Akron RubberDucks President and General Manager Jim Pfander has been named the 2025 Double-A Executive of the Year.

Pfander received the honor last week at the Minor League Baseball Business Summit in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Votes for the 2025 Minor League Baseball Awards were cast by league executives and Major League Baseball staff members. Pfander was a finalist for MiLB Executive of the Year alongside Brad Shank of the Columbia Fireflies (Single-A), Rob Zerjav of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (High-A) and Chip Maxen of the Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A). Maxen was named the overall winner of the MiLB Executive of the Year award.

“I am honored and humbled to be named Double-A Executive of the Year,” Pfandersaid in a news release Oct. 13. “This is an incredible recognition of the fantastic work done by our entire front office staff, game day staff and interns. Their tireless efforts to bring Affordable. Family. Fun. to Akron over 69 home games during the regular season as well as 12 months a year to our community are the reason for this honor.

“I want to thank Ken Babby for bringing me back home to Akron nearly a decade and a half ago and allowing me to be a steward of my hometown club. I also want to congratulate Brad Shank, Rob Zerjav and Chip Maxen for their incredible seasons and well-deserved honors. It was truly humbling to be part of this incredible group of leaders in our industry who make a real difference in the communities they live, work and play in.”

Pfander graduated from Archbishop Hoban High School in 1996 and earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Ohio University in 2000. He started his baseball career as an intern in Cleveland’s broadcasting and special events departments in 2000. He has also worked for minor league teams in Spokane, Washington (2001-2002), Brockton, Massachusetts (2003-2004), Charleston, South Carolina (2005-2010), and Port Charlotte, Florida (2012). 

Pfander worked as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Akron Aeros in 2011, and then returned before the 2013 season. Pfander helped guide the RubberDucks to Eastern League Southwest Division championships and overall Eastern League championships in 2016 and 2021.

The RubberDucks drew 274,686 fans through the gates of Canal Park during the 2025 season. The RubberDucks welcomed the 10 millionth fan through the gates since the ballpark opened in 1997 on July 30.

The RubberDucks also introduced a brand-new videoboard, which increased the digital footprint by more than 200%, in 2025 inside the ballpark. Ducks Manager of Media Relations Jimmy Farmer said the privately funded videoboard project was part of the more than $18 million in privately invested improvements to the ballpark Pfander has overseen since 2013.

Additionally, thanks to a continued partnership with the City of Akron, the club was able to modernize and completely renovate all concourse restrooms before the start of the season.

Pfander and the RubberDucks were also active in the community during the season, volunteering each month at local nonprofit organizations, giving back more than 50 hours in community service per full-time staff member.

The RubberDucks raised nearly $30,000 for Habitat for Humanity of Summit County via 50/50 ticket sales at Canal Park, collected more than $15,000 for the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank via the Round UP program, and raised nearly $4,400 for local charities thanks to donations of $1 from the sales of Extreme Foods items via a partnership with Rubber City Radio Group.

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com.