Hartford GM Named Eastern League's Top Executive

HARTFORD, CT — General manager Tim Restall of the Hartford Yard Goats has been named the 2017 Eastern League Executive of the Year. The 2017 season was his second as the general manager of the Yard Goats. He will be presented with the award at the baseball winter meetings in Orlando, Florida during the
opening session on Monday, Dec. 11.

The work for Restall and the rest of the Yard Goats staff came long before opening day, as the organization spent more than two years overseeing the opening of Dunkin’ Donuts Park, their brand new stadium in downtown Hartford.

Restall’s leadership helped the Yard Goats to have a wildly successful inaugural season at Dunkin’ Donuts Park. The Yard Goats welcomed a total of 395,196 fans through the turnstiles at the new stadium in 2017, the second highest total in the Eastern League. They also ranked third in the league in average attendance, with 5,812 fans per game coming out to the ballpark. The team welcomed sellout crowds to 41 of their 68 home games during the season, including selling out 26 of their final 31 home games.

One of the reasons for the strong support of the Yard Goats at their ballpark was the way the organization got
involved within the community in Hartford. That included a community outreach effort to the significant Latino population in the city of Hartford that included broadcasting all home games in both English and Spanish while also distributing marketing materials such as pocket schedules and posters in both languages.

“Tim and the rest of the staff in Hartford did a tremendous job in meeting the challenges that came with the opening of Dunkin’ Donuts Park,” said Eastern League President Joe McEacharn. “The hard work of Tim and the rest of the Yard Goats staff was on full display throughout the season as the team created an exciting, fun atmosphere that kept fans coming out to the ballpark night in and night out. That hard work was not only on display at the ballpark, but also throughout the city of Hartford as members of the organization were out working in their community to give back to their fans.”

Restall, a native of Raymond, New Hampshire who attended New Hampshire College and UNH Manchester,
is an 18-year veteran of the baseball industry. He became general manager of the New Britain Rock Cats in 2013 and has remained in that role through the organization's relocation to Hartford.

He started his baseball career working as the food and beverage manager for the West Michigan White Caps from 2000-2003, and followed that up by joining the New Hampshire Fisher Cats for their inaugural season in 2004. Restall then worked as the general manager for Centerplate from 2005-2007 before returning to the Fisher Cats as Vice President of Business Operations in 2008.

"This recognition is in actuality an organization award and is the direct result of our dynamic front-office and game-day staff," Restall said. "We had an excellent first season and it could not have happened without great teamwork."

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Story and photo courtesy of Hartford Yard Goats