HOUSTON — In her new role as director of player development for the Houston Astros, Sara Goodrum isn’t focused on shattering glass ceilings. Instead, she said her goal is to make positive impacts throughout the organization.
“I want to stay focused on showing up every day and being present where my feet are today. “I truly believe that good things happen as you continue to do that and work hard,” Goodrum said on Wednesday. “I always just try to stay focused with the job because I love what I do. And I'm incredibly fortunate to be able to work in baseball.”
Goodrum is now one of the highest ranking women executives in baseball, joining the Astros after serving as the Milwaukee Brewers’ minor league hitting coordinator.
“I owe so much to Milwaukee. The Brewers organization is an incredible organization to work for and they supported me so much over the last five seasons,” said Goodrum. “The staff that work in player development … genuinely love to help people. I really learned that in Milwaukee and I'm excited to bring that mentality and mindset to the staff here in Houston.”
Before becoming the Brewers’ minor league hitting coordinator, she spent three seasons as the team’s integrative sports performance coordinator. Goodrum, who played Division I softball at the University of Oregon and got her master’s degree in exercise and sports science from the University of Utah, said she grew up a sports fan, watching “basically any sport that was possibly out there,” often seeing women reporting on the sidelines or hosting game coverage.
“I was always exposed to seeing women in sports. I think that that's been such a huge driving factor of me being able to have confidence,” Goodrum said. “I love sports. This is the industry I want to work in.”
Asked about what being a woman in this role means to her, she said she’s usually so engrossed in the day-to-day duties of the job that she doesn’t take a look at the big picture. Goodrum said she’s excited to see “a lot of positive things happening” across the sports industry.
“I've just found that when you get in a room with people that think different and provide different views and perspectives, regardless of gender, race, or any of those matters, you can do some really special things,” said Goodrum. “I just continue to get excited about the sports industry in general and the way that it's going.”
She said she channels that passion into her new job, which she calls a “really big transition.”
“A lot of the job right now entails getting to know people, getting to know how the organization operates. I'm going to continue to do that moving forward,” said Goodrum. “Every day, I wake up right now and it's a new day for me where I'm learning something new. That's going to continue throughout the season.”
That season is slated to begin later this month when the Astros start spring training.