Why I Joined Release: Bryce Fehmel

My name is Bryce Fehmel, a Sales Development Representative with Release. Contrary to many of my colleagues, I have spent the entirety of my career playing professional baseball. I grew up dreaming of playing Major League Baseball, but realized how unlikely it would be after multiple injuries. I began to take an interest in the analytics side of baseball, and how those analytics have an impact on each game and years to come for the organization.

After my collegiate career and being drafted in the 21st round in 2019, I began my professional career in Arizona where I had enough success to be promoted to what was known as short season (Single A), in Salem, Oregon. During Spring Training of 2020, I found out I had torn a ligament in my elbow which would require Tommy John surgery, a procedure that would take a year to get back on the mound. Throughout the rehab process, I recognized that the ligament in my elbow still had not healed. After months of rehab with physical therapists, strength coaches and many more appointments with specialty doctors, I was told that the same ligament had torn once again. I quickly realized the chances of my dreams of playing in the Major Leagues had become significantly more slim than when I was first drafted.

After recovery from the second surgery, I considered my possible options due to the amount of time I spent away from playing and the hours of rehab that would continue to be required.. There were long and difficult conversations about my potential future in baseball and what could be next. After attending Spring Training in 2022 and finally pitching in a game for the first time in 2+ years, it was clear that my injury would cause a third consecutive missed season. In that moment, I decided to retire gracefully, with my head held high leaving the professional baseball world with nothing but love and excitement for anyone else who has the opportunity to chase their dreams.

That is where Release and CEO of the company, Tommy McClung come into the picture. Getting to know Tommy, a former Oregon State alumni himself, and his children over the years through their baseball experience, I gained an immense amount of curiosity around the tech industry and different positions where I could bring my expertise. As I step into a new journey with Release, I am eager to learn and grow in the software industry to make an impact in a variety of different ways. I look forward to the opportunity of helping others reach their goals and to bring their ideas to life faster and more freely. Most importantly, I am excited to work with my teammates to carry out the company mission of allowing the best ideas to emerge through efficiency and collaboration.

Release is a complex software, in its own way, similar to the game of baseball. To be able to use Release and fully automate development more efficiently with code testing and ephemeral environments, there are many pieces that tie together. Similarly, baseball takes a group of people to come together, (even further than the players on the field) to create a winning team that remains memorable for years to come. As winning teams are memorable, so are features that end users benefit from to drive revenue and company growth. With Release, it is the easiest way to develop, manage and deploy full-stack complex environments on-demand.