ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Allie Krings never seems to stop smiling. From each morning when her Shiba Inu, MJ (named after Michael Jordan), wakes her up inside her St. Petersburg apartment to the moment she arrives at Tropicana Field on game days, Krings is always flashing a wide grin.
Krings strives to be upbeat at all times, and during a time when attendance continues to be an issue at Rays games, her energy has become contagious this season at Tropicana Field. After all, that is pretty much her job description as the Rays’ new in-game host. “My whole job is to be in a good mood and bring the party,” Krings said.
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“The energy, ability to shake hands, smile, give eye contact — she connects,” Rays vice president of marketing Eric Weisberg said. “It’s amazing. I don’t often see that connection with the fans that she brought, and it’s been fun watching her grow.”
Krings has only been on the job for three months, but she has quickly made an impression and has learned much about her new home in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area through her interactions with fans around the ballpark, both young and old. It was a long journey for her to get here, driving down from her home state of Minnesota to Florida earlier this summer, accompanied by her mother and MJ. She didn’t know a single person when she arrived in town, but thanks to her outgoing personality, that has changed quickly.
My name wasn’t called in the draft, but I still made the team! ⚾️ With my first Rays win, I can FINALLY share that I am the new #ingamehost for the Tampa Bay Rays! #RaysUp #TampaBayRays pic.twitter.com/dH68ygADJn
— allie krings (@alliekrings) June 11, 2019
There are only two stoplights that run through Krings’ hometown of Byron, Minn., population 5,426. There isn’t a movie theater or even a grocery store.
“It’s a really, really small town next to Rochester,” Krings said. “But I loved growing up in Byron because there was so much opportunity to have success since there wasn’t a lot around, no competition amongst peers. It was such a small-town feel.”
Krings’ high school graduating class was made up of only 140 students. It’s pretty easy to keep up with most of her friends through social media, and it’s even easier for them to keep up with her. At 25, she has accomplished her lifelong dream of working in the big leagues.
After leaving Byron for the University of Minnesota, Krings worked at many of the school’s sporting events throughout college. She was part of Minnesota Athletics’ broadcasts and was a sideline reporter for the Big Ten Network’s student production. Despite her ultra-involvement around campus, she wasn’t quite sure whether sports broadcasting was what she wanted to pursue.
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“When I was in college, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. I knew I really liked sports and I really liked talking to people and I thought I wanted to go into broadcasting,” Krings said. “What I learned was I didn’t want to do news. I never wanted to tell anybody anything sad, so sports was a great avenue to go through. That was just the baseline for it.”
Everyone give a warm welcome to @alliekrings!#RaysUp pic.twitter.com/YRuPy5h8Xi
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) July 19, 2019
After three years, Krings still found herself wanting to have more fun at games. She loved reporting on the action, but she wanted to be part of it. During her senior year, she was presented with an opportunity: in-game hosting for Gopher hockey games. That position led to future gigs including a social media position covering the Minnesota Vikings and in-arena hosting for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four last April at U.S. Bank Stadium.
She soaked in every moment and says she’s found her calling.
“(Minnesota) is the state of hockey. It’s a really big deal,” Krings said. “I’ll always remember, (then-Minnesota assistant director of marketing) Devin Pacheco told me, ‘As you guys go out there tonight, remember our fans drove a long way to be here, the tickets are expensive, parking is always difficult, maybe some kids missed nap time.’ … And that just stuck with me. All these fans came even though there could have been hundreds of excuses not to. So why not make this the best time of their lives?”
In some ways, Rays fans deal with similar issues. The drive to Tropicana Field can be lengthy for some in the Tampa/Bradenton/Sarasota areas, and the lack of public transportation has always been a hot topic.
Those issues aside, the Rays are a fun baseball team to follow right now, and Tampa Bay could reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Regardless of how many fans make it to the stadium each night, Krings’ goal remains the same since she joined the organization in June.
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“I just want to leave an impact,” Krings said.
(Photo courtesy of Allie Krings)
For Krings, there’s no better feeling than game day.
Krings arrives at Tropicana Field four hours early to prepare for each game. Her routine consists of attending her daily production meeting with the marketing team and then sitting in her perch, located to the left of the press box. This is where she goes through her pregame routine, which includes a breakdown of each scheduled event throughout the game.
There are the pregame ceremonies, which involve escorting a child to the mound to deliver the game ball and yell, “Play ball!” Then there’s her recap of every game from the night before during the break between the first and second innings — that’s when a couple of players, including Willy Adames, start joking around and throwing sunflower seeds in Krings’ direction at the end of the dugout.
“All these fans came even though there could have been hundreds of excuses not to. So why not make this the best time of their lives?”
One of her favorite parts about the job is leading the seventh-inning stretch with fans on the big screen.
“I get to work with kids every day. Every time I’m out on the field, I get to re-experience the first time being on the field,” she said. “That’s where the fun starts for me. I’ll say, ‘Look at this, all of the players are right there! We are right here in the action.’ Being able to be with a kid who is here for the first time, it’s so rewarding. I feel so lucky to be part of this.”
“Win or lose, our job is to put on a good show,” Weisberg said. “Allie has the ability to elevate that level.”
(Photo courtesy of Allie Krings)
Her responsibilities extend beyond home games, too. When the team is on the road, she typically can be found helping out and emceeing at different Rays community events around town. She also attends watch parties at St. Pete beach with other Rays co-workers.
“She’s made a big difference in the short time she’s been here,” game presentation coordinator Kat Lucas said.
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It’s been a rapid three months with the Rays for Krings, with many rewarding parts of the job, but her favorite aspect is the interaction with fans on a day-to-day basis. Thanks in large part to them, the transplant from the Midwest believes she has found a new home at One Tropicana Drive.
“I don’t have many friends or family here yet, so this is the one place I get to come and know people,” she says. “The fans make me feel very loved. I just live the entire day with a smile. I walk around and have a good time.
“You can’t worry about everybody, but you can at least worry about one. As long as I know I made one person smile today, then I feel pretty good about that.”
(Top photo: Courtesy of Allie Krings)
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