Tim Purpura Named Next Texas League President

The Texas League of Professional Baseball Clubs has announced that Tim Purpura will succeed Tom Kayser as league president.

Purpura, 56, brings 25 years of vast experience in executive sports management, including 14 (1994-2007) seasons with the Houston Astros. He was GM of the 2005 National League championship club and served in that capacity through 2007. Purpura spent eight seasons as assistant GM under Gerry Hunsicker, seven of those in the combined role of assistant GM and farm director.

A major contributor to six Astros playoff appearances (1997-98-99-2001-04-05) over nine seasons, Purpura began with Houston as assistant director of Minor League Operations in 1994.

He's worked as executive vice president and chief operating office of Minor League Baseball (2008-11), Texas Rangers senior director of player development (2011-13), and adjunct professor in SMU's Graduate School of Sports Management (2014-15). Since May of last year, he's been an Astros major league scout.

Purpura holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Loyola-Chicago and a Juris Doctor from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. His honors include Organization of the Year (Astros) for 2001 from USA Today Baseball Weekly, Baseball America, Sports Ticker, and Topps, plus Topps 2012 Organization of the Year (Rangers). Purpura began his baseball career as a spring training intern for the 1990 California Angels and later spent two seasons as assistant to the president of the Arizona Fall League.

"Tim is uniquely qualified to lead our league," Corpus Christi President Ken Schrom said. "If you look at his experience throughout the industry, especially the challenges and opportunities he's met down through the years, he may have the most comprehensive understanding of the relationship between Major League Baseball and the minor league game.

"He is extremely well-connected."

With 25 years of service to the league, Kayser is its longest-running president. He plans to assist Purpura with transition until February, 2017.

Before his election as TL president in February, 1992, Kayser had experience in Minor League Baseball as a team owner, GM, and business manager. He also worked for the Pirates and Reds in minor league operations and scouting. Kayser is a member of the Texas League Hall of Fame.

"Tom loves this league like no other. We'll all miss him," Schrom said. "I know I'll miss him personally. I worked for 16 years in El Paso with the Diablos and he was league president for all but five of them."

The Texas League Directors are: Russ Meeks (Arkansas), Ken Schrom (Corpus Christi), Chuck Greenberg (Frisco), E. Miles Prentice (Midland), Jon Dandes (Northwest Arkansas), Burl Yarbrough (San Antonio), William DeWitt III (Springfield), and Mike Melega (Tulsa).