Ross Ohlendorf: From Major League Pitcher to Unpaid Intern

Dec. 15, 2009— -- Ross Ohlendorf has a decent full-time job -- as a starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

But he's spending the winter in a cramped office of the Agriculture Department in Washington -- where his main focus has been tracking the migration of cattle diseases.

Ohlendorf, a 27-year-old Pirates right-hander, is serving as an unpaid intern at the US Department of Agriculture. He logs roughly 20 hours a week behind his desk, in a small room that he shares with a fellow intern, in an anonymous wing of the sprawling department headquarters.

He's nowhere near a pitcher's mound. And he's having a great time.

"This one's been, I'd say, the most exciting off-season I've had," Ohlendorf told ABC News.

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It starts with the subject matter: cattle management policy. It's a natural for Ohlendorf, a Princeton grad whose family runs a 300-head Longhorn cattle ranch in Texas, outside of Austin.

Ohlendorf had heard about federal efforts to track cattle disease outbreaks, to identify their sources and better control their spread. The subject has obvious interest for ranch owners, and Ohlendorf was intrigued.

He arranged to catch the first pitch thrown by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at a Pirates game over the summer. They chatted a bit afterward about USDA efforts, and he followed up just like any other would-be intern would: By sending a resume to the department.

"This just seemed like a great opportunity, if USDA had an internship opportunity for me," Ohlendorf said. "It seemed like something I would really enjoy."

So the USDA has perhaps its most famous intern -- an 11-game winner for the Pirates last year, his first as a regular starter. He's got a new item for a resume that includes a degree in operations research and financial engineering, plus stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, the New York Yankees, and now Pittsburgh. (He's been recognized as a baseball player only once around headquarters all winter, he said.)