Silver Knights owner Drew Weber announced on Thursday he has hired 61-year-old former Bristol Blues GM Rich Muntean, who has over 30 years of baseball front office experience, as the team’s new general manager.

He replaces the popular Ronnie Wallace, who thrived in his first general manager’s job, but left in November to pursue a career in private industry.

“I’m so fired up, I’m really excited,” Muntean said from his home in Chicago. “What a great oppurtunity.”

It’s one of many Montean has had throughout his baseball career. He was the GM in Bristol for two years, winning the Futures Collegiate League Executive of the Year award in the franchise’s inaugural season in 2015. He left after the 2016 season to help his daughter run her company in Kansas City, Missouri while she was having her first child.

With everything set there, Muntean this year set out to get back into baseball. FCBL Commissioner Chris Hall put Weber in touch with Muntean, and the Knights new GM also came highly recommended by current North Shore general manager Bill Terlecky, another baseball veteran.

Muntean’s work in Bristol is just the tip of the iceberg. Montean was with the affiliated Phillies Triple A team in Scranton Wilkes-Barre for 15 years as assistant GM and GM, and spent several years with the Indians Double A team in Williamsport, Pa. He is a former Northern League Executive of the Year with the Northern League’s Kansas City T-Bones in 2004. He also was a GM of the Lake Erie Crushers (Avon, Ohio) in the independent Frontiere League. He also owned and ran the St. Joseph’s Mustangs summer college team in Missouri.

“He’s got a lot of experience in baseball,” Weber said. “That’s something that will be very helpful for us.”.

“Number one, what I like to see is the stands full,” Muntean said. “It makes for a fun, fun night and perpetuates itself.

“My philosophy is selling tickets. When the stands are full, everybody’s happy... everything we do is going to be about the fan experience.”

With his FCBL experience, Muntean certainly has some familiarity with Nashua and its success. When asked what about the job appealed to him, he said, “Lot of things. First and foremost is Drew Weber. An impressive man, a believable man. A guy who has the best interests of baseball, Nashua, and the Nashua Silver Knights at heart.

“Also, the history of the Nashua franchise in the Futures League (four titles in seven years). You can’t get any better than that. … And third is Holman Stadium. My goodness gracious, it’s a great facility. And the history of Nashua (baseball) is very impressive.”