BIDDEFORD – October was a busy month for Kelsey Doherty, digital media manager for the Boston Red Sox. While she gets to pick and choose which away games she wants to go to during the regular season, during playoffs she was with the team every step of the way, including the World Series win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 28.
“I don’t think I’ve slept in a month,” Doherty said with a laugh.
Doherty is a Biddeford native, who has lived in Boston for the last eight years. After graduating from Biddeford High School in 2010, Doherty enrolled in Emerson College in the heart of Boston. Doherty was already considering a career in sports marketing when, in her sophomore year, she applied for a day-of-game staff position working for the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The position, which included customer service, fan club relations and interacting with fans on game day, was a job Doherty held happily for the remainder of her college career.
A month before graduation, Doherty applied for the position of assistant digital media manager and came on as a full time member of the Red Sox family a few weeks after graduating from Emerson College. She was promoted to manager when her superior left to work for the San Francisco 49ers.
Now, Doherty works as part of a team of two who provide coverage for all Red Sox events, using social media to provide fans with fun and intimate content about players and during games.
“It was fantastic and really fun to cover,” Doherty said. “To cover something on the national stage was a pretty incredible experience.”
While the season may be over, for Doherty, her work is not yet done for the season, as she continues to cover the Red Sox victory tour. Events post-win have included the duck boat parade Oct. 31 and the team’s appearance at the New England Patriots game Nov. 4.
“I work with the players a lot, covering appearances and interviews, and it’s a really big adrenaline rush to run onto the field after a big win,” Doherty said.
When asked what her favorite part of this season was, her answer was all that could be expected after this season: winning the World Series.
“This has been one of the best teams in Red Sox history, record-wise, and they already had 108 regular season wins, so winning the World Series was just so fun, and gave me an opportunity to push out some fun content,” Doherty said.
To celebrate the team’s win, Doherty took the opportunity to go back to fan posts after the first game of the season. The Opening Day game on March 29, left some fans pessimistic about the season when the Red Sox lost a four-run lead after the Tampa Bay Rays scored six runs in the eighth inning, resulting in a slew of tweets bemoaning the season to come.
Despite the initial loss, the Red Sox had an impressive season, the first that the team was managed by Alex Cora, finishing with a 108-54 record in regular season. They entered the postseason as top-seed in the American League. The Red Sox beat rival New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, and went on to secure the championship series title against the Houston Astros, defending World Series champions, before advancing to the World Series.
Following the World Series win, Doherty has used the opportunity to poke playful fun at those of little faith, using the Red Sox Twitter to comment on posts with comments bemoaning the season to come with reminders that the season worked out after all.
Though Doherty did not play sports while at Biddeford High School, she has always been a lifelong Boston sports fan. When choosing a career, Doherty wanted to go into a sports industry because she enjoyed the challenges it presented.
“It’s a tricky industry. I like that it’s new every day,” Doherty said. “You never know if you’ll win or lose, and that’s part of what makes it so fun.”
Now that she is part of the Red Sox organization, she gets to share the perks with another lifelong Boston fan: her father, Mike Doherty, who was able to come to a number of both regular- and postseason games.
“I think my dad loves my job almost as much as I do,” Doherty said.
As victory tour events wind down, Doherty’s life (and sleep schedule) will return to a more normal pace until spring training, during which she will spend the entirety of the time in Fort Myers, Florida, with the team.
“It’s crazy, and it’s chaos,” Doherty said, “But it’s totally worth it.”< Contact Staff Writer Abigail Worthing at news@inthecourier.com.
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