Coventry Native Bob Thibeault Wins Contest to Become General Manager

Any sports fan would love to be a part of an organization and running a team. One Coventry native got to live his dream.

On Saturday July 2nd, Bob Thibeault was able to be the general manager of the Connecticut Tigers, in Norwich, Connecticut. He won the essay contest put on by the promotions department of the team that asked why he wanted the opportunity, and was selected as the winner.

In the minor leagues, the general manager, GM, does not deal with player movement such as trades, drafts, or free agent signings. These are some of the responsibilities a professional GM would handle in the MLB, such as Theo Epstein, the Red Sox general manager.

The general manager in the minors is in charge of operations. According to Thibeault, the GM works with the marketing department to increase sales and revenue for the team. The Connecticut Tigers compete in the A Minor League Division, the lowest level of professional baseball.

During the season, the general manager spends over 100 hours at the stadium during the week while the team is at home and about 70 when the team is on the road and in the off-season, according to Thibeault.

On Saturday morning he met with Andrew Weber, the GM of the Connecticut Tigers at Dodd Stadium in Norwich. Over the years that baseball has been played in Norwich, the team has been near the bottom of the league in attendance every year.

Weber and his staff have increased the attendance by an average of 700 more people per game this season, compared to last year. 

He gave Thibeault a tour of the facility, including the dugouts, indoor batting cage, concession areas, locker rooms, luxury suites, press box, and more. "During the tour, he pointed out physical improvements that he and his staff have made to the facility and discussed others that he would like to make," he said.

During the day, Thibeault got a chance to have one-on-one time with the VP of Operations, Director of Business Development, Director of Facilities and Turf Management, the Box Office Manager, and the Director of Community Relations and Promotions.

"Each explained his roles within the organization," he said, "From these individuals, I received in-depth information on how the team markets its product, how the facility and field are maintained, how the team is attempting to brand itself in the community, how to run the scoreboard, how the ticket orders are processed and even how to update information on the team's website."

The Lowell Spinners, the Boston Red Sox Class A Affilliate, would be the opponent on Saturday afternoon. Thibeault got a chance to meet with the hitting coach Rich Gedman, a former Boston Red Sox player.

"I have been taking my family to that stadium for over 15 years," he said, "I had an absolute blast."

Thibeault said that most of the workers he spent time with on Saturday work long hours for marginal pay. Some of them admitted that they could make more money doing other jobs, but their passion for baseball keeps them where they are at.

All in all, he enjoyed his experience and got to see the operations of a baseball team first-hand. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself and Thibeault jumped at it by taking the time to write his winning essay.