Randy Lewandowski enters his 29th year with the Indianapolis Indians and eighth as the club’s general manager in 2022. He is just the team’s fourth general manager since the organization was incorporated in 1955. In addition to his duties as GM, he was named president by the Indians Board of Directors in November 2016.
Lewandowski was named the International League’s 2016 Executive of the Year, marking the third Executive of the Year Award for the Indians’ front office staff since joining the IL in 1998. In 2015, Lewandowski was inducted into the Bishop Dwenger High School Hall of Fame and three years later, he was inducted into the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association Hall of Fame.
After joining the Indians as a ticket office intern in 1994, Lewandowski was hired full-time as assistant ticket manager the following year. He served in that capacity for two seasons and contributed to the team’s transition from Bush Stadium to Victory Field in 1996.
Lewandowski took over as director of operations in 1998, helping Victory Field host the 2001 Triple-A All-Star Game. He transitioned to assistant general manager in 2002, serving as one of the team’s two assistant GMs before becoming the sole assistant GM in 2005. In this role, his primary responsibilities were overseeing the marketing, operations and ticket departments.
Over the final five seasons of Lewandowski’s tenure as assistant GM, the Indians recorded five straight seasons of increased attendance. They led Minor League Baseball in attendance in 2013 while establishing a Victory Field record.
That success would continue following Lewandowski’s ascension to general manager in October 2014 as the team eclipsed its top season attendance mark for the second consecutive year. The 2016 and 2017 campaigns saw the Indians again lead Minor League Baseball in attendance, and in 2019, the club welcomed Victory Field’s 14 millionth fan through its gates.
Lewandowski’s leadership was on full display in 2020 and 2021. With the 2020 minor league season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewandowski managed to keep all full-time staff employed which helped lead to the successful execution of 20-plus public and private events at Victory Field. Then in 2021, Indians baseball returned to Victory Field, and the organization finished eighth out of 120 MiLB teams in total attendance despite playing 20 home games at 25% and 50% capacity.
Lewandowski was previously active in the Indiana chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as past president and board member, and past chair of the LLS Light the Night Walk. For a seven-year period, he was active in the youth sports coaching and mentoring ministry at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church and School. Lewandowski spearheaded a partnership between the Indians and Indianapolis RBI in 2015 and now serves as chairman on the organization’s board of directors. He also serves on the board of directors for both Indy Chamber and Indianapolis Indians Charities and gives the Indians and other Professional Development League (PDL) teams a voice of reasoning in important year-over-year discussions by serving on the PDL Club Operations and International League Scheduling committees.
A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Lewandowski graduated with a degree in business management from Anderson University in 1993. He was also a four-year starter on the Ravens’ baseball team, where he earned academic All-America honors as a first baseman and pitcher. Lewandowski resides in Noblesville, Ind., with his wife, Christina, and their two children, Alyssa Tallman (Mike) and Sam.