The Baseball Winter Meetings with the Sens GM - #2

Busy, busy day in sunny Florida. Sorry I keep harping on the weather, but I can't help but stress that we are enjoying 85 degree weather down here. It's like … baseball season!!

Monday is the big seminar day at the Baseball Winter Meetings each year. And today lived up to the tradition. First seminar I attended was marketing based about partnering and positioning with businesses. We do a lot of this, and the information shared will be a good complement. That was followed by a seminar on data analytics. This is very big in "the business" right now. Most of the talk was focused on ticket pricing and applied more toward Major League sports franchises. Didn't really apply to us. The opening session was next, with each league's executive of the year being recognized, as well as several addresses by Minor League officials including Pat O'Connor, the president of the Minor Leagues.

Next was the annual Awards Luncheon. Big room. Lots of people. The best of the Minor League operators were recognized. And Hickory Crawdad's Joey Gallo received the award for leading the Minor Leagues in home runs in 2013. Look for Joey to be swinging in the Majors within 2 years.

The afternoon brought more seminars. This was a good one - by Bill Sutton on Prospect and Concept Development. This was right up my alley. Great ideas and a new perspective on connecting with corporate partners for premium seating and business relationships. Well it was interesting to me! Next was a meeting with all teams involved in the Minor League marketing program. This past season we worked with Minor League baseball to bring Stauffer's Cookies and GEICO insurance to the ballpark. You remember Roar Like and Animal. One of my favorite between inning games. Those kids were great!

Then we took to the expo room floor for Opening Night at the Trade Show. This is the big bazaar where all vendors gather to display their products and services for next season. Bobbleheads, inflatable costumes, beer cups that fill from the bottom, stadium chairs, and player uniforms, along with hundreds of others things are spread across the hall for consideration. It's always fun to see what is available. Maybe you'll get to see some of those things at the ballpark next season.

But enough about the business. The real fun is in the lobby! So who did I see? Former Phillies manager Jim Fregosi and World Series Champion manager John Farrell (not together) were in the lobby grabbing coffee. The Twitterverse was ablaze with the news that Roy Halladay has decided to retire. Roy was giving an interview on one of the many broadcast sets that is scattered around the hallways of the Dolphin. 1991 World Series hero Jack Morris was on another set giving his unique perspective. I saw Jack McDowell walking across the breezeway between the two hotels. Former "can't miss" prospect Clint Hurdle (who did miss) has now found his true calling as one of the best managers in baseball with the Pirates, and was headed for a meeting. A very gray Steve Sax was about to go on-set with the MLB-TV folks. And former Major League GM, Steve Phillips, was also looking for an interview. Sure beats yesterday's sparse sightings.

Tomorrow holds more meetings and a reception with the Nationals. Really looking forward to it!