We have a change in the front office of the Lowell Spinners (Short Season A; NY-Penn League), as longtime President and GM Tim Bawmann is leaving to pursue other opportunities, while MiLB vet Shawn Smith takes over as interim GM.
Bawmann has been the team’s General Manager since 2003. During that time the team enjoyed a sellout streak spanning the course of ten seasons, record attendance, award-winning promotions, establishment of summer baseball camps, Scout Night sleepovers, appearances in the Futures at Fenway game, summer concerts and more.
“These past 12-plus seasons have been the best of my career working in professional sports,” Bawmann said. “Drew and Joann Weber gave me an opportunity to lead this first-class organization and I will be forever grateful. Our staff here in Lowell have contributed greatly to the successes of the franchise and I am blessed to have worked with so many wonderful people.”
“Tim helped build the Spinners into one of the top Minor League teams in professional baseball,” said team owner Drew Weber. “His commitment to the local community and the boards he served on was a testament to how much he loved working in the greater Lowell Community.”
Under Bawmann’s guidance, the team won a Minor League Baseball Golden Bobble Head for Most Creative Promotion in 2013 for their development of the Military Card Set, a giveaway designed to honor local veterans with their very own baseball card. The Spinners were named the New York-Penn League Promotion Team of the Year in 2006, 2010 and 2011 and won the Larry Johnson President’s award in 2007. Bawmann was named the NYPL Executive of the Year in 2009.
As noted, MiLB veteran Shawn Smith is the team’s interim GM for the 2016 season. Smith was the Spinners President/GM dating back to Alumni Field in 1996 until Bawmann’s arrival in 2003. Under Smith’s guidance the team started the record-setting sellout streak, won Minor League Baseball’s Larry MacPhail Promotional award in 2000, the Bob Ferias award and the Boston Baseball Writers’ Association Award. He too was a NYPL Executive of the Year. Smith currently owns and operates a boutique executive-level consulting practice, “From The Stretch” and previously worked in the NBA for nine seasons.
“The Spinners are in a wonderful position for a successful season with Shawn returning. He helped lay the foundation of success in Lowell,” said Weber. “While this is a sad day in franchise history, I’m excited for the Bawmann family in the next step on their professional sports journey.”