AKRON -- The Aeros have hired Akron native and veteran minor league baseball executive Jim Pfander as the team's new general manager.
"I am extremely pleased to welcome Jim back home to Akron and Canal Park," owner Ken Babby said in a press release. "His experience and enthusiasm will be invaluable as we enter a new era of Aeros baseball."
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As GM of the Aeros, Pfander will oversee all business and promotional aspects of the organization, including sales, ticketing, marketing and community relations.
Pfander, who is a graduate of Archbishop Hoban High School and Ohio University, served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Aeros in 2011. His baseball career began as an intern in the Cleveland Indians broadcasting department in 2000.
Most recently, Pfander spent the 2012 season as the general manager of the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League.
"The opportunity to return to my hometown and rejoin the Aeros is very exciting," Pfander said in a press release. "I look forward to working with Ken Babby, and the new business team we are assembling, and certainly embrace coming home to the passionate Aeros fans in Akron/Canton and all of Northeast Ohio."
Pfander, who is expected to officially begin working with the team on Oct. 22, will be residing in Akron with his wife, Page, and 5-year-old daughter, Olivia.
For the 2012 season, the Aeros won the Eastern League Championship for the fourth time in team history.
They open the 2013 season on April 4 with a 6:05 p.m. game against the Binghamton Mets at Canal Park.
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