News January 04, 2024
Something Inked Names Former MLB Pitcher VP of Sales
Mike Zagurski’s professional baseball career spanned more than a decade-and-a-half and he’s been working in sales for the Top 40 distributor for nearly five years.
Few are the baseball players who can say they’ve pitched in the big leagues. Fewer still are the ones who can say that as a rookie they faced Barry Bonds – the greatest home run hitter of all time – and got him out.
Mike Zagurski is in that rare, elite group.
And now, Zagurski is embarking on an all-new chapter of competition in his life, becoming vice president of sales at Top 40 promotional products distributor Something Inked (asi/329822).
Mike Zagurski, Something Inked (asi/329822)
Executives say the same internal grit, determination and capability that Zagurski drew on to become a professional baseball player will power his success – and thereby Something Inked’s – in the executive role.
“Mike brings not only an athlete’s mentality to Something Inked with clubhouse leadership and drive, but he’s also somebody that truly can bring our sales team to the next level by working hand in hand with our sales manager and the executive team to achieve all of the company’s goals and plans,” said Bill Feldberg, Something Inked’s executive vice president of business development. “We could not be more excited for Mike’s new role.”
In the VP position, Zagurski will lead more than 15 full-time Something Inked sales professionals. The charge to him and his team is to grow business, expand the firm’s client base to new industries, and recruit top-notch sales pros.
Zagurski has been what Something Inked described as a “key component” of the sales team since 2019.
“Mike brings not only an athlete’s mentality to Something Inked with clubhouse leadership and drive, but he’s also somebody that truly can bring our sales team to the next level.” Bill Feldberg, Something Inked
As for his pitching career, Zagurski debuted in 2007 for the Philadelphia Phillies. The left-hander would also pitch in Major League Baseball games for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates.
The majority of his decade-and-a-half career was spent pitching for minor league affiliates of MLB teams. He also hurled from the mound in the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan. The native of Omaha, NE, has the distinction of setting the single-season strikeout record at the University of Kansas, where he pitched in college, according to Something Inked.
“His years working in professional sports allowed Mike to cultivate relationships, build teams, and play integral roles in each of his stops along the way,” said Something Inked.
Based in Nashville, TN, Something Inked’s clients include professional sports teams, sports entertainment entities, headliner names in music, destination retail businesses, corporations and more. Based on reported 2022 North American promotional product revenue of $70.8 million, Something Inked ranked 31st on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.