Not really BlueClaws related but this is a really good and interesting article (from Tyler Kepner in the NY Times) on Ross Ohlendorf, a former Yankee, now a Pirate pitcher, who interned last summer at the Department of Agriculture. Full article here.

It is a safe bet that Ohlendorf is the only [player in spring training] who spends some of his free time finishing a cost-benefit analysis on a program that traces disease in cattle, poultry, swine, goats and sheep, and its effect on farmers.

“If there are things that interest me, and I am interested in a lot of things, I try to make an effort to learn more about them,” Ohlendorf said Wednesday in an interview at a restaurant here after a morning practice in Bradenton, Fla. “If I’m going to do something, I want to put in the time to do a good job with it.”

Ohlendorf, 27, has the unusual combination of superior intelligence, athleticism, curiosity and drive. It helped him become a star at Princeton while earning a degree in operations research and financial engineering. It has helped him develop into a dependable major leaguer who was 11-10 with a 3.92 earned run average in 29 starts for Pittsburgh last season.

[snip]

Ohlendorf had recently caught a ceremonial first pitch from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at PNC Park. What if he applied for a 20-hour-a-week job at the department from the end of the Pirates’ season until mid-December, when his throwing program would begin in earnest?

He sent his résumé in an e-mail message to Doug McKalip, the confidential assistant to Secretary Vilsack. McKalip was impressed for reasons beyond baseball.

“Most of our interns just got out of graduate school, or they’ve finished a doctorate and want to work for a federal department as part of their experience,” he said. “But it’s pretty rare to have someone from an outside profession who’s willing to volunteer time and has the kind of background Ross brings. With his G.P.A., with his engineering and mathematics background, and also a direct role in a farming operation, Ross was especially qualified.”

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