We have personnel news from the Frisco RoughRiders (Class AA; Texas League), as executive vice president & general manager Jason Dambach is relocating to his native Pennsylvania. While Dambach will remain with the RoughRiders, COO Scott Burchett is assuming more day-to-day tasks.
An 18-year Minor League Baseball veteran who joined the RoughRiders executive team in January 2015, Dambach will continue to be instrumental in all major franchise decisions and provide leadership in the areas of communications, community involvement, marketing, game entertainment and baseball operations.
Dambach is married to Erica Walsh, one of women’s soccer’s most decorated and well-respected coaches and the head coach at Penn State University, where she guided the Nittany Lions to the 2015 NCAA Championship. The couple is expecting the birth of their first child in June and the move back to State College allows Dambach to be together permanently with his growing family.
“The last 17 months in Frisco have been the most rewarding of my professional career, and I’m so proud of the work we’ve collectively done to rejuvenate the RoughRiders brand and the game day experience at Dr Pepper Ballpark,” said Dambach. “But at the same time, being away from my wife and my family has been very difficult on a personal level. I’m grateful for the support I’ve received from General Partner & CEO Chuck Greenberg as both a friend and colleague and am excited to continue to be a key part of the Riders’ management team for a long time to come.”
Burchett is currently in his 13th season on the RoughRiders’ front office staff, having first joined the club in February 2004. The Garland native and Baylor University graduate was named a team Vice President in 2010 and promoted by Greenberg and Dambach to his current position as Chief Operating Officer in December 2014.
“For the past 15 seasons with three different teams, Jason and I have enjoyed a wonderful working relationship and friendship, and I’m very proud of his development as a professional and as a person,” said Greenberg. “There is no doubt that moving back to Pennsylvania is the right thing for Jason and his family, and I fully encourage and support his decision. His ongoing, intimate involvement with the franchise will continue to be essential as we build upon the great success we’ve enjoyed with the RoughRiders over the past 17 months.”
“While we all anticipate Jason maintaining the bulk of his duties permanently, we will leave open the question of whether to hire a new General Manager after the 2016 season,” Greenberg added. “If we determine to hire a new General Manager, and to do so from outside our organization, I’m confident this will be the most highly sought after opportunity in the industry.”