# Minor League Baseball Announces 2022 Award Winners

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/minor-league-baseball-announces-2022-award-winners/
- Published: 2022-12-05T15:30:00-06:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

**Minor League Baseball Announces 2022 Award Winners**

_Two teams and two executives honored_

**SAN DIEGO, Dec. 5, 2022 — **[Minor League Baseball](http://www.milb.com/index.jsp)
™ (MiLB™) today announced the 2022 winners of the Organization of the Year Award,
Executive of the Year Award, Future Star Award and the CommUNITY Champion Award.
Nominees from each league were selected by their peers and were candidates for the
overall awards.

**ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR – Nashville Sounds (Triple-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee
Brewers)**
The Nashville Sounds claimed the first Organization of the Year Award
in their 45-year history after a banner year in the Music City. The Sounds led Minor
League Baseball in total attendance (555,576) and set a club record for season ticket
revenue, topping the previous record by nearly $700,000. The Sounds also saw an 
increase in Full Season Equivalents by more than 10% from 2021.

The Sounds’ league-leading attendance total was made possible by coordinated efforts
across multiple departments, led by the ticket sales and service staff. Every member
of the Sounds’ ticket sales team exceeded their individual revenue goal, a feat 
never accomplished since the move to First Horizon Park in 2015. The Sounds smashed
franchise records for revenues in hospitality and groups, more than doubling sales
from 2021 and shattering the previous record by nearly $1 million. Suite lease revenues
were up 33% in 2022 and the Sounds had seven staff members surpass $500,000 in ticket
sales in 2022.

Corporate partnership revenues increased by nearly $500,000 in 2022 and the club
saw the two largest crowds in ballpark history (12,409 and 12,140). The Sounds had
13 sellouts in 2022 and the Sounds’ overall attendance increased by more than 118,000
fans from 2021.

Nashville’s community relations, marketing and communications efforts continue to
be industry leaders, particularly in the evolving digital and creative space. From
March 1 to October 4, the Sounds garnered 16.7 million impressions on Twitter, 2.45
million impressions on Facebook and 1.2 million impressions on Instagram.

Nashville’s email marketing campaigns played a key role in attendance and revenue
generation as their email campaigns reached a total of 3.33 million inboxes with
a 25.6% open rate and 1.6% click through rate. In total, $1.5 million was generated
from the campaigns.

A pillar of the Nashville community, Sounds employees totaled more than 250 volunteer
hours during the season and the club was an active participant in MLB and MiLB’s
Play Ball Weekend, the Copa de la Diversión Latino fan engagement initiative and
MiLB’s Black fan engagement program, The Nine.

“I’m so proud of our whole organization, because people make an organization and
it’s a total team effort to win an award like this,” said Sounds General Manager
and Chief Operating Officer **Adam English**. “Our owner, Frank Ward, does such 
a great job of supporting us and leading us, and I’m just so happy for our community
to win an award like this and I can’t wait to bring this award back to Nashville.”

**EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR – Mike Nutter, President, Fort Wayne TinCaps (High-A Affiliate
of the San Diego Padres)**
A 31-year veteran of Minor League Baseball, Mike Nutter
has spent 22 seasons with the Fort Wayne TinCaps, getting his start with the club
in the fall of 1999 as the Assistant General Manager after stints in Kane County,
Brevard County and Nashville.

After just one season in Fort Wayne, Nutter was promoted to General Manager (now
referred to as Team President) prior to the start of the 2001.

Over the years, Nutter has helped guide Fort Wayne’s franchise to tremendous success,
navigating the club through a re-brand and move to Parkview Field in 2009. The TinCaps
earned MiLB’s Community Champion Award in 2015 and Organization of the Year Award
in 2016. Parkview Field has perennially been at, or near, the top of ballpark ranking
lists, including _Stadium Journey’s_ most recent edition before this season.

On the field in 2022, the TinCaps finished with the worst winning percentage in 
the franchise’s 30-year history. But off the field, under Nutter’s leadership, the
club performed at franchise record-setting levels.

On the business side, the TinCaps registered their best per fan numbers ever, surpassing
$20 per fan for the first time, with each individual member of the sales staff posting
a record year in 2022. The TinCaps had a record year for corporate sales and merchandise
store sales (both in-ballpark and online), while topping $4 million in ticket revenues.

Nutter has long been passionate about developing and mentoring young professionals
in the industry, and once again in 2022, 100% of the TinCaps’ college-graduated 
interns found a job placement or grad school program, after their time with the 
TinCaps.

A fixture in the Fort Wayne community, Nutter is typically at Parkview Field’s front
gates to greet fans as they enter for a game and appears weekly on local radio and
TV programs. Additionally, he’s an active volunteer with non-profit organizations
like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Erin’s House for Grieving Children, Greater
Fort Wayne Inc., and Visit Fort Wayne. Nutter’s community involvement sets the tone
for the rest of the TinCaps staff, as every full-time team member volunteers with
at least one local non-profit.

In an effort to share best practices and exchange ideas with clubs in the Midwest
League, Nutter and the TinCaps hosted the “Heartland Seminar,” an event similar 
to the MiLB Promotional Seminar of the past.

In addition to his focus on the club’s bottom line, Nutter also created an office
environment focused on the health and mental wellbeing of TinCaps employees, advocating
for his full-time staff members to focus on their own wellness and taking time away
as necessary. The TinCaps already had mandatory days off on select non-game days
during the season and allowed staff members to miss an increased number of home 
games in 2022.

Nutter’s open-door policy for his own office, which he stocked with protein-rich
shakes and sugar-free energy drinks, led to more cohesion among the staff, where
co-workers could discuss everyday life issues and not just talk about work issues.
In this spirit, as a team, the TinCaps hosted their first ever Mental Health Awareness
Night in May, where the team wore specially designed jerseys that were auctioned
off to benefit the local chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI).

As a result of his success with the TinCaps, Nutter has been inducted into the Northeast
Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame and received the Better Business Bureau of Northern
Indiana’s Individual of Integrity Award. He has also garnered the Midwest League’s
selection for Executive of the Year three times (2004, 2009 and 2015).

Nutter, and his wife, Beth, have two children, Carson (a freshman at Indiana University)
and Katelynn (a high school senior).

“I’ve spent 31 years working in Minor League Baseball and in my opinion it’s the
greatest game in the world and the impact we can have in our communities cannot 
be understated,” said Nutter. “I share this with everyone I work with, our owner,**
Jason Freier**, and certainly my family. It’s just an absolutely incredible blessing.”

**FUTURE STAR AWARD (Top Executive 25 or Younger) – Rebekah Rivette, Bradenton Marauders(
Single-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates)**
Bradenton Marauders Manager of Marketing
and Game Presentation Rebekah Rivette joined the club in 2019, and has been adding
responsibilities ever since, making a positive impact on the Marauders organization
every step of the way.

Rivette, 25, oversees marketing, game presentation, in-game entertainment, promotions,
public relations and communications and fan and community engagement. She has enhanced
the fan experience at LECOM Park by introducing new and engaging contests and promotions,
while also adding new content initiatives from graphic design, photography and videography
to ensure a consistent brand across all social media platforms.

During games, Rivette directs the game presentation and all press box operations
with the Marauders seeing extensive growth in their social media impressions and
engagements.

Rivette was a large reason the Marauders saw a 30% increase in average attendance
over 2021 and she oversees the club’s MiLB.TV broadcasts to ensure fans are receiving
the best video feed possible.

Rivette is also active in her community as a member of FPRA (Florida Public Relations
Association) and serving on committees for Make-A-Wish and Manatee Technical College.

“This award really means a lot to me, and I want to thank the Bradenton Marauders
and Northwest Arkansas Naturals, who gave me my first job in baseball,” said Rivette.“
I’m really proud of the effort we put into our community initiatives and the way
we market our team to bring fans to the ballpark.”

**CommUNITY Champion Award – Richmond Flying Squirrels (Double-A affiliate of the
San Francisco Giants)**
Since the inception of the franchise, the Richmond Flying
Squirrels have focused on being a valuable community partner and making a positive
impact throughout the Richmond region. The organization has continued to launch 
new initiatives to meet evolving needs of the Richmond community and the baseball
industry.

Founded in 2014, the team’s 501(c)(3) organization, Flying Squirrels Charities, 
had an original mission centered around “Renovating Richmond’s Recreation,” a program
designed to upgrade youth baseball facilities. The initiative has led to the renovation
of 16 youth baseball fields in the greater Richmond area.

In 2022, Flying Squirrels Charities expanded its areas of focus to fully encompass
all the ways the Flying Squirrels impact the greater Richmond community. The newly
rebranded Flying Squirrels Charities focuses on four pillars: Education, Athletics,
Social Determinants and Inclusion.

Flying Squirrels Charities raises funds through a number of avenues including in-
stadium initiatives during the season and events around the region all year. In 
2022, fundraising events included the annual Hot Stove, which took place in November
and the Turn Left Golf Classic, an event in partnership with Richmond Raceway Cares
that raises around $20,000 each year. The team raised more than $30,000 through 
jersey auctions to benefit various organizations, including the Tragedy Assistance
Program for Survivors (TAPS), ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation and the Alzheimer’s
Association of Greater Richmond. On Military Appreciation Night, Squirrels players
wore the name of a fallen soldier, veteran or active-duty service member. Following
the game, each player placed their jersey on the mound recognizing the person honored.

In February 2022, a fire destroyed Fox Elementary School, which sits just over a
mile from the Flying Squirrels’ ballpark. Flying Squirrels Charities put together
a drive for books and supplies and the staff helped prepare a temporary space for
students to return to school by painting and delivering meals to students and faculty.
The students performed the National Anthem at the ballpark on the night they were
honored by the club.

In recent years, the Flying Squirrels have pushed to create opportunities to help
diversify front offices throughout baseball. In 2021, the Flying Squirrels started
their Executive Trainee Program (ETP), offering opportunities to students from Historically
Black Colleges and Universities to gain hands-on, professional experience working
in various capacities with the team. The program is designed to create a more diverse
and inclusive workforce with the goal of elevating more minorities into leadership
positions throughout the professional baseball industry. Over the past two seasons,
the three participants in the program have gone on to land full-time positions in
the Flying Squirrels’ front office.

The ETP was launched as one of the Flying Squirrels’ initiatives created in recognition
of the Richmond 34, a group of Virginia Union University students who were arrested
in 1960 following a peaceful sit-in protest at the whites-only lunch counter of 
Thalhimers Department Store in downtown Richmond. The Richmond 34 sit-in ultimately
led to the integration of Thalhimers and influenced legislation in the Civil Rights
Act of 1964.

The Flying Squirrels’ “Richmond 34 Legacy Weekend” began in 2021, recognizing members
of the Richmond 34 and other leaders past and present who have made contributions
in the push for social justice and racial equality. The team wore special jerseys
for the two games which were auctioned, generating over $5,300. The proceeds went
to the Richmond 34 Legacy Scholarship Fund, which awards $5,000 toward freshman-
year expenses for a local student attending an HBCU. The 2022 Richmond 34 Legacy
Scholarship went to Marisa Greenhow, a freshman at Virginia State University.

As part of the team’s All-Star festivities in 2019, Flying Squirrels Charities launched
the All-Star Legacy Scholarship in partnership with Genworth, awarding between 1-
3 scholarships annually to students from Richmond Public Schools to help continue
their education at a four-year college of their choice.

Flying Squirrels Charities hosted the “Have Funn, Go Putt” golf tournament, which
raised over $9,300. From that event, $2,200 was used to provide jerseys for the 
Metropolitan Junior Baseball League (MJBL), a non-profit founded in Richmond in 
1966 that focuses on providing urban youth with opportunities to play baseball they
would not otherwise have. This year, Flying Squirrels Charities provided all jerseys
for the MJBL’s Inner City Classic in Columbia, South Carolina.

For nearly a decade, the Flying Squirrels have partnered with the ASK Childhood 
Cancer Foundation to host the annual 5K & Funn Run and ASK Childhood Cancer Night
at The Diamond. In 2022, ASK kids designed special jerseys worn by the team and,
before the game, the players and coaches received cards telling the story of the
child who designed the jersey they wore for that game. The jersey auction raised
more than $5,500 for ASK.

During the seventh inning stretch, ASK kids, including survivors and children still
receiving treatment, took the field for a lap and received high fives from both 
teams. The ASK Night ceremony has become one of the most moving annual events at
The Diamond and has driven five different members of the Flying Squirrels’ front
office to become ASK Ambassadors, raising money and volunteering for the foundation
year-round. Flying Squirrels players and mascots also visit the ASK wing at the 
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU each year.

Another new effort in 2022 centered around the Friendship Circle of Virginia (FCVA),
which donated sensory bags for the stadium. The bags can be checked out at fan services
and include noise canceling earphones, fidget toys and more to create a comfortable
ballpark experience for fans of all abilities. The Friendship Circle is a non-profit
organization that aims to create an inclusive community by facilitating friendships
and social opportunities for people with and without disabilities to connect through
meaningful social experiences at home and throughout the community.

The Flying Squirrels commitment to building a more inclusive community continued
through their annual partnership with Virginia Pride for a community night involving
LGBTQIA+ organizations at the ballpark. This year, the Flying Squirrels hosted their
largest Pride Night to date and participated in the Virginia Pride Festival in downtown
Richmond.

The Flying Squirrels are visible in the greater Richmond community well beyond the
baseball months. Through mid-October, mascots Nutzy and Nutasha had made more than
400 community appearances in 2022 around the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Flying Squirrels continue to promote educational causes in schools around the
Richmond region, including the “Go Nuts for Reading Program,” which challenges elementary
and middle school students to read eight books over a two-month span to receive 
a free ticket to a Flying Squirrels game. This year, more than 10,000 students from
68 participating schools completed the challenge. The three nights eligible for 
Reading Program ticket redemptions averaged nearly 8,400 fans.

“This means so much to our organization because the Squirrels and Richmond are really
a match made in heaven,” said Flying Squirrels Director of Entertainment **Caroline
Phipps**. “Since we came to Richmond 10 years ago, it’s all been about the community,
and we are so appreciative of this award.”

**###**

**About Minor League Baseball **
Minor League Baseball consists of 120 teams across
four classification levels (Single-A, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A) that are affiliated
with Major League Baseball’s 30 teams. Fans flock to Minor League Baseball games
to see baseball’s future stars and experience the affordable family-friendly entertainment
that has been a staple of Minor League Baseball since 1901. For more information,
visit [MiLB.com](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.milb.com&d=DwMFAg&c=wveiQRxe0XcXhet-EEJuzw&r=U8lEQ4f0JaHQkP5sTu8A_fsPj1AEcG2jw4IKmA7C6f4&m=gx82ctM9mgoG5g09fj0lduE62Q8_i_GEBKBDEA8mmRY&s=cyYnwERtqZARX25_hnVmAc7UHpqtu7ffOOe7FLrwvfg&e=).
Follow Minor League Baseball on [Facebook](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_MiLB&d=DwMFAg&c=wveiQRxe0XcXhet-EEJuzw&r=U8lEQ4f0JaHQkP5sTu8A_fsPj1AEcG2jw4IKmA7C6f4&m=gx82ctM9mgoG5g09fj0lduE62Q8_i_GEBKBDEA8mmRY&s=PcQshWKzQ9xOCDK-7A3xPslIPVGX_0FwbHqOtH0kzBM&e=),
[Instagram](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.instagram.com_milb&d=DwMFAg&c=wveiQRxe0XcXhet-EEJuzw&r=U8lEQ4f0JaHQkP5sTu8A_fsPj1AEcG2jw4IKmA7C6f4&m=gx82ctM9mgoG5g09fj0lduE62Q8_i_GEBKBDEA8mmRY&s=DdDW0oq4W1LoQP7S37hNvascrkZPffDeaPXNjUkAzSY&e=)
and [Twitter](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_MiLB&d=DwMFAg&c=wveiQRxe0XcXhet-EEJuzw&r=U8lEQ4f0JaHQkP5sTu8A_fsPj1AEcG2jw4IKmA7C6f4&m=gx82ctM9mgoG5g09fj0lduE62Q8_i_GEBKBDEA8mmRY&s=_Bp6OhuBW124f3Ek8t7GfzHW6Fzrkcv-R6Cp5xko9l4&e=).

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