As a ten-year-old Little Leaguer, Peter Sinibaldi dreamed of someday hitting a walk-off home run just like his New York Yankees heroes were doing. Eight years later, his walk-off single gave his South Williamsport high school team a 2-1 win over Sayre, clinching the school’s second consecutive District IV championship.

Telling the media after the game, “I’ve always wanted a walk-off. It wasn’t a home run like I thought back then, but this is great too.”

Now, employed as an associate graphic designer with the Phoenix Suns, sports seem to enrich Sinibaldi’s life.

The son of South Williamsport’s Peter and Kathie Sinibaldi, the New York Yankees, Penn State Nittany Lions, high school basketball, and baseball were the center of his youthful life.

“Peter grew up loving sports,” his mom Kathie explained. “About his eighth-grade year, he began playing around with graphics. Later, his sister, Lauren, was attending Penn State, and we were in a State College restaurant where Coach James Franklin was doing a radio show. We enjoyed it and began to go back for other shows.

“During one of those visits, Peter had an opportunity to meet Coach Franklin and showed him some of his graphic work. They developed a friendship, and the two of them seemed to hit it off. When Peter decided to attend college at Penn State, Franklin told him to let him know if he ever wanted an internship.

“After he enrolled, we were in the Penn State Dining Hall, and Coach Franklin walked in. The two of them talked, and the next day Peter received an internship! That was the beginning.”

“Getting that internship my freshman year gave me an opportunity to become a graphic design intern for the social media team,” Sinibaldi related. “This led to an assignment in my junior year to take football photos on the field during games. This allowed me to open my skills to new areas and expand my photographic abilities. That internship provided great opportunities to help me expand my photography and graphic design skills.

“After graduation and being interested in sports all my life, I explored an all-sports related jobs posting online, looking for anything graphic design, and this job really caught my eye. Working for a professional sports team was like a dream come true for me. I submitted my resume and got an interview.

“Now that I am in the professional sports business, I think my perceptions about pro sports have changed. Now that I see how everything works, it doesn’t seem as big to me. This is still a great opportunity. Going into the office every day, it seems more personal to me, where before it was the bright lights, the commercials, and national television. It is definitely different, but for me, the awe is still there.”

During the season, Sinibaldi’s duties vary.

“We have a list of duties for each day. I work with anything dealing with social media posts, press materials, merchandising, marketing, and website design. During home games, we have a graphic designer assigned to each game. My main duty is working on a post-game release for social media, perfect it, and make it look as sharp as possible.

“With the Suns, my work is behind the scenes, and I don’t have a lot of interaction with the players. My work is mostly with my laptop and myself. At Penn State, I was closer to the field and acquainted with players and coaches.

“When I first became interested in graphic design, it was just a hobby. But I’ve been blessed to be able to turn my hobby into a profession. It doesn’t seem like work. Every day, I’m having a good time meeting new people and enjoying the experience. Playing on sports teams growing up, I always enjoyed the teammates I played with. Now, I have six or seven new teammates I work with, and I’m still involved with sports, so everything is good.”

The Pennsylvania boy is enjoying his new environs.

“It is definitely different from Pennsylvania. We (high school teammate A.J. Flick, who is studying to become a pilot) arrived here in May of 2023 just when the summer heat was building. We had to get used to it real quick. The best times are the fall and spring, when it feels like 80 degrees every day. We have to go through the summer heat to get to the good weather, but we don’t have to shovel the heat.”

Although his Suns are not competing in the NBA playoffs, when asked who he thought would win the championship, his response fell way north of the Valley of the Sun. “I think the Timberwolves will win.”

Don’t bet against it, Sinibaldi’s sports luck is treating him well.