Dennis Baxter's lifetime love of baseball and the desire for a place to take his children to see a professional baseball game inspired him to look into bringing a team to West Michigan. Without realizing it, Lew Chamberlin and Denny were attempting to do the same thing independently. They joined forces in 1986 and successfully brought the Whitecaps to West Michigan in time for the 1994 baseball season. Prior to becoming the Whitecaps Chief Financial Officer, Denny held the position of President of West Michigan Baseball Development. As CFO, Denny's responsibilities include managing the accounting department before, during, and after Whitecaps games.

Denny graduated with high honors from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and began his career as a practicing CPA. Prior to working full-time with the Whitecaps, Denny held numerous financial and managerial positions in West Michigan.

A native of Muskegon, Michigan, Denny live there with his wife Rhonda and children Rachel and Eric. His daughter Tara is a teacher, living and working in Grand Rapids.

Denny is also the founder and president of Blue Cap Entertainment, which promotes sports and entertainment activities throughout the country. Denny also founded Rock the Rapids, a non-profit musical festival located in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Walk-Up Song: "Running on Empty" by Jackson Browne

Joe Chamberlin, a Grand Rapids native, has served as CEO and Managing Partner of the West Michigan Whitecaps since 2019. The Whitecaps are the High A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark, a privately held 8,500 seat entertainment venue located just north of Grand Rapids in Comstock Park, MI. Joe’s appointment as CEO and Managing Partner ushered in a second generation of his family’s controlling interest in the franchise, as the team was founded by his dad, Lew Chamberlin, in 1994.

In his time with the Whitecaps Joe has helped strengthen the foundation that will ensure the team remains one West Michigan’s most valued community assets and one of MiLB’s premier franchises, while also expanding the organization’s reach. In 2017 the organization entered the snack food distribution space, now operating as one of the largest distributors of Dippin Dots Ice Cream in the United States and in 2018 Joe founded the Traverse City Pit Spitters, a summer collegiate baseball team playing in Traverse City, MI, and led the acquisition of Turtle Creek Stadium, one of Northern Michigan’s premier outdoor entertainment venues.

Prior to returning to West Michigan and joining the Whitecaps Front Office, Joe served in a wide range of Human Resources leadership roles with Ally Financial, a large financial services company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. While with Ally Joe spent time based in Atlanta, Chicago, and Detroit. Joe holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from The College of Wooster, a small liberal arts school in Ohio, and holds a master’s degree in Human Resources and Labor Relations from Michigan State University.

Active in the West Michigan community Joe is a past participant in Leadership Grand Rapids, is a member of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce’s CEO Council and currently serves as a board member with the Whitecaps Community Foundation and The Saint Mary’s Foundation. Joe and his wife Dana are the proud parents of two wonderful boys, Crawford and Becker.

Steve McCarthy got his start in the sports industry working as an Operations Intern for the West Michigan Whitecaps in 1995, followed by internships at Van Andel Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills. From 1997 through 2001, he worked for the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills as a ticket sales account representative and eventually the Director of Group Sales for the team. Steve returned to the Whitecaps in December 2001 as the Director of Ticket Sales and was promoted to Vice President of Sales in October 2005. He currently oversees the sales and marketing efforts for the Whitecaps, and is involved in planning the non-baseball events at LMCU Ballpark.

As an alumnus of the University of Michigan, Steve is a life-long Wolverine fan. He also enjoys baseball, running and music. Steve is native to Grand Rapids and currently resides in Ada with his wife Kelli, daughter Liza and son Sawyer.

Walk-Up Song: "The Music Never Stopped" by Grateful Dead

Email: SteveM@whitecapsbaseball.com

Dan grew up in Grand Rapids and started his professional career with the West Michigan Whitecaps. Hired as the team's first intern during their inaugural season in 1994, he worked in various capacities including ticketing, operations and sponsorship sales. Leaving the Whitecaps in 2000 to help oversee the sales and marketing efforts for a family owned business in Tampa, Florida, Dan returned to the Whitecaps for the 2019 season to assume the Vice President of Sales role.

A graduate of Indiana University, Dan is a die-hard Hoosiers basketball fan. His free time is spent with family which includes his wife Kim, son Nathan and daughter Lucie. He also enjoys golfing, basketball and of course baseball.

Walk-Up Song: "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars

Email: DanM@whitecapsbaseball.com

Kyle began his first season with the Whitecaps in 2007 as a part-time game day employee. He worked primarily in the Suite level as a food runner for the 2007-2010 seasons and then transitioned to a Suite cook for the 2011-2018 seasons.

In 2015 he began working part-time in the Front Office as the IT Assistant. During this time, he also attended GRCC part-time and graduated with a degree in Network Administration. At the onset of the 2019 season he was hired in full-time as the IT Assistant.

In 2018, Kyle and his then-fiancée Kristen, bought their first house together in the same neighborhood where they both grew up, right here in Comstock Park. They married in October of 2019, and live happily with their two dogs, Sammy and Max.

Walk-Up Song: "Higher Ground" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Email: KyleW@whitecapsbaseball.com

Dan Hasty joined the Whitecaps in early 2015 after spending his four previous years working in Detroit Sports radio at 97.1 The Ticket. While there, he served as a producer for Stoney, Bill & Sara Mornings, co-hosted talk shows, and served as the Pregame, Halftime and Postgame Show Host for the Detroit Lions Radio Network. Dan and his wife Angelina reside in Grand Rapids with their daughter.

Email: DanH@whitecapsbaseball.com