Lonnie Murray

Lonnie Murray
OccupationMLBPA-Certified Player Agent

Lonnie Murray is a Major League Baseball (MLB) agent. She was the first Black woman to be certified as a player agent by the MLB Players Association.[1]

Career

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Murray says sports were a large part of her life, including playing sports while growing up, but she had not considered a career in it.[2] She worked in the nonprofit sector, including for Coaching Corps.[2] She met her partner, Dave Stewart, when he was on the board of a nonprofit.[3] She joined the staff of Sports Management Partners, the San Diego–based agent firm founded by Stewart, helping run the business with him.[3]

In 2014, when Stewart became general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, he planned to transfer ownership to Dave Henderson, but Henderson's health problems limited his involvement.[3] Murray became a player agent by the MLB Players Association in 2015, with restrictions in place to prevent a conflict of interest involving Stewart's team.[3]

As of 2020, Murray represented approximately 40 players, mostly minor leaguers.[4]

Murray has been vocal about the systemic racism in baseball.[4][5] She represented Bruce Maxwell, the first MLB player to kneel for the national anthem.[6]

Murray is also supportive of efforts to increase the percentage of women who are sports agents.[7] She supports other women to become sports agents.[8] Murray represents Bianca Smith, the first Black woman to coach professional baseball.[9]

In 2021, Murray and Stewart were one of two Black-led redevelopment groups approved by the Oakland City Council to advance a bid to purchase the Oakland Coliseum site.[10]

Personal

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Murray and Stewart live in Poway, California.[11] She has a son named Tarik.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Finkelstein, Zachary (February 18, 2021). "Students: Apply to attend SABR conference". mlb.com.
  2. ^ a b Binder, Ashleigh (September 29, 2020). "Lonnie Murray: The Woman Making Deals in MLB". Sports As Told By A Girl. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  3. ^ a b c d e Piecoro, Nick. "Arizona Diamondbacks' GM, wife navigate unique situation". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  4. ^ a b Miller, Scott. "Once a Leader of Social Justice, MLB Is Now Embarrassingly Behind the Times". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  5. ^ Nightengale, Bob (2020-04-19). "Diversity will take a big hit in MLB Draft". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  6. ^ Miller, Scott. "Bruce Maxwell Just Wants a Fresh Start". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  7. ^ Wagner, James (2021-02-12). "Baseball Works to Confront Its Treatment of Women". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  8. ^ Megdal, Howard. "Erin Kane And The Clarion Agency Are Changing Sports For Women". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  9. ^ Macur, Juliet (2021-03-03). "The First Black Woman to Coach in Pro Baseball Thanks Her Mom for the Job". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  10. ^ Ravani, Sarah (2021-09-07). "Two Black developer groups are competing to redevelop the Oakland Coliseum. Here are their plans". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  11. ^ "Ex-A's World Series hero Dave Stewart says he doesn't have coronavirus". The Mercury News. 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
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