Mark Geddis has been to opposite ends of the baseball spectrum with the Florida Marlins.

Working behind the scenes, he's been with the former expansion team since before it began play in Miami in 1993. He was there when the Marlins shocked the baseball world by winning the 1997 World Series, and he remained on board the following year after the Marlins had shed virtually all of their marquee players in a massive cost-cutting move and finished last in their division.

"I've been there through the good and the bad," Geddis said. "It's been a lot, but I wouldn't trade anything for it right now."

Geddis, who earned his bachelor's degree in sports management, serves as the Marlins' director of communications and is responsible for the team's broadcast operations and marketing communications. He supervises an 11-member staff.

In addition to overseeing the Marlins' Florida broadcast contracts and the coordination of their contract with Major League Baseball, he is involved with new technology and special projects, including the team's FanFest event and Marlins Golf Tournament.

Geddis joined the Marlins as publications coordinator and media relations assistant prior to becoming assistant director of media relations a year later. Before moving to Florida, he was media relations director for the Syracuse Chiefs baseball club in 1992 and two years prior to that was a sports information graduate assistant at Syracuse University, where he received his master's in media administration.

He has helped manage two Super Bowls, the 1992 U.S. Olympic Festival, the 1992 NCAA East Regional Basketball Tournament and the 1993 National League Championship Series. Geddis also has worked four Major League Baseball All-Star Games, including this year's event in Boston.

His wife, Vicki Van Dam Geddis, also a 1990 sports management major, was involved in sports promotion before leaving work last year to care for their daughter. She was the special events and promotions manager for college football's PC Micron Bowl (formerly the Carquest and Blockbuster bowls), which takes place at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, where the Marlins play.

Since the Marlins' fire sale of 1997, the team's fortunes have suffered. They've struggled to win a third of their games since their world championship and had the worst earned run average of any club in 1998. Pitchers Alex Fernandez and World Series MVP Livan Hernandez are among the few players who remain from the '97 championship club.

While Geddis isn't in a position to affect the Marlins' fortunes on the field, he is there to promote the team any way he can. "We're in a rebuilding phase right now," Geddis said. "I guess the main thing is my job doesn't change a whole lot once the season starts. I'm a baseball fan and I just enjoy coming to the ballpark, which is my office. When I wake up, I look forward to coming to the office."

A native of East Liverpool, N.Y., Geddis credits the experience he gained working in Old Dominion's sports information office from 1986-89, under SID director Carol Hudson Jr. '76 (M.A. '79) and associate athletic director Debbie Byrne, with his success.

"If it weren't for a stop at (Old Dominion), I wouldn't be sitting where I am today. If I'd gone to a bigger university, I probably wouldn't have had the opportunity."

- James J. Lidington