END OF AN ERA

Pat O’Conner’s retirement signals the likely end for Minor League Baseball as an independent entity

- J.J. COOPER

After 13 years as Minor League Baseball president, Pat O’Conner announced on Sept. 8 that he is retiring effective at the end of the year. O’Conner had been elected to a four-year term as MiLB president in 2019.

The announcement means the tenure of one of the most significant figures in the history of the minor leagues is coming to an end. O’Conner joined MiLB as its chief operating officer in 1993 and has served as president since 2007. His 28-year tenure at MiLB has coincided with one of the most successful stretches in the nearly 120 years of the “organized” minor leagues.

His announcement also likely signifies the end of Minor League Baseball as an independent entity. Major League Baseball has laid out a proposal to MiLB that would see MLB take over as the governing body, handling the functions that MiLB’s offices have fulfilled.