to raise their kids to be diehard fans.
In this blog, you can expect real examples, insider insights, breakdowns of trending campaigns, and commentary on where baseball PR is headed next. Whether it’s the latest MLB social media trend, a creative collegiate marketing strategy, or the impact of NIL deals on player branding, I’ll break it all down with a voice that’s professional, honest and passionate about the game.
Baseball has always marked the time. Now, it’s time to pull back the curtain—and see how public relations helps keep the magic alive. It’s time to play ball.
Elizabeth Dunning 
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