Broomall Resident Makes His Name In The Sports World

Nothing could ever sway Jeff Randazzo away. Not the bumpy, nasty, cramped bus rides in the minor leagues. Or a near fatal car crash that tore apart a budding career. The 1999 Cardinal O’Hara graduate who grew up in was always in love with baseball.

That affection was challenged in many ways along Randazzo’s ride since he was a fourth-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins who signed right out of high school. But he’s always come back to the game, in some form or another. At 29, Randazzo finds his connection today as a conduit to Major League Baseball players and their respective teams, working as an agent for the Warner Company, which is based in Maryland.

He’s invested in a lifestyle job, the type that puts him on the road four to six months a year, taking him everywhere from Cape Cod and Maine, to San Diego and Chicago. It’s a nonstop existence–all in quest of finding and luring the next great one. It’s also a cut-throat business, where prime agents often swoop down and steal clients from smaller agents.

But Randazzo wouldn’t want it any other way. He’s always been enthralled by the chase and challenges.

“That’s this business,” Randazzo said, “I’ve been in six years and it typically takes nine to 12 years to get established in this business. It’s not easy. The lifespan of a player is only so long, and I think what I lend to that is I’m not much older than these guys. I know what they’re going through, and what the younger guys in the minors will face up ahead."

He continued, reflecting on the thought of fresh agents coming up in the sports world, “You’re recruiting against tough, tough competition going up against household names like the Scott Borases of the world. I had no 'big leaguers' when I started at 23, and here I am now with 40 players, 10 of which are on 40-man rosters."

But his years of hard work to put his name out there is showing. "Through time, my reputation is growing. It is highly competitive," said Randazzo. "You have a process where you have a few elements of recruiting, competing against top guys, and with minor league guys where there is a lot of cutthroat that goes on. You have to maintain your relationships with players, and in the minor league, the contract is only as good as the paper. I lost four guys over stealing.”

But players aren't the only thing that Randazzo lost. Randazzo almost lost his life in 2001. Driving to spring training, Randazzo was involved in a car accident, suffering a fractured neck, collapsing both lungs, a broken sternum and a ruptured aorta. It was a life-altering experience that took Randazzo a few years to recover. Consequently, it also took his future away in baseball.

It’s when the idea of becoming an agent began to evolve. He went back to his connections in the game, and in the area. It led to a major purchase of the Maple Zone, an indoor baseball facility, one of the most unique of its kind in Boothwyn, Delaware County.

“I can say I love what I do,” said Randazzo, who was the rare Philadelphia Catholic League MVP in both baseball and basketball his senior year at O’Hara. “There is nothing a player hasn’t gone through that myself and the firm has gone through. The mistake a lot of players make is accepting a factory-kind of way of things, where they're just a number."

Randazzo believes the players aren't just a 'number' because "I know from experience what they’re experiencing. I work tirelessly at it, this is a 24/7, 364-day-a-year job. There is a lot of high maintenance involved. But I keep my goal simple and that’s knowing how a player wants to be treated."