Bill Lajoie
Bill Lajoie | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 27, 1934 Wyandotte, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 28, 2010 (aged 76) Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Baseball executive |
William Richard Lajoie (September 27, 1934 – December 28, 2010) was an American professional baseball player, manager, scout and front-office executive. The general manager of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1990, he helped to build, then served as GM of, the world champion 1984 Tigers.
Biography
Born in
, Lajoie became a scout and minor league manager with Cincinnati.He then joined the Tigers organization in 1969 as a member of the scouting department. By 1979 he was named the assistant general manager to Tigers GM Jim Campbell. During his time as GM, Lajoie is credited with several transactions that helped the Tigers to the 1984 World Series championship and a 1987 division title. Notable transactions include signing aging veteran Darrell Evans in 1984; trading John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander in 1987, and Kirk Gibson's departure as a free agent following the 1987 season. While ridiculed by Detroit fans now, the Smoltz trade helped the Tigers make the playoffs in 1987, as Alexander posted 9 wins and 0 losses in 11 starts, with a 1.53 earned run average. Smoltz, at the time, was a lightly regarded prospect in the low minor leagues. After an internal power struggle in 1990 (the Tigers had hired Bo Schembechler as team president), Lajoie resigned was replaced as Tigers GM by his assistant, Joe McDonald.[1]
He then served as a special assistant or consultant to the Atlanta Braves (1991–98), Milwaukee Brewers (2001–02), Boston Red Sox (2003–06), Los Angeles Dodgers (2006–09) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–10).
Lajoie played a high-profile consulting role in the Boston front office during the brief interregnum between November 2005 and February 2006 caused by the temporary resignation of Red Sox general manager
In 1988, Lajoie was honored with a distinguished alumni award from the Western Michigan University Alumni Association.
As a
He died at age 76 near Sarasota, Florida.[4]
References
General
- Kline, Chris, Leventhal, Josh and Lingo, Will, editors, Baseball America 2007 Directory. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007.
- Sinha, Anup and Lajoie, Bill, Character Is Not a Statistic: The Legacy and Wisdom of Baseball's Godfather Scout Bill Lajoie, N.p.: Xlibris Corporation, 2010.
Specific
- ^ "Tigers Pick Byng Native Walker for GM Position". September 28, 1991.
- ^ "Red Sox deal Renteria to Braves for Marte". December 8, 2005. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
- ^ "Pirates hire Bill Lajoie as senior advisor". Pittsburgh.Pirates.mlb.com. December 8, 2005. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
- The Associated Press. December 28, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2014.