Greg Galiette’s life is in Louisville. Born and raised in the ’Ville, he graduated from The University of Louisville, married his high school sweetheart, and raised his twins here. That’s already a long list of winning stats, but add that he’s the current president of the Louisville Bats Triple A Baseball team to the list, and you guessed it — Greg knocked it out of the park.
A friend’s inspiration
Greg’s love of baseball has remained constant throughout his life, and he remembers when he fell in love with the sport: He was 5 years old, and his father was battling Hodgkin lymphoma — a battle he would, sadly, not win.
When his dad became sick, a friend, the family barber who went by ‘Snow,’ came to play games of catch with Greg. “He would come over and play catch with me because my dad couldn’t,” Greg says. Such a kind gesture during a difficult time made an impression, and Greg remembers thinking it was “really cool” to have Snow stop by. But the story doesn’t end there.
Years later, in September 2022, a special player’s number was retired at Slugger Field Stadium. That player was Felton Snow — a Negro League Hall of Fame infielder for the Louisville White Sox, who made the All-Star team in 1935 and 1936. And that’s when Greg realized this was his childhood friend. “I played catch with a famous baseball player who ended up being my dad’s barber,” he muses. It was Snow’s kindness that served as a catalyst for Greg’s enduring love of baseball.
An ‘idiotic’ decision
After his father passed, Greg threw himself into sports. “That kind of became my babysitter,” he recalls. His father had played college football at Syracuse, and Greg’s uncle was the radio voice of Yale football for 33 years and was one of the first sportscasters on ESPN. “So sports have always been a big part of our family,” Greg says.
Greg competed as a track and field athlete his freshman year at UofL before he decided to finish his athletic career and focus on school. After graduating with a marketing degree, he went to work in sales for Xerox. He found it monotonous. “Every day felt like Groundhog Day,” he says. Realizing that this was not his calling or passion, Greg says he started pestering A. Ray Smith, the minor league baseball team owner of the then-named Louisville Redbirds, to see if there were any job opportunities. “After about six months of bothering, I guess I wore him down,” Greg says.
In 1984, Greg started out with the Redbirds as a sales intern, taking a massive pay cut. “Everybody thought I was an idiot for basically chasing my dream,” he recalls.
Indeed, making the switch was a leap of faith for the newlywed, but it proved to be the right choice for Greg. “It was so cool to basically feel like you weren’t going to work each day,” he says. “I was doing something I was so passionate about that it rarely seems like I’m going to work.”
From intern to a litany of roles with the team through the years, Greg rose to president of the Louisville Bats in 2021.
The Slugger Field memory makers
Greg enjoys watching the joy baseball brings to individuals and families. “What’s really cool is each night walking around the ballpark and seeing the smiles on people’s faces, feeling like you maybe had a small hand in that,” Greg says. Maybe it’s someone’s first-ever baseball game, or maybe they’re reliving childhood memories with their grandkids, but whatever the reason, Greg emphasizes, “We like to say that we’re in the memory creation business here.”
Greg has been in this business for over 42 years, and he says he’s blessed to have very talented people around him. “Everybody has different roles, and then we all mesh together to hopefully make it look seamless,” he says.
Greg and his team are always monitoring current events and trends for any promotional ideas for the ballpark. “Maybe we can make a spinoff of that idea or concept that’s occurring in everyday life, and have fun with it,” Greg says. “Obviously with this area’s love of bourbon, it was natural years ago to create the Louisville ‘Mashers’ (the Bats’ alter ego, for which they don special uniforms and offer bourbon tastings and giveaways for specific games), and of course with the Derby to create our ‘Mint Julep’ theme night identity.”
With Greg’s busy schedule, finding time to unwind can be a challenge; however, he does have a few go-tos: working out and playing golf. “Being a former athlete, I take pride in keeping myself healthy,” he says. Having taken up golf seriously when he first started with the Redbirds, as many of the front office staff played, Greg fell in love with golf again during the pandemic. In fact, he finds golf such a good reset, his wife bought him a hitting net for their garage, and Greg will go home after a long day at work and work on his swing.
Baseball has been an American passion since 1845, and to quote a highly acclaimed movie on the subject, “The one constant through all the years… has been baseball.” Field of Dreams was filmed 37 years ago, and the sentiment holds true. Passion fuels life, and Greg reminds you that life is short, “So just enjoy each and every day for what it is.”
By Tonilyn Hornung | Photo submitted
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