Pat O'Conner (1976 GCHS Graduate) Elected President of Minor League Baseball

December 10, 2007
Pat O'Conner was elected President of Minor League Baseball on Wednesday, making him the 11th president in the 106-year history of the organization, which was formed as the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL) in 1901.

O'Conner, who has worked in professional baseball for 26 years, was the unanimous choice at the Baseball Winter Meetings. His four-year term will begin on Jan. 1.

O'Conner, 49, succeeds Mike Moore, who is retiring after serving 16 years as President. O'Conner joined Moore's staff as Chief Operating Officer in May, 1993, and added the title of Vice President, Administration in 1995.

"I am humbled and honored to be selected as the 11th 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."

During his 15 years as Moore's top aide, O'Conner has overseen all business activities of Minor League Baseball and its subsidiary companies and was architect of many of the programs that have contributed to Minor League Baseball's recent success. He has been Minor League Baseball's primary liaison to Major League Baseball in the negotiation and implementation of the Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA), which governs the working relationship between Major League and Minor League Baseball. O'Conner was instrumental in forming the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation (PBUC) and has negotiated both Collective Bargaining Agreements with Minor League umpires.

He began his career in Minor League Baseball in 1980 as Administrative Assistant with the Vero Beach Dodgers, spent a season as General Manager of the Greenwood Pirates of the South Atlantic League, then became Assistant General Manager of the Beaumont Golden Gators (Texas League).

O'Conner joined the Houston Astros organization in 1986 as Director of Florida Operations and General Manager of the Osceola team, where he was named Executive of the Year in the Florida State League in 1988.

O'Conner has a Masters degree in Sports Administration from Ohio University and an Economics/Finance degree from Wittenberg (OH) University.

Article provided by the GCHS Athletic Dept.