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FANTASTIC VOYAGE - Minor League Baseball President Visits Voyagers.

By Tom Wylie

Story Created: Aug 4, 2011 at 11:00 PM MDT

Story Updated: Aug 4, 2011 at 11:04 PM MDT

Minor League Baseball president Pat O’Conner spends the majority of his working days on the road. And over the weekend, he made a stop in the electric city to visit the Voyagers.

“The people of Great Falls have been great fans of minor league baseball.” O’Conner said of his annual trip to visit a Pioneer League team.

“I do a whole lot more listening than I do talking on theses trips.”

O’Conner meets with players, fans and front office staff to gauge how the clubs are run and if there’s any assistance he or MiLB can provide from their offices in St. Petersburg, FL.

And through his travels and interactions with over 160 minor league teams in the United States, he believes the health of Minor League Baseball is in good shape.

“In comparison to other small businesses of our size in this country, we fared far better in this recession than most did.” O’Conner said.

O’Conner does not believe that the fluctuating rosters of teams in the farm leagues has a negative effect on generating fan interest, but that it actually helps.

“The fact that we get to a chance to welcome the latest greatest players and develop them and send them on their way,” O’Conner explained. “That’s something that the fans understand and enjoy.”

And by and large, Minor League Baseball is more about the experience than the game itself.

“We sell the sizzle,” O’Conner said. “It’s cold drinks and hot food, it’s clean stadiums and pleasant music. It’s all of those things in an environment that the whole family can enjoy.”

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