Baseball team opens office, announces staff

Friday, Oct. 5, 2007

Click here to enlarge this photo Viniard E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Frankel Click here to enlarge this photo Snitcher

The team will make this location its team headquarters until moving into Regency Furniture Stadium next spring.

The club has also introduced the first three front office staff members, all of whom have moved into the offices in Waldorf. Mark Viniard is the senior director of business operation, Andy Frankel is senior director of marketing and Bill Snitcher is director of corporate partnerships. Collectively, the three have nearly 30 years of experience in the minor league baseball industry.

‘‘With the opening of our offices and the addition of Mark, Andy and Bill to our staff, we are truly off and running as we gear up for opening day in Southern Maryland next May,” said Opening Day Partners Senior Vice President Brad Sims. ‘‘Not only do all three have great experience in minor league baseball, but they have great knowledge of the Southern Maryland region and communities.”

Sims is serving as the club’s acting general manager while the ongoing search for a permanent GM continues. He also oversees the business operations for Opening Day Partners entities in Camden, N.J., York, Pa., and Lancaster, Pa. He has more than 12 years of experience in professional sports sales and marketing.

Viniard, 39, is responsible for overseeing all day-to-day business operations of the club, including ticket sales, group sales, corporate partnerships and marketing. The Missouri native has been in minor league baseball since 1991, working his way up from intern to general manager in stints with six teams over 13 years. Most recently, Viniard was the director of sales and marketing for the Iowa Stars of the American Hockey League. Viniard graduated from Quincy College in 1990 and currently resides in White Plains with his wife, Rocell, and son, Sam, 3.

Frankel, 31, will oversee the club’s marketing department, including community outreach, public and media relations, and print and online publications. He will also help the club establish corporate partnerships with businesses in Southern Maryland. Frankel has been instrumental in the development of Opening Day Partners’ recent teams and stadiums in Lancaster and York. His career in minor league baseball began with the Bowie Baysox, where he served as director of communications from 2001 to2004. The native of Pittsburgh, Pa., graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland in 1999 and resides with his fiancée, Stephanie.

Snitcher, 52, rejoins the Blue Crabs as director of corporate sponsorships after being initially involved with the project in 2006. He was the sponsorship sales manager for the Bowie Baysox from 1999 to 2005, and later served in that capacity for the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. He was first exposed to minor league baseball in his role with the American Dairy Association and involvement in an ad campaign featuring Cal Ripken Jr. as spokesman. A licensed Realtor, Snitcher and his wife, Ann, with two grown children, Tim and Melanie.