General manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager (GM) of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players.
Roles and responsibilities
The
Before the 1960s, and in some rare cases since then, a person with the general manager title in sports has also borne responsibility for the non-player operations of the ballclub, such as ballpark administration and
History and evolution
In the first decades of baseball's post-1901 modern era, responsibilities for player acquisition fell upon the club owner and/or president and the
According to
They assumed those positions (Barrow in 1920 and Rickey five years later) when clubs could legally control only 15
But both the owner-operator and the field-manager-as-GM models would survive into the 1980s. Owners Charlie Finley of the Oakland Athletics and Calvin Griffith of the Minnesota Twins functioned as their own chiefs of baseball operations. During the 1970s and 1980s, Alvin Dark of the Indians, Billy Martin of the Athletics (after Finley sold them in 1981), and Whitey Herzog of the Cardinals combined manager and general manager duties, while Paul Owens of the Philadelphia Phillies and Jack McKeon of the San Diego Padres were general managers who appointed themselves field managers and held both posts.
Trend towards "presidents of baseball operations"
During the second decade of the 21st century, a trend began in Major League Baseball that saw the creation of a new layer of authority between ownership and the general manager, almost always termed the President of Baseball Operations. In some cases, these "POBOs" work in concert with others in the organization styled as presidents, but with non-baseball-centric responsibilities, like President/CEO or /COO. Writing for
Three months later, another article by Wong published in the Sports Business Daily revisited the topic and compared the evolving job descriptions and career trajectories of general managers and POBOs.[6] In 2016, SBD writer Eric Fisher cited the growing importance of data analytics in playing personnel evaluations and long-term planning (in addition to in game strategy), and heavier investments in player development, domestically and internationally, as contributing to the POBO movement and other structural changes in baseball front offices.[7]
The 2019 Baseball America Annual Directory listed 12 presidents of baseball operations among the 30 MLB teams, as well as one "chief baseball officer" and four "executive vice presidents of baseball operations" operating above the general manager level or also holding the GM title.[8]
See also
- General manager § Sports teams
- Sporting News Executive of the Decade(2009)
- Sports Illustrated Best GM of the Decade (2009)
- Sports Illustrated Top 10 GMs/Executives of the Decade (in all sports) (2009)
- "Esurance MLB Awards" Best Executive
- Sporting News Executive of the Year
- Baseball AmericaMajor League Executive of the Year
- Baseball AmericaRoland Hemond Award (for long-term contributions to scouting and player development)
- Baseball AmericaLifetime Achievement Award
- Honor Rolls of Baseball#Executives
- Sports Illustrated Best Franchise of the Decade (2009)
- Sports Illustrated Top 25 Franchises of the Decade (in all sports) (2009)
- Baseball AmericaOrganization of the Year
- MiLB "Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year" award (Baseball awards#U.S. minor leagues)
- Baseball AmericaMinor League Executive of the Year
- Baseball AmericaBob Freitas Awards (for outstanding minor-league operations at Triple-A, Double-A, Class A, and short-season)
- Baseball AmericaIndependent Organization of the Year
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8032-3497-0.
- ^ Baseball Almanac.com
- ^ National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum official web site, Edward Grant Barrow
- ^ Leavitt, Daniel R., Ed Barrow. Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project
- ^ Sports Business Daily
- Sports Business Daily
- Sports Business Daily
- ISBN 978-1-932391-83-1