Meet Chrissy Baines, the next general manager of the Albuquerque Isotopes

For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, the Albuquerque Isotopes have a new general manager.

Chrissy Baines has been named the club’s third general manager as her predecessor, John Traub, moves on to an advisory role, the Isotopes announced Wednesday.

Baines, a Georgia native, is the first woman to be GM for the Isotopes and will be the 15th active female GM in minor league baseball, per the club. She replaces Traub after the latter served 22 years overseeing the Colorado Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, a franchise that’s regularly led the Pacific Coast League in home attendance.

In an emotional news conference Wednesday, Traub made it clear he is not retiring. He will serve as the team’s president going forward. He will also advise the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, as part of a “path to wind down my career” through club owner Diamond Baseball Holdings.

“They would let me do this for another 20 years if I wanted to,” Traub told the Journal on Wednesday. “I just don’t have it in me, you know?"

He said he and his wife Liz "want to travel, want to do all kinds of things that we just have not had time to do.”

A West Georgia University graduate, Baines started her career as Single-A Savannah Sand Gnats’ director of operations in 2002 before joining the Isotopes in 2004. Initially serving as the club’s director of merchandise, she held a variety of roles before being promoted to assistant general manager for business operations in 2015.

Baines said she had aspired to be a general manager early in her career, but “went away from that for a really long time” and found contentment in her most recent role. But as she added more responsibilities, the GM position seemed like a “natural progression,” especially with Traub mulling a reduced role.

“A lot of people have known that John has been going back and forth about retirement for the last few years – it was just a matter of when he was going to make that decision,” Baines said. “I think everything probably (became) more true to life over the last couple of months, and that’s when we started going a little deeper into the conversations.”

Baines said she wants to build upon the club’s “tremendous foundation,” from continuing successful theme nights such as the Mariachis de Nuevo México while selling season tickets and corporate sponsorships at a high rate.

“The legacy that John Traub has built here has been amazing,” she added. “ … It’s not to say that this is going to be an easy job, but the most important thing for me in taking this job is the staff that we have. I certainly would not be in this room if it weren’t for all the other people that I’ve worked with for the last 22 years.”

Baines and her wife, Kerry, have two dogs, Toby and Sable.

Selecting Baines as the team’s next general manager, Traub said, was a decision made solely by DBH, which took over ownership of the Isotopes in October 2023. 

“(Baines) has learned from John, she has the respect of the staff … Chrissy is, without question, the right person to take the day-to-day reins from John,” DBH regional vice president Ben Taylor told the Journal. “Because she’s going to continue everything great that John was doing and add her own flavor.”

A Los Angeles native, Traub began his 38-year career in baseball as a public relations intern for the California Angels in 1988. He then spent 11 seasons with the Calgary Cannons, serving as the club’s general manager when it was moved to Albuquerque in 2003.

Traub was repromoted to general manager at the end of the Isotopes’ inaugural season, kickstarting a 23-year tenure that’s seen the Isotopes welcome millions of fans through the gates and win multiple awards. Under his stewardship, the club was named Minor League Baseball Organization of the Year in 2018 while he received the PCL Executive of the Year award in 2007.

While Traub will still be around the club, he said it’s in good hands with Baines, citing her experience and leadership skills.

“She was ready for a GM job 10, 15 years ago,” he added. “She’s had opportunities to be a GM in other markets and she’s elected to stay here. We’ve got a great staff and she’ll be relying heavily on that staff, just like I always have.”

Last season, the Isotopes were the only team in professional baseball to finish last place in their league standings and first in their league’s attendance.

The club — which finished with a record of 62-87 — attracted about 6,765 fans per game, leading the PCL in average home attendance for a fourth straight year. In the penultimate game, the Isotopes welcomed their 12 millionth fan over 22 seasons. 

The Isotopes' 2026 season begins March 27 on the road in Oklahoma City. The club's home opener is March 31 against Reno. 

Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.