Virginia Tech graduate Erik Neander (December of 2005) has been with the Tampa Bay Rays since a 2007 internship and is closing in on his first full year as the organization’s general manager, having been promoted in November of 2016 just 11 years after leaving Blacksburg. As he does whenever he is close to the campus on business trips, he recently stopped in to visit some Virginia Tech staff members, and HokieSports.com was able to get a few minutes with the Oneonta, New York native.
Q: How often do you get back to Blacksburg?
EN: “Not as much as I’d like to, but if I am anywhere in the vicinity for work-related reasons – within a three-hour radius – we’ll try to get over here at least for a day.