No Place Like Home for Lowell Spinners Owner

The guests will start arriving any minute. And like any good host, Marc Deschenes ’97 is making sure the place is ready. 

The principal owner and chief baseball officer of the Lowell Spinners opens patio umbrellas on the LeLacheur Park concourse. He turns on the TVs to ESPN in the Sea Dog Brewpen. He does a walk-through of the Swamp Land Kids Zone along the left field line. He talks with the grounds crew about the condition of the infield. He even helps inflate the giant Canaligator mascot that will greet more than 2,500 fans outside the stadium that night.

“I’m the owner, but I don't want to be in an office. I love being out here greeting people and saying, ‘Thank you for coming,’” says Deschenes, who majored in criminal justice and was a shortstop and right-handed pitcher at UMass Lowell before embarking on an 11-year professional baseball career.

The original Lowell Spinners, a Single-A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, last played at LeLacheur Park in 2019. After the 2020 minor league season was canceled by the pandemic, the Spinners lost their affiliation amid Major League Baseball’s restructuring of the minor leagues. UML purchased the ballpark, located on East Campus, in 2022, leaving open the possibility that summer baseball could someday return to Lowell. 

That opportunity arrived late last year, when Deschenes and his ownership group were awarded a new Lowell Spinners expansion franchise in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. With only a few months until Opening Day, they assembled a roster of college players from across the country (including five from UML), hired employees and interns, and secured sponsors. They also partnered with UML on improvements to LeLacheur Park. 

“The time we had to ramp this up was one of the biggest challenges,” Deschenes says. “UMass Lowell has been fantastic. Without that support, we wouldn’t be where we are today.” 

The community quickly embraced the team’s return. The Spinners drew 5,125 fans for their home opener and averaged nearly 2,200 fans over 29 home games this summer.

“I couldn’t be happier doing this,” Deschenes says while walking the concourse before a Friday night game against the New Britain Bees in late July. “This is kind of my dream come true — the encore of my career, being able to own a franchise.” 

Growing up in Dracut, Deschenes attended summer baseball camps at UML and got to know legendary coach Jim Stone. 

“I wasn’t a highly recruited player out of Dracut High School,” says Deschenes, who seized the chance to play shortstop and pitch for the River Hawks. As a tri-captain in his junior year in 1995, he helped lead UML to a 33-11 record.

That June, the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) selected him in the 20th round of the Major League Baseball Draft as a shortstop. He left UML early to begin his professional career.

“You don’t know when that opportunity’s going to come again,” says Deschenes, who later returned to UML and completed his criminal justice degree with help from an education incentive included in his Major League Baseball contract.

“My parents were like, ‘If they’re going to pay for it, you’re going to go back and get it,’” Deschenes says.

Cleveland converted Deschenes into a pitcher, a move that paid off. In 1997, he received the Bob Feller Award as Cleveland’s top minor league pitcher after posting a 1.52 ERA with 29 saves and 108 strikeouts in 65 innings.

Deschenes went on to play professionally for six organizations from 1995 to 2006. While he never made it to the major leagues, he capped his career with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, where he was teammates with future stars Dustin Pedroia and Jonathan Papelbon, as well as Craig Breslow, now the Red Sox’ chief baseball officer.

“What I learned most from that was the baseball camaraderie and network,” Deschenes says. “Sports provide discipline, foundation and teamwork. A lot of those life skills I learned from the game help me today in business.”

After retiring from baseball, Deschenes returned home and founded the Junior Spinners youth baseball organization, now USA Prime New England. He is also vice president of sports operations for Pison, a company that makes wearable devices that monitor physical and cognitive performance. The Spinners provided the devices to players this summer as another tool for player development.   

The expansion club finished its inaugural season with a 21-38 record, but Deschenes and Chief Operating Officer Tim Bawmann measure success by more than wins and losses. 

“We’re in the entertainment business more than we are in the baseball business,” says Bawmann, who was president and general manager of the original Spinners organization from 2003 to 2016 before helping to launch the Futures League. “You have to appeal to everybody.”

The Spinners’ partnership with UMass Lowell extends beyond the ballpark itself.

Five River Hawks suited up for the Spinners this summer: right-handed pitchers Chris Klueber, Seamus Scott and Jake Zawatsky, first baseman Sean Canavan and catcher Cal Chance.

“The UMass Lowell guys have been great,” Deschenes says. “They’ve made our other players from around the country feel welcome too.”

The Spinners also provided internship opportunities for UML students.

Senior digital media major Garrett Kelly spent the summer entertaining fans as the Canaligator mascot. Owen Walsh ’26, who earned his bachelor’s degree in business with concentrations in marketing and management in May and is returning this fall for his MBA, managed the Kids Zone.

A Dracut native who grew up attending Spinners games, Walsh was eager to help bring the franchise back.

“It felt like there was something missing,” Walsh says. “Having it back is huge for the city.”

Walsh also got an up-close look at Deschenes’ hands-on approach to ownership.

“He’s everywhere,” Walsh says. “He’s all about making sure everything works right and that the fans get a good product every night.”

Deschenes’ children, Reece and Brooke, were regulars around the ballpark this summer, whether helping with game-day activities or enjoying some of the perks of having a dad who owns a baseball team.

“When I brought this back, I told my kids, ‘You guys have summer jobs now,’” Deschenes says with a laugh.

With the inaugural season now complete, Deschenes and his team are already turning their attention to next summer, including new promotions, an improved ticketing experience and additional enhancements around the ballpark. 

“We’ll take a week off and get right back at it,” Deschenes says. 

Back on that Friday evening in late July, about 30 minutes before first pitch against New Britain, Deschenes grabs a glove and walks onto the field, where Reece is waiting.

As they play catch along the first base line, U2’s “Beautiful Day” plays over the stadium speakers. The setting sun bathes LeLacheur Park in golden light, while the smell of grilled sausages fills the evening air.

“Part of the reason for doing this was for my son and daughter to be able to enjoy this,” Deschenes says. “To be able to come out to the ballpark, play catch with Dad on the field and experience something I’ve always been passionate about — that’s a proud dad moment.”