Baseball Veteran Named Pro Team's President

Baseball industry veteran and Corte Madera resident Mike Shapiro will be the head of the new North American League franchise, set to play its home games at in San Rafael in May 2012, Centerfield Partners announced today.

Shapiro’s baseball career ranges from the big leagues – he held top positions with the San Francisco Giants, the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals – to coaching Twin Cities Little League.

“This will give me the chance to utilize all of the experience I've had at the major league level, particularly with respect to operations and customer service, and bring it to a smaller, very local scale,” he said.

Shapiro often made appearances at a number of public meetings with the San Rafael City Council and neighborhood associations when the baseball proposal was in the works.

“Mike championed the efforts to bring this franchise to San Rafael,” Centerfield Partners CEO Brian Clark said. “I give him a lot of credit for sticking with it.”

Business Sponsorships

When the to the City Council, the plan included approximately 1,500 seats. Centerfield then to 800 seats after criticism from neighbors about traffic congestion and parking.

“Because we only have 800 seats at Albert Park we need to make up a lot of lost ticket sales revenue with sponsorships,” Shapiro said.

Naming the Team

After the San Rafael City Council in September, Shapiro and others at Centerfield Partners began to build a new team from scratch.

“Now it’s so busy. Sometimes you should be careful what you wish for,” Shapiro laughed.

The company decided to run a contest using San Rafael Patch and the Marin Independent Journal, where on the name they prefer.

The results will be announced Wednesday, Oct. 26.

New Team Manager

Shapiro also hopes to name the new manager by early November.

“Our highest goals are to find the right field leader who has experience at the independent league level, is enthusiastic about working in the community and is on board with our goal to build a consistently competitive team," he said.

The manager will be involved in the team's marketing and promotional efforts and start the process of recruiting and signing players.

“As one of my mentors, Stan Kasten, pounded into my head:  it's all about putting a good product on the field, creating a great fan experience and integrating the team with the community,” Shapiro said.