Press Release Major League Baseball
Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. announced today the hiring of Tyrone Brooks as Senior Director of Major League Baseball’s new Front Office & Field Staff Diversity Pipeline Program. The newly established Pipeline Program will seek to identify, develop and grow the pool of qualified minority and female candidates for on‐field and baseball operations positions throughout the industry.
An advisory committee comprised of Commissioner’s Office employees and Club officials vetted dozens of applicants for the position and will continue to have oversight of the Senior Director’s role and responsibilities. The Senior Director also shall brief the Ownership Diversity Committee at owners meetings and will work closely with Human Resources and Recruiting personnel at the Commissioner’s Office with respect to its Program opportunities. Brooks will report directly to Dan Halem, Chief Legal Officer for Major League Baseball.
Brooks had been in the front office of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2009, first as Director of Baseball Operations and then as Director of Player Personnel. Prior to that, the University of Maryland graduate had worked in the front offices of the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves, where he began his career as a Baseball Operations Assistant in 1996. Brooks, 42, is the founder of the Baseball Industry Network, which is comprised of approximately 28,000 members on the professional networking tool LinkedIn.
Major League Baseball also has hired Renée Tirado as Senior Director, Recruitment. Tirado will be charged with directing the implementation of recruitment plans and procedures to ensure the most effective utilization of human resources to support MLB’s staffing objectives, including the Pipeline Program. Tirado will report to Steven Gonzalez, Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Labor & Human Resources.
Tirado had been the head of Diversity & Inclusion, Americas for AIG over the past three years, where she was responsible for designing and leading AIG’s diversity and inclusion strategies in the Americas, serving over 30,000 employees. Prior to AIG, Tirado had been the Director of Diversity & Inclusion for the United States Tennis Association.
Commissioner Manfred said: “It is a pleasure to welcome Tyrone Brooks and Renée Tirado to Major League Baseball and we look forward to their contributions. The Diversity Pipeline Program will serve as our game’s key initiative towards attracting top talent, hiring qualified candidates and developing careers. We are extremely fortunate to have these two accomplished individuals as leaders of our continuing efforts to encourage the fundamental principles of diversity and inclusion.”