We have personnel news to report from the independent Can-Am League and the Bowie Baysox (Class AA; Eastern League).
The Can-Am League has announced the appointment of Kevin Winn as Executive Director.
In this new role, Winn will oversee baseball operations including player contracts, roster classifications, sales and salary caps and league expansion. In addition, Winn will continue applying his 25 years of professional umpiring experience to spearhead the circuit’s umpire development.
“We’re very lucky to have someone with such incredible acumen in the fold like Kevin Winn,” Can-Am League Chairman of the Board Al Dorso said. “Kevin is a baseball lifer whose commitment to excellence and umpire development is second to none. His limitless passion for the game has the potential to spread throughout the league like a brush fire and we’re eagerly fanning the flames for him.”
Prior to assuming his current position, Winn served as the Director of Umpire Development for the Can-Am League from 2005-2018 along with the American Association of Baseball From 2006-2018. He also has served in similar capacities in the Central Baseball League from 2002-2005 and the Texas-Louisiana League from 2000-2001.
Preceding his serving in professional umpire management, Winn umpired in the Big South, Texas-Louisiana League and Northern Leagues prior to taking over the Umpire Development Program. Under his tutelage, not only have 135 umpires have been hired by Minor League Baseball, two of his umpires — Adam Hamari (Can-Am League, 2006) and Will Little (Can-Am League 2007) are currently umpiring in Major League Baseball. Before going into professional baseball, Winn attended the Joe Brinkman Umpire School in 1985.
A graduate of Central Connecticut State University, Winn resides in Dayton Ohio with his wife, Colonel Lori Winn, USAF and their two daughters, Kendall and Reagan.
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In Bowie, the Baysox have hired five new full-time employees. Two hires will join the Group Sales Department, while two more will join the Stadium Operations staff. An additional member joins the Public Relations staff after working in an assistant role during the past season.
Sean Banks joined the Bowie Baysox as the Assistant Director of Ticket Operations this October. He has an extensive Minor League background, having worked for the Evansville Otters (independent; Frontier League), Beloit Snappers (Low A; Midwest League), and–most recently–the Bradenton Marauders (High A; Florida State League) as a Coordinator of Corporate Partnerships and Ticketing. Sean moved to the Bowie area in April, where he worked with The Aspire Group as a new business consultant, selling season tickets for various University of Maryland sports. He is also fluent in Spanish and has worked with the Cultural Development Department of the Kansas City Royals in the Dominican Republic to help introduce American culture to developing players.
Mauricio Simms joined the Bowie Baysox as a Group Events Manager in October. Prior to landing in Bowie, he interned for the West Virginia Black Bears (2018), the Baltimore Blast (2015), and Washington Spirit Women’s Soccer Club (2014). Simms also worked at the University of Maryland Athletics Department in their tutoring center and with the Prince George’s County Government, where he created a reading program combining his passion for sports and love of reading. Mauricio was a former NCAA Division 1 athlete for Davidson College’s men’s soccer team and graduated from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County in 2013. He currently resides in Bowie, MD, with his wife and will finish a Master’s in sport management from West Virginia University in December 2018.
Jessica Briggs joined the Baysox during the offseason as the new Stadium Operations Manager. Previously, she served as the Grounds and Stadium Operations Assistant for the Delmarva Shorebirds (Low A; Sally League) during the 2018 season and was the Facility Assistant for the Salem Red Sox (High A; Carolina League) for the 2017 season. Originally from Fulton in Upstate New York, Briggs has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management (2017) from SUNY Cortland and two Associates degrees from SUNY Monroe Community College in Physical Education (2014) and Sport Management (2015). She is a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys and is a proud supporter of the Syracuse Orange Basketball programs.
Richard Douglas will start his fourth year in minor league baseball as head groundskeeper for the Bowie Baysox. Richard recently was the First Assistant groundskeeper for the Round Rock Express (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), as well as the Texas Rangers before that. A native of Overland Park, Kansas, Richard graduated from the University of Kansas in 2016. He resides In Alexandria, VA, with his wife, Sam, and pup, Aspen.
Robby Veronesi came to Bowie as a Communications Assistant prior to the 2018 season and joined the Baysox on a full-time basis during the offseason. 2019 will mark his fourth season in Minor League Baseball, having spent the 2016 season with the Corpus Christi Hooks (Class AA; Texas League) and the 2017 season with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League). A native of Westfield, Massachusetts, Robby graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2015, spending the last few college years working in the Media Relations Department for the Vols and Lady Vols.