Michael Hill and April Brown given expanded MLB roles following the death of Billy Bean
Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill talks to the media during the first full-squad spring training baseball camp, Feb. 17, 2020, at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. Credit: AP/David Santiago
NEW YORK — Former Miami Marlins general manager Michael Hill was promoted to Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of on-field operations and workforce development on Tuesday and April Brown to senior vice president of social responsibility and diversity.
The promotions fill areas of supervision that had been under Billy Bean, senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion until his death on Aug. 6 from acute myeloid leukemia.
A 1993 graduate of Harvard and a 31st-round pick in that year's amateur draft, Hill spent two seasons in the Class-A New York-Penn League, then worked for Tampa Bay from 1997-99 as an assistant in scouting and player development. He became Colorado's director of player development in 1999 and in 2002 was hired by the Marlins as an assistant general manager.
Hill was promoted to general manager on Sept. 29, 2007, and exactly six years later moved up to president of baseball operations, two days after Larry Beinfest was fired.
Hill was fired on Oct. 18, 2020, after Derek Jeter became the Marlins CEO, then hired by MLB the following Feb. 1 as senior vice president of on-field operations. He will remain in charge of on-field discipline and will supervise the front office and on-field diversity pipeline program.
Brown, a graduate of Binghamton University with a master's degree from Columbia, was hired by MLB in September 2021 as vice president of social responsibility and promoted in 2023 to senior vice president of social responsibility and community affairs. She will oversee MLB's diversity-focused areas in addition to social responsibility and community relations.
