OUR TEAM
Ball Players Agency has comprised a team of MLBPA Certified Player Agents, Licensed Attorneys and Former Baseball Players that can assist you in any facet of your career. With a combined 50 plus years of agency experience, our agents provide a tremendous value to your on and off the field needs. Ball Players Agency has offices located in the USA (Michigan and Colorado), Canada (Toronto) and Taiwan (Taipei).
Storm T. Kirschenbaum CEO | Attorney | MLBPA Player Agent
After an exceptional high school career, Kirschenbaum received a scholarship from number one ranked University of Florida. He played his last two seasons at Long Island University – C.W. Post (Division I), where he was awarded the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Merit Medal (given to one athlete in the conference for the highest academic average and athletic achievement).
Kirschenbaum graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Long Island University. He is a 2003 graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where he served three terms as President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society. Kirschenbaum is also a member of the American Bar Association’s Entertainment and Sports Law Forum and a member of the Michigan State Bar. Highly regarded publication DBusiness voted Kirschenbaum a “Top 30 in their Thirties Business Owners” for 2011 and Crains Detroit voted him with the prestigious “40 Under 40” award in 2012. He was voted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and was the first Jewish News High School Athlete of the Year to enter the Hall. Kirschenbaum has traveled the country giving lectures to colleges and law schools in the area of sports law. He has been on numerous television and radio shows as an expert in the baseball industry.
In July 2007, after four years of practicing law in the private sector, Kirschenbaum formed Metis Sports Management, LLC, a full-service sports management company. MSM specialized in baseball and football representation, with a major focus on marketing professional athletes. In December of 2014, MSM was acquired by Jackson Management Group, LLC. In February of 2018, Kirschenbaum led an extremely successful transition to the newly formed Ball Players Agency.
Contact Storm T. Kirschenbaum at: storm@ballplayersagency.com
Michael Bonanno Partner | MLBPA Player Agent
Michael Bonanno is a Partner in Ball Players Agency and a MLBPA Certified Player Agent. After joining Metis Sports Management (later to be acquired as Jackson Management Group) in 2014, Michael has worked along Storm Kirschenbaum to create an impressive group of clients represented both in North America but also overseas. His focus with BPA is to assist in providing the variety of full services to clients. Bonanno has a hand in all contract negotiations (professional and amateur), as well, all endorsement opportunities for BPA clients. Bonanno also heads the First-Year Player Draft division, with his focus on Northern-born players.
A graduate of Eastern Florida State College – where he played baseball and was a business/broadcasting major – he founded an athlete representation agency in 2008 (Oak Sports Management) before joining with Metis Sports Management, LLC (Jackson Management Group) in 2014. He received his Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) certification as a player agent in 2012 while representing former MLB Top 100 prospect Nick Weglarz (Indians). In 2017, Bonanno had the honor to represent players in 4 different countries (Canada, Italy, Mexico and China) in the World Baseball Classic.
Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (GTA), Bonanno was recently named to the Top 100 Most Influential Canadians In Baseball list via Canadian Baseball Network. He also retired from General Manager of the Brantford Red Sox (IBL) after helping win 5 IBL Championships (2010). He also can be heard occasionally on TSN Radio, Fan590 and XMRadio 167 speaking about our players.
Contact Michael Bonanno at: michael@ballplayersagency.com
Alex Hinz | MLBPA Player Agent | Attorney
Alex Hinz is Ball Players Agency's Director of Baseball - United States. Specifically, Hinz focuses on the amateur baseball draft, free agency, salary arbitration, and assists on all legal matters. Hinz's love of baseball stretches far back, beginning as a child growing up in Littleton, CO and carrying him through 4-years of college baseball at Dakota Wesleyan University. After graduating with a degree in Sports Management with minors in Business, Coaching, and Legal Studies, Hinz continued on to the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law graduating in 2016 and passing the Colorado State Bar in the fall of 2016.
Hinz knew from the beginning of law school that he wanted a career in professional sports and focused on contract law while at DU. For two years he was the school’s president of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society and competed in National Baseball Arbitration Competition twice. While in law school, Hinz completed a number of internships which included time with a top NFL Agency, the University of Denver’s NCAA Compliance Office, and the Milwaukee Brewers. Alex is a member of the Colorado State Bar. Hinz became a MLBPA certified agent in 2018.
After law school, Hinz took on an internship with ISE Baseball in Chicago and worked in free agency and salary arbitration. Upon completion of the internship, he returned to Denver and started his own agency, which he ran for a short while before joining the current group. Hinz specializes in players on the west side of the US, particularly the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and the 4-Corners regions.
Contact Alex Hinz at:
alex@ballplayersagency.com
Mark Meisner | MLBPA Player Agent
Mark Meisner joined Ball Players Agency after playing five years of Division 1 Baseball for the Niagara University Purple Eagles. While at Niagara, Meisner earned his MBA and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Management. Mark graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2022. Meisner is recognized as a certified agent by the Major League Baseball Player’s Association in 2018. Meisner will be working closely with CEO Storm Kirschenbaum as a draft specialist and baseball operations assistant at the BPA headquarters in Birmingham, Michigan. Meisner has interned and has been otherwise associated with the organization since 2012, working in all facets of the company.
Prior to joining the BPA, Mark spent time working with CBS Sports Radio and the Detroit Pistons. Mark grew up in Huntington Woods, Michigan and is a graduate of Berkley High School. Mark currently lives in Detroit.
Contact Mark Meisner at: mark@ballplayersagency.com
Tony Chang | Director of Asian Operations
Tony Chang is the baseball group's Director of Pacific Rim Operations with a focus on the CPBL in Taiwan. He attended National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan and earned a master's degree in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University. Prior to joining BPA, he interned at Octagon (a sports & entertainment agency) and worked for the Chinese Professional Baseball League's ("CPBL") Lamigo Monkeys in baseball operations and as a translator for international players. He joined Storm Kirschenbaum in 2015 and received Major League Baseball Players Association limited certification as a player agent in 2016. Based in Taipei, Taiwan, he serves as an intermediary during contract negotiations with CPBL clubs and handles off-the-field matters for clients in the league.
Contact Tony Chang at: tony@ballplayersagency.com