The Class AA Eastern League has announced its 2019 Executive of the Year, naming Todd “Parney” Parnell of the Richmond Flying Squirrels this year’s recipient. This is the third time in his career Parnell has won this award, as he previously won the award in 2013 and also in 2004 when he was the GM of the Altoona Curve. Parnell, who has been the Vice President and C.O.O. of the Flying Squirrels since their inception in 2010, will be presented with the award at the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego, California in December.
The Flying Squirrels welcomed a total of 400,321 fans to The Diamond this season, which was the second highest total attendance in the Eastern League. Richmond also led the league in average attendance with 6,255 fans passing through the turnstiles on a nightly basis. This marks the second consecutive season the Flying Squirrels have led the Eastern League in average attendance and the fifth time in the 10 year history they have led the league in average attendance. The attendance totals did not include the thousands of fans that were in attendance during 2019 Eastern League All-Star Week, a four-day celebration that culminated with a sellout crowd of 9,560 fans coming out to The Diamond for the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Game.
Beyond hosting the Eastern League All-Star Game this year, the 2019 season in Richmond was also a season-long celebration of the 10th anniversary season of the Richmond Flying Squirrels. The season long celebration of 10 seasons of Flying Squirrels baseball included promotions to highlight 10 memorable players and 10 memorable promotions from the history of the franchise. Beyond providing their fans with affordable family fun on a nightly basis, the Flying Squirrels organization is also committed to giving back to the Richmond community. The organization does this through a number of different initiatives that impact hundreds of organizations in their area. One of the many initiatives organized by the team is “Renovating Richmond’s Recreation”, a program created to renovate 14 baseball fields in the area.
With the presentation of this award the Eastern League would also like to recognize the outstanding performance this season by the entire Richmond Flying Squirrels staff.
“Parney and the Richmond front office raised the bar with their efforts in putting together Eastern League All-Star Week,” said Eastern League President Joe McEacharn. “The four days of events showcased the mutual love affair between the Flying Squirrels organization and their fans while also highlighting everything the Greater Richmond community has to offer. During their 10 years of existence the Flying Squirrels have created a tremendous legacy that is sure to continue for many years to come.”
Parnell, a 1988 graduate of Messiah College, is a 30-year veteran of the baseball industry who in 2011 was named the Baseball America Minor League Executive of the Year. Prior to joining the Flying Squirrels in 2010 he served as the President of the Greenberg Sports Group, overseeing the operation of the State College Spikes and Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Parnell previously spent seven seasons as the General Manager of the Altoona Curve from 2002-2008 and was the Vice President and General Manager of the Kannapolis Intimidators from 1997 to 2001, where in 1999 he was named the South Atlantic League General Manager of the Year.