Working for the Trenton Thunder isn’t all fun and games — but it mostly is.

Two dozen interns — including seven from Mercer County — have learned this summer that having the New York Yankees’ Double-A franchise as your employer means there isn’t much time for fun outside of work.

But the long hours aren’t quite as draining when the office is a baseball stadium and your co-workers include a grinning lightning bolt, a giant, potbellied thunderbird with sunglasses and two baseball bat-fetching golden retrievers.

“It’s been long at times,” said Kenny Ridge, a 2008 graduate of Steinert High School who will be a sophomore at DeSales University next year. “When it gets tough, we look at it as we’re here, we’re learning a lot, we’re getting great experience and it’s going to help us in the long run. But we’re working at a baseball stadium. How unhappy can you be?”

Each of the interns spends two days a week working in the Thunder front office. The days start at 9 a.m., when interns complete sales calls, mostly to former season ticket holders. Once the calls are made, interns send e-mails and letters soliciting ticket package purchases before breaking for lunch.

The Thunder makes all interns complete the calls because almost any full-time job in sports will require some kind of selling, said Ryan Crammer, the internship coordinator and the Thunder’s director of stadium operations. This gives the interns experience they can market when looking for jobs after college.

From there, they report to one of the departments within the Thunder, such as merchandising, baseball operations or stadium operations, for relevant office work. Each intern spends two weeks learning everything about a department before moving to another.

The broad approach sets the Thunder apart from most sports franchises, which have interns stay in one department the entire summer, Crammer said. It could be considered the most attractive portion of the internship.

“It’s a good experience,” said Hamilton resident John Kokotajlo, a 2001 graduate of Steinert High School. “They have you doing all kinds of stuff, hitting up every department. If you want to eventually be a [general manager], you’ve got to be experienced in every field. That’s basically what they’re preparing you for.”

The most diverse — and perhaps least thrilling — experience comes during Thunder home games. The Thunder requires every intern to work each home game. Those that do not have office hours arrive at Waterfront Park at 4 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game.

At the park, the interns learn their assignments for the evening. In general, the interns have different tasks each game.

Robbinsville resident and Ursinus College senior Andrea Magnolo worked as an elevator operator during the July 7 game against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, spending the whole game in the elevator in case a guest needed it. Two days later, during the July 9 day game against New Hampshire, she greeted fans and handed out complimentary scorecards as they entered the park.

Magnolo said she, like most of the interns, worked more than 200 hours in the first five weeks of her internship.

“Really, I think the most important thing is we’re putting all the time and effort in. The Trenton Thunder is one of the most well respected teams in minor league baseball. I’m meeting a lot of people, I’m getting a lot of experience. During the games, I may not be doing the greatest things but I’m still putting the time in. Maybe somewhere down the road it will help me out with another job.”

Perhaps with the Thunder? Crammer estimated at least 25 percent of the team’s full-time staff began as interns, and internships have become increasingly important to teams looking to hire.

In fact, some interns, like Ewing resident Chelsea Wargo, return to the Thunder for a second year of experience. As a returning intern, Wargo receives slightly more responsibility. She works every game on the promotions team.

Wargo runs around a lot during games. The promotions team selects most promotions contestants prior to the game. The contestants are to report to the guest services desk a half inning before their promotion. It’s the promotions team’s job to escort that contestant onto the field.

If the activity doesn’t require contestants, like the “Dog of the Day” promotion, Wargo and the promotions team still set it up and break it down before quickly fetching whatever or whomever is needed for the next promotion.

There are promotions every half inning between the first and eighth innings, 14 in all. Adding to the crunch July 9, Wargo sang the National Anthem before the game, as she does whenever the Thunder does not have a singer lined up.

“You don’t dread coming to work, even though the hours are so long,” Wargo said. “It’s so much fun and such a good environment.”

At the same game, Ridge and Hamilton resident Ali Tomlinson started the day handing children younger than 12 coupons for free meals. They eventually made their way up to the stadium’s seating bowl, where they transitioned to their next duty hawking foam fingers and miniature baseball bats.

The internship has affirmed Tomlinson’s desire to work in sports, despite the long hours and occasional “tedious” task. She pitches for the Cornell University softball team and has spent much of her life around sports, but had no idea how much work went into running a sports franchise until her internship with the Thunder.

One other aspect surprised Tomlinson: how little baseball she’s actually seen this summer.

“I thought I’d get to watch a lot more of the game than I do,” Tomlinson said. “A lot of times we’re so busy making sure everyone else is happy.”

The third Hamilton intern, Kokotajlo, worked as a parking lot attendant July 9. He usually helps escort Boomer and Strike, the Thunder mascots, around the stadium during games, but said he was thankful he had a different job during July 9’s game. Children’s day camps — big Boomer fans — comprised almost the entire crowd.

Kokotajlo played professional baseball for the Sioux City Explorers and the Bradenton Juice, but has given up the playing side of baseball for a chance to work in a team’s front office.

He planned to receive a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Kennesaw State University, in Georgia, last month. His Thunder internship counted as his final coursework.

“I definitely want to get in baseball because I played baseball myself,” he said. “I know the workings, how they go about minor league baseball, how everything works.”

After the game, the interns come together to discuss how things ran during the game. Plans are put in place for the next day’s work.

Many of the interns worked more than 12 hours. They receive $25 for each game and no payment for office work.

But there’s demand for these position despite the pay. Crammer said he receives hundreds of resumes every year, and he tries to interview every applicant. He also said he’s attended meetings with management from baseball organizations across the country, some of whom have complimented the Thunder’s internship program.

“I like to think that it pulls some weight in the industry, seeing that they worked here,” he said. “People always told me if you worked in minor league baseball you can work in any sport. You do work a lot of hours. And they’re only working a fraction of what a full-time person does. They’re only in the office two days a week.”

While the Thunder still have at least a month left in the 2009 season, Crammer has already started preparing to select the parking attendants, elevator operators and mascot bodyguards of 2010.

“I’ve already started getting resumes for next year,” Crammer said. “We start after the season in mid-September, and usually between September and January we have our interns hired. A lot of people will contact me in February or March for our season that starts in early April, and we’re full already.”