Gator Baseball Alum a Major Player in MLB Field

The 2013 MLB World Series was one to remember as the team of bearded Boston Red Sox players reclaimed their city after the Boston marathon bombings. David Ross was a member of that champion team, but many may not realize he’s also a former Gator player and is represented by Sports One, an athlete management company with an office in Gainesville.

Ryan Gleichowski, a certified Major League Baseball Players Association (MLB-PA) agent and co-founder of Sports One Athlete Management, Inc., has been representing players since he and partner Marc Pollack began the company in 1999. Since then, agent Doug Rogalski joined Sports One in 2009 and Myles Shoda in 2014.

In describing the company’s model, Gleichowski said, “Our clients focus on playing baseball, which is what they do best. We focus on managing their careers, which is what we do best.”

Gleichowski, whose family has settled down in Gainesville even though Sports One operates nationally, got his start in the baseball world while playing Division 1 baseball at UF alongside David Ross and David Eckstein.

“I was always interested in player negotiations and contracts and was fortunate enough to have David Ross give me the opportunity to represent him right after college,” he said.

“That’s where it all began; he was the first player I represented.”

Sports One may vie in the ever-competitive sports world, but the business is built around core val- ues like honesty and integrity that drive the relationships with their players.

World Series champion David Ross agreed. “I think the main comfort I get from Sports One is I trust them,” he said. “Trust is very important in our business. I feel like we are one big family, and we all want what is best for each other.”

David Ross isn’t the only famous major-leaguer that Sports One represents. Its roster of represented players includes 2006 World Series MVP David Eckstein (also a former Gator), Anthony Rizzo (Chicago Cubs), 2012 MLB All Star Ian Desmond (Washington Nationals), Jonathan Lucroy (Milwau- kee Brewers), Charlie Blackmon (Colorado Rock- ies) and AJ Ramos (Miami Marlins).

Services provided by Sports One range from contract negotiations and salary arbitration to tax plan- ning, financial and business counseling and charity management. They also manage and negotiate marketing and endorsement deals that major league players often encounter and assist the athletes in developing their own brand.

Currently the firm represents about 35 players and has grossed more than $80 million in baseball contracts over the past two seasons.

“I am very blessed to be able to work in an in- dustry that combines my love for baseball and my passion for representing players and providing them with elite level service,” Gleichowski said.

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