Dan Lunetta knew his way around baseball offices by 2016. He'd been a minor league general manager, a major league traveling secretary and director of minor league administration.
For the previous 12 seasons, he'd worked with the Tigers director of minor league operations, enough to win him a 2016 honor for distinguished service in player development, MiLB.com wrote.
"Dan Lunetta is one of the most well-rounded and experienced executives in baseball today," Minor League Baseball President & CEO Pat O'Conner told MiLB.com then. "Dan's dedication to player development and his contributions to the game at the Major League level and the Minor League level throughout his career have been extraordinary, and it is my pleasure to present him with the Sheldon 'Chief' Bender Award."
Lunetta's long career in baseball began more than three decades earlier, in his hometown of Jamestown, NY.
Lunetta, a graduate Jamestown High School and SUNY Brockport, started as the groudskeeper for short-season Jamestown Expos in 1979. He then moved up to assistant general manager, then general manager in 1981. He was inducted into the local Hall of Fame in 2014.
He then became the Expos director of team travel, the Reds traveling secretary and worked as director of operations for the AAA Buffalo Bisons.
In 1990, he joined the AAA Rochester Red Wings as general manager and watched as his team won the International League. Going into that season, Lunetta explained his approach concerning attendance, to The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
"I consider myself to be a baseball person and a business person, first and second ...," Lunetta told The Democrat and Chronicle. "Increasing attendance is the bottom line, which is the profit and loss statement."
By 1992, Lunetta was with the Marlins, as director of minor league administration. For 2005, he joined the Tigers as director of minor league operations. He continues as Tigers director of minor league operations in 2022.
In 2010, he gave an update on Tigers minor leaguer Charlie Furbush - who went on to see time in five major league seasons - to Furbush's hometown Portland Press Herald.
"He's been progressing quite well for us," Lunetta told The Press Herald. "We felt it was time to move him along The reason he's been promoted is he's shown significant improvement and now we have an expectation that he'll carry that forward to Double-A."
- Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Jan. 31, 1990: Wings GM Lunetta says: Let's bring out the fans, Part 2
- Portland Press Herald, July 4, 2010: There's no stop to his escalator
- MiLB.com, Nov. 17, 2016: Tigers Minor League Ops Director recognized by MiLB
Made the Majors:1,298-33.4%
Never Made Majors:2,593-66.6%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:528
10+ Seasons in the Minors:325
No comments:
Post a Comment