Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall discusses his leadership

It’s the 25th anniversary of the opening season of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Derrick Hall, President and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, has been with the team for 16 years making him the fourth-longest tenured CEO in the MLB. Under his leadership, the team has been to the post-season three times. He has also made enormous strides with the community arm and non-profit section of the team. He is a survivor of prostate cancer and created the Derrick Hall Pro-State Foundation. 

“If you look at the perception amongst our colleagues and the other teams, it’s mutual respect for all of us. The fact that we are here with fourteen other teams, they get to see who we are and what we do in the community,” Hall said.

Hall mentions how the Diamondbacks still feel like a new team, but when you think about the ballpark, it is the fourth oldest in the league.

When asked what Hall’s world was like 25 years ago, he explains he was in Los Angeles with the rival team, the Dodgers. Hall said it was always his dream and goal to work for the Dodgers. His perception changed when his team came down to play in Arizona.

“When I was in Los Angeles, and the franchise came to existence in Arizona, I would always ask myself how do I get here,” Hall said. Arizona always felt like home to him because his wife is from Tucson and she attended Arizona State University.

“Luckily, I had conversations with the ownership at some point in 2004, we got to talking and realized that I should come over here,” Hall said. He went from Dodger blue to purple and teal. Hall said it was the best move he could’ve made.

Hall started with Peter O’Malley, previous owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. O’Malley cared about the community, employees and culture. It was such an important priority for him to make sure the environment felt like family. Hall took some of those ideas with him when he started with the Diamondbacks.

When Arizona’s spring training facilities were moved, Hall remembered what it was like at Dodger Town in Florida.

“The beauty of that location was the fans could walk with the players from field to field and from the training room or the clubhouse all the way to the stadium where they played,” Hall said.

Hall brought that same interactive concept to Arizona.

“You hope that excitement and energy would then spill to the regular season,” Hall said.