MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com - As expected Pat O'Conner was was elecgted today as the President of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) which is the modern-era name of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (the NA or NAPBL). MiLB is the governing body which represents the interests of all of the 16 leagues within affiliated baseball with Major League Baseball (MLB), and with the federal government. MiLB also coordinates policy between the leagues, rules of play, scheduling, and grants license to MLB.com to operate the MiLB.com coordinated content website on the Internet.
O'Conner is the 11th president of the NA and the first elected under the new MiLB moniker. He succeeds the retiring Mike Moore, who served for 16 years as the NA's president.
Moore's hand-picked successor, he ran virtually unopposed in a time of great prosperity for MiLB, so there was little surprise by the announced winner of the election.
MiLB watchers expect O'Conner to continue the agenda set forward by Moore. With attendance on the rise, and stadium turnover at a good pace, it is likely that his legacy will be to continue to harness the digital content of the minor leagues to the major league MiLB engine and media machine.
While the agenda is the same, O'Conner, 49, is expected to set a kinder, gentler tone for MiLB than the more polarizing Moore. This will be crucial, particularly as MiLB seeks 100% compliance in its web initiative from all of the teams and leagues in the affiliated system.
In a speech made on Monday, he signaled that change of tone when he quoted Dwight D. Eisenhower: "You do not lead by hitting people over the head. That's assault, not leadership."
"I am humbled and honored to be selected as the 1th president of Minor League baseball," said O'Conner. "I accept this position with humility and know full well the tremendous opportunity we have before us. I want to thank the Board of Trustees, Council of League Presidents, and our member clubs for making this possible. I will do my best to earn their trust each and every day as we move forward as an organization."
O'Conner joined the staff of the NA in May, 1993 as their Chief Operating Officer (COO) and rose to the rank of Vice President, Administration in 1995. As Mike Moore's top lieutenant for 15 years, he has overseen all aspects of the business of MiLB, served as the primary liaison to MLB, and was one of the central negotiators of the Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA) with MLB.
His work was key in the formation of the Professional Baseball Umpires Corporation, the union that covers minor league umpires, and in the development of the most collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with them after the early season strike of 2006.
He has also been instrumental in the development of the Baseball Chapel program, which brings ministry and comfort to players, umpires, coaching staff, and front offices alike.
With a career that began as an administrative assistant for the Vero Beach Dodgers, he had a season as the General Manager of the Greenwood Pirates in the South Atlantic League (SAL), then became the AGM of the Beaumont Golden Gators of the Class-AA Texas League. In 1986 he became the Director of Florida Operations for the Houston Astros and also served as the GM of their Osceola farm team, for which he was named Executive of the Year in the Florida State League (FSL) in 1988.
O'Conner has a Masters degree in Sports Administration from Ohio University and an Economics/Finance degree from Wittenberg (OH) University.
"He was elected unanimously," said Tom Saffell, president of the Gulf Coast League, "which represents how we feel about the direction that the organization is moving forward."
See also:
"Plowing Together," 12.03.07 - SZ
There will be a feature at SZ on O'Conner later in the week.