Coming full circle
PITTSBURGH — Some people go for years not knowing what career to choose for their working years.
Carter Stanton set his early goal when he was 8.
“He met (then Pittsburgh Pirate broadcaster) Lanny Frattare and told him he was going to take his job,” his mother, Melissa Santon, said 12 years ago.
He wasn’t far off.
Now 21, the 2020 Butler graduate will be graduating from Oklahoma State University in a couple of weeks. He’s been working in the university’s athletic department over the past three years.
“I’ve been putting video packages together, promoting our athletes, just growing my skills in those areas,” Stanton said.
He recently accepted a position with the Pittsburgh Pirates as social media coordinator, where he is leading a staff to handle that side of publicity for the Bucs.
Stanton will be in the press box at home Pirate games, taking feeds from the club’s photographer and videographers and channeling them out on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms
At the same time, he will be gauging how fans are perceiving the Pirates on social media.
“There’s a whole team of us,” Stanton said. “This job can go in a lot of directions. It’s the best job offer I’ve received and I applied for things all over the place. The fact that this is in my hometown, with the team I grew up following, only adds to it.”
Stanton said he applied for jobs with numerous NFL teams and other professional sports organizations.
And while he’s not graduated from Oklahoma State just yet, he’s already been on the job with the Pirates.
“I can work a game from sitting home on my couch,” he said. “We’re logged into everything. The team is in Colorado right now, playing the Rockies, and I can access the footage. Me and other (social media) team members do a lot of texting back and forth. I subscribe to MLB TV so I can watch every Pirates game.”
Three years ago, Stanton said his dream job would be being in charge of the Jumbotron at a large stadium. He had PNC Park in mind even then.
“This is definitely a step in that direction,” he said.
When he was 10, his favorite Pirate player was Andrew McCutchen, who returned to the team this season.
Stanton was born on Sept. 11, 2001 — while the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were taking place.
“I feel very, very blessed,” he said. “God has taken care of me since Day 1. I feel like my story has already been written and I’m just following it along.”
