In the bull’s-eye of team and fan criticism seemingly as much as Commissioner Bud Selig, Feeney runs point on creating the league’s master schedule. That means annually balancing a seemingly impossible set of varied and often-conflicting demands from MLB, the MLB Players Association, individual teams, local jurisdictions and venue operators. “If I can make everyone unhappy, I’ve done my job,” Feeney said half-jokingly.

Feeney is the daughter of the late Chub Feeney, former president of the National League and a longtime executive of the New York and then San Francisco Giants. Despite her upbringing within baseball, she did not envision a career in the sport, instead planning to become a teacher. A temporary assignment as a secretary in the NL public relations office in 1977 has ultimately grown into a role as one of the most experienced voices in the game. “I sort of accidentally fell into [baseball],” she said. “The idea was to go for a year. Thirty-five years later, it’s been a long year, as I often say. But it’s been amazing to have seen all the changes that have happened.”