Spence works hard for the Major League money

This story was originally published on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.

OAKLAND -- Mitch Spence couldn’t help but get flashbacks to his days before the big leagues as he walked into Target Field over the weekend and saw the department store chain’s giant red circle logo emblazoned throughout the ballpark.

With the absence of a 2020 Minor League season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Spence -- a Minor League pitcher in the Yankees’ organization at the time -- applied for a seasonal job at the Target store in Apex, N.C., which is just eight miles from his hometown of Cary.

Focused on baseball for most of his life, Spence had never worked in retail. He was, however, aware that the hiring manager was a big Yankees fan. So, when Spence submitted his resumé, he made sure to indicate high up that he was a pitcher in the Yankees’ organization. Soon after, he was hired.

“It’s one of the bigger [Target] stores in the area,” Spence said. “I started working there during COVID, just because there was nothing else to do and I could make a little extra money.”

Spence worked as a Fulfillment Expert, a role that expanded in importance during the pandemic with the rise of online shopping. He was tasked with walking around the store to assemble countless customer orders and prepare them for shipping.

“You probably see [Fulfillment Experts] now when they have carts and walk around,” Spence said. “I did that a lot. I would stock in the back a little bit. If somebody buys something, you’ve got to pull it from the back and put it on the floor, so I did that a little bit, too. Mainly, it was kind of that fulfillment of online orders.”

Spence started out working around 25 hours per week. Once business picked up during the holidays, the hours increased. He enjoyed the atmosphere and appreciated the flexibility around his baseball training schedule, so much that when the Minor League season resumed in 2021, Spence returned to work at the same Target the following three offseasons.

“They were awesome there,” Spence said. “Whenever I was in town, they were like, ‘If you want hours, you can have hours.’ So, I just kept going back. Every offseason, I always had a job there.”

This past November, Spence was selected first overall by the A’s in the Rule 5 Draft. Shortly after finding out he would be joining a new club, Spence received a text from manager Mark Kotsay, who was on vacation and told Spence he would call him once he returned.

That phone call came a week later, while Spence was -- you guessed it -- at Target.

“I was on my lunch break and it was almost over,” Spence said. “I was packing everything up and my phone rings, and I was like, ‘OK, that’s Mark Kotsay.’ It was a little bit of a panic moment, but it was great. He was just like, ‘Welcome to the team.’ It was kind of surreal.”

Spence kept his job at Target until it was time to report to Arizona for Spring Training in February. The 26-year-old rookie made Oakland’s Opening Day roster and moved into the A’s rotation on May 17, logging a 3.69 ERA through his first six Major League starts.

The Target Field signage above the visitors' dugout as he walked off the mound after his outing against the Twins on Friday night served as a reminder of how quickly his baseball fortunes have changed. The red circle represented a full-circle moment.

“I got here and I totally forgot this was Target Field,” Spence said. “It was kind of cool. It’s kind of surreal. I was working at Target six months ago and now I’m pitching at Target Field.”

Spence's family remains linked to Target. His connections with the store staff helped Spence get his two younger siblings jobs at the same Target location where he worked at.

As for Mitch, his days of working at Target are likely over now that he’s a big leaguer.

“It’s a lot of walking,” Spence said. “It’s not the easiest job on the body. Definitely probably not going to be working there again. But I still keep in contact with everyone. I had a lot of fond memories there.”