New Marlins president of business operations lays out vision for future
MIAMI - The Miami Marlins are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year.
Spring training gets underway next week, but first, fans will get a chance to mix and mingle with players this weekend.
And the team's new President of Business Operations says the franchise is committed to connecting with the community now more than ever.
While many might say Miami is a football town, and even a basketball town in recent years, Caroline O'Connor believes there's still plenty of room for baseball.
"We think it's a sports town. There's a lot of baseball fans out there and the World Baseball Classic will really be an opportunity to re-invite all those fans back in," O'Connor told CBS4's Lauren Pastrana.
"But we think we're going to have a lot of excitement this year. We have an exciting roster and we're excited to welcome everyone back in for the Marlins season starting March 30th."
We met with O'Connor at loanDepot Park as crews were gearing up for Monster Jam.
The baseball diamond was completely transformed for the loud and destructive motorsport event.
O'Connor says events like that and the upcoming World Baseball Classic are a chance to draw new fans to the park.
"It's our intention to really show them what we can do and have them come back for a Marlins game. Our goal is everyone who comes in for a World Baseball Classic game wants to come back for a Marlins game," she said.
O'Connor joined the organization in 2017 and was bumped up to President of Business Operations late last year, making the Marlins the first team in major American professional sports to have two women at the top.
Kim Ng is the team's General Manager.
With a background in finance, O'Connor knows the value of the franchise to the community and considers it a small business with the potential for a big impact.
"We are a small business at the end of the day," she said.
"We're all working really hard to deliver the team that the city deserves and that we want to provide. A small group of us working a lot of long hours to make this the community's team and delivering something really special."
On Saturday, fans will get the chance to hang out with their favorite players, like second baseman turned center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, and newly-added pitcher, Johnny Cueto.
It's the first Fan Fest since before Covid.
While winning is the goal, O'Connor says scoring big with the community is also a top priority.
The Marlins sponsor more than 200 Little League teams across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, and renovate neighborhood ballparks all over South Florida, helping foster a love of the game in the players of tomorrow.
"We want to be an integral part of the community," O'Connor explained.
"We want to be Miami's team with a stadium full of fans cheering on our team every night. We want to have a lot of events and concerts at loanDepot park and we want to be a vibrant part of this community."
Marlins Fan Fest gets started at 1 pm Saturday at loanDepot Park. The event is free, but you can claim your complimentary ticket or purchase tickets to the Beerfest here.