Former Mace Staffer An Editor For Yankees

By Scott Lowe

Ken Derry, a native of Moorestown, N.J., grew up a lifelong Philadelphia Phillies fan, but for the last few years he’s been promoting the pinstripes of the New York Yankees as managing editor of publications.

A 2000 graduate with a major in English, he was once an aspiring major leaguer himself, playing outfield and first base at Virginia Wesleyan before transferring to Old Dominion in spring 1997.

While at ODU, he was a copy editor for the Mace & Crown, where he honed his love of writing. “It was a lot of fun to read people’s stories and make them stronger; at the same time I was reading classics for my classes,” he said.

After graduating, he worked part-time jobs, which included repairing bicycles and freelance writing. His break came with a position at the Trenton Times.

“I tried to build off each experience and make the next one better,” he said.

After a short stint at the Trenton paper, he joined the Yankees organization as a senior editor in the summer of 2003. “In three months I had gone from covering school meetings to Yankees games,” said Derry from his office in the Bronx.

Although he left that job after two years to freelance, he returned for good in 2005 as managing editor. Today Derry oversees a staff that includes a senior editor, special projects editor, photo editor, freelance writers and photographers, and three interns. He is responsible for the team’s yearbook and monthly magazine, which doubles as a game program and is sold on newsstands and mailed to subscribers.

Even though his baseball playing days are behind him, Derry maintains an active outdoor life. He has hiked Mt. Ranier in Washington, and is into snowboarding, bicycling, running marathons, competing in triathlons and jogging through Central Park. He was mugged while jogging last year, and true to his nature, he chronicled the experience in The New York Times.