The Frisco RoughRiders Double-A baseball team is celebrating its 20th anniversary this season, and few have seen the team and the local area evolve like general manager Scott Burchett.

Burchett, who grew up in Garland, has been around baseball his entire life and became passionate about the sports industry at an early age.

“I think I have baseball in my blood,” he told The Dallas Express in a recent interview. “My dad, when I was growing up, worked for Fox Sports, ESPN, and on the TV side of baseball, so I remember going to the old Arlington Stadium — not the Ballpark at Arlington but the original stadium with the metal bleachers and everything out there in the outfield.”

“I would tag along with him to the games out there and sit in the TV truck and go in and watch a few innings,” he recalled. “I just grew up around baseball and being around ballparks, so I knew I wanted to get into the sports industry in some capacity. I didn’t know quite what [I wanted to do], but I was a sports fanatic.”

His passion for sports led him to Baylor University, where he served as an MLB.com beat writer for opposing teams playing against the Rangers. The MLB.com job became a seasonal role with the RoughRiders, and Burchett accepted a full-time offer from the club instead of pursuing his Master’s degree in Sports Administration at Ohio University.

“I was planning to be here [for] six months or so during the season,” he explained. “The RoughRiders offered me a full-time job literally two days before I left, and I’ve been here ever since.”

Burchett continued working for the team as the writer of its daily program, updating the information and writing stories with each game.

“This was before smartphones, and the game program was a big deal,” Burchett told The Dallas Express. “That’s where you got your stats, your scores and standings, and all that stuff. Back then, we updated every single night, so I would write a game story after the game, and I’d update the stats and update all the content in there.”

Burchett has been with the team for 19 years and is in his first season as general manager. He has worked his way up through many different roles, including sponsorship services, communications, marketing, and more, and he even turned down opportunities to go elsewhere.

“I really enjoy it from a personal level,” he explained. “My family is here, so I have both sets of grandparents, cousins, lots of friends, and relationships around town. From a business perspective, it’s nice just because I’m connected to a lot of different people throughout DFW that I’ve just known throughout my whole life. … So, it really helps with the professional network.”

The uniqueness of Minor League Baseball has also kept him in Frisco.

“I really enjoy Minor League Baseball,” he added. “I enjoy what Minor League Baseball is all about. It’s so fan-friendly. It’s all about the experience here, and I love to be involved in all aspects of it to shape the organization in numerous ways.”

The role of a minor league general manager differs significantly from that of a Major League general manager. While MLB general managers are tasked with building competitive teams and take the blame or credit for the results on the field, a minor league general manager is more involved in the business side of things.

“We basically put on the product of the venue for the major league guys to be able to develop their players,” Burchett said. “A minor league GM is in charge of ticket sales, sponsor sales, community initiatives, stadium operations, non-gameday events, [and] anything that goes into the business and the experience of Minor League Baseball.”

Burchett has navigated his roles well and even won the Bill Valentine Executive of the Year Award, awarded by other executives in the Texas League, in 2017.

“I think that one means a lot because it’s voted on by your peers,” the general manager told The Dallas Express. “For them to see what I was doing here in Frisco and seeing what we were putting in place, that was special just because those are guys that are really great at what they do, and they know what they’re doing. So for them to think enough of me and my job to honor me with that was pretty special.”

Burchett leads the franchise as it navigates and adapts to the ever-changing landscape and consistent growth of Frisco and the northern parts of DFW.

“It’s been fun to see the RoughRiders grow along with the city of Frisco here in North Dallas,” he remarked. “When we first started, we were the only thing here, and now there’s [sic] all sorts of entertainment options out there. That’s what makes the city such a vibrant, exciting community to be a part of, but at the same time, you’ve got to adjust to that and just make sure we continue to meet the community that’s out there.”