Alumni Profile: Zach Lowenberg '15, Baltimore Orioles, Analyst Major League Strategy

We sat down with Zach Lowenberg '15 over the summer to talk about his career (Orioles, Analyst Major League Strategy) and the impact of his experience at Friends for the most recent edition of Friends Magazine. At the time of the interview, Lowenberg worked with the Houston Astros' as their Advanced Scouting Coordinator. 

How he got here: I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in sports. In 2020 I was hired as an intern by the Washington Nationals followed by another internship with the Miami Marlins in their scouting department. In early 2023, I became the Houston Astros’ advanced scouting coordinator. I thought I would be part of the day-to-day operations, but in this world you need to be flexible. These experiences will be extremely valuable; I’ll have unique perspectives that the average person may not have. Eventually, I would like to be part of the decision-making process of putting together a team and a roster. This is a long career, and my goals might not happen for 15 to 20 years. Short-term, I'm really enjoying the moment and learning as much as I can. 

Current Job: My job is to help prepare the hitting coaches and the players for upcoming opponents, which means I spend time learning and studying opposing pitchers and producing reports and information prior to the game. It’s a lot of computer work, watching videos, and putting together scouting reports. Then there’s the communication element of working with the coaches and players to fill them in on all potential things that could be helpful. It’s a combination of analytics, statistics, and scouting and such a unique opportunity. You have to be versatile and understand the people you're working with to provide them what can be most useful. 

Impact of Friends School: Part of the Quaker SPICES (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, Stewardship) is being empathetic and understanding of the people around you. Given the high-octane and intense environment of professional sports, understanding people on a psychological and emotional level allows me to find the best way to help players and be supportive. Meeting for Worship’s [lessons on] being present and reflective are extremely valuable skills to develop. I travel constantly, so allowing myself to take a breath and understand where I am in the moment and enjoy it has been paramount for me. 

Friends School Teacher: When you’re 11 years old, you need a good balance of being supported and challenged. My fifth grade homeroom teacher, John Copeland, did a great job with that, and he was very passionate about sports. My Russian teacher, Ms. Roby, is someone I really enjoyed working with. The language is pretty challenging, and she knew how to get each person to maximize their abilities to grow and learn.