In the words of Chris Browne, “Family is the rock. I wouldn’t be here without family.”

Since 2002, Browne has been with the T-Bones, but he’s been working in baseball much longer than that.

“I grew up in Kansas City, working in baseball all my life. I started in the game as a 15-year-old batboy at the clubhouse with the Kansas City Royals back in the glory days of ‘85, and in the ‘80s when they were a very good team,” said Browne.

Throughout those years, Browne worked with several Hall of Fame players. He said, “I just kind of grew up in the clubhouse of the major leagues. I did that job all through high school and college. Then got a degree focusing on sports management at the University of Missouri and started out learning the business of minor league baseball in Jacksonville, Florida.”

Then, after that, Browne started his journey with the Kansas City T-Bones, where he soon moved up to being Vice President and General Manager.

With his job now, he says, “I work a lot of hours here at the ballpark and on the phones. When I’m not here at the ballpark, I’m talking with the baseball team. While they're on the road, I’m making phone calls, texting and working at the park, sometimes crazy 14,15,16 hour days, sometimes 10 days in a row. Sometimes working other events that we do out here.”

All the work and dedication to the T-Bones led to winning the Championships in 2018. Because of that, Browne presented his Championship ring to his family.

He said, “It meant for my family to be presented with the ring because they’re apart of what I do. They’re a part of that ring. They stand behind me, they’re with me, they put up with some of the craziness to be a part of what we do, and they let me do that for my career.”

Sometimes work and baseball takes family time away from Browne.

He adds, “There are so many times where I’m at an event or at my son’s baseball game, a little league baseball game, and I get pulled away and have to take a phone call to make an arrangement or to talk to our manager about something on the road. So, it was a way to kind of to show, ‘Hey you’re involved. Thanks for your support’ - because without them, that ring wasn’t possible.”

His hard work didn’t stop at the 2018 Championships. About a year later, Browne was named the Kansas City Sports Executive of the Year by the Kansas City Sports Commission.

“I think of it as a team award or organizational award first. I was honored and humbled to receive that phone call and to be named the award winner,” he said. “I was speechless.”

When it comes to the T-Bones, they’re family. It’s “minor leagues and major dreams,” says Browne not just for the players but for everyone.

In the words of the T-Bones, it’s Fun Well Done.