Former Lugnuts GM Pat Day to be remembered in Celebration of Life Thursday

PEORIA, Ariz. – Pat Day, who dedicated his life to working in Minor League Baseball and served as the Lansing Lugnuts’ general manager from 2007-2012, will be remembered in a Celebration of Life on Thursday, April 21, at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, beginning at 12 noon local time, 3 p.m. Eastern. The Celebration of Life will be streamed via Zoom and Facebook.

Pat Day's Celebration of Life Zoom link

Day passed away at age 47 on Friday from a heart attack while working at home. He leaves wife Erica and daughters Emerson and Harper.

“Pat Day was one of the great forces in minor league baseball over the past 20 years,” said Tom Dickson, owner of the Lansing Lugnuts and CEO of Professional Sports Catering (PSC). “From his roles at the Lugnuts and Biscuits to his ascendency to Division President of PSC, Pat touched virtually every corner of MILB. But it’s Pat’s incredible spirit, optimism for life and love for his family that define him the most. His passing is a terrible loss for us all. He will be missed by many.”

A native of Massachusetts and graduate of Concord University, where he studied communications, Day worked his way from internships with the Princeton Devil Rays and Charleston Alley Cats to becoming Alley Cats assistant general manager. He joined the Montgomery Biscuits for the Biscuits’ inaugural season in 2004 through 2007, when he relocated to Lansing to become Lugnuts general manager, replacing Jeff Calhoun.

In Lansing, Day oversaw the beginning of the Lugnuts’ Crosstown Showdown exhibition vs. Michigan State University, which drew record-setting crowds of 12,862 in 2008, 12,992 in 2009 and 12,997 in 2012. The Lugnuts as a whole drew nearly 2,000,000 fans during Day’s tenure as GM, with the stadium atmosphere personifying Day’s heart, energy and enthusiasm.

Day left the Lugnuts for a brief stint in minor league hockey in Muskegon before returning to the national pastime as president and general manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, working at the highest level of independent baseball. Here, too, he excelled, honored as the 2015 Atlantic League Joe Klein Executive of the Year. After spending 2016 as the GM of the New Britain Bees, Day joined Professional Sports Catering in 2017, where he was named Division President in 2019.

In lieu of flowers, a college fund is being set up for the benefit of Pat’s two daughters, Emerson and Harper.

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